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Politicians urge Ma
to reflect on criticism
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
After an article in the latest edition of the Economist magazine called
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) a bumbler, politicians across party lines yesterday
said that Ma should thoroughly reflect on his leadership and governance
practices.
In the piece entitled “Ma the Bumbler,” the global publication said that in
addition to the dismal international economy, “Mr. Ma’s leadership is also to
blame” for some of Taiwan’s problems.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) urged Ma, who is
also the party’s chairman, to “give thorough reflection on what went wrong”
instead of “being quick to come to his own defense as he always does” when
people offer him suggestions.
The four-term KMT lawmaker said she considered Ma’s leadership “quite
problematic.”
Ma’s office has been staffed with sycophants and he has always turned a deaf ear
to what people outside his inner circle have told him, even the honest advice,
Yang said.
The way Ma rules the country has hampered its progress and economic development,
she said.
“He never listens to us and thinks that we complain because we were not offered
government positions or because we simply disparage him. Now the criticism has
come from abroad. I really hope that he can take things seriously,” she said.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said the Ma administration should learn to
discuss policy issues before making major decisions.
Ma has “headed in the right direction” with his reform plans, as evidenced by
the price adjustments for electricity and fuel, the imposition of a tax on
capital gains on shares and the limited coverage of year-end pension bonuses for
government retirees, but the policies were “hastily enacted without due
consideration of their impact and without input from lawmakers,” he said.
“The road to reform would not have been so hard if he had sufficiently
recognized the importance of communication in the process of policy-making,”
Chen said.
KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said he held the same view as Chen did.
Taking the dual increase of fuel and electricity prices as an example, lawmakers
would have suggested that prices be raised in stages or be implemented after
Taiwan Power Co and CPC Corp, Taiwan improve their performance, he said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) declined to comment on the article as he
said that the Presidential Office had offered a response on Friday.
When asked for comments by the press, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝)
yesterday first appeared reticent to answer as he said he did not really know
why the magazine ran the article.
However, soon after he said that the Economist is renowned for its credibility
internationally and that “there must be some objective facts that lead it to
come to the view [stated in the article.]”
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