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Ma should explain
actions on Wang, Stephen Yates says
Staff writer, with CNA
There may be a “higher purpose” in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) handling of
allegations of influence peddling that have been leveled against Legislative
Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), and Ma would benefit from sharing it with the
public if there is, a former White House official said in Taipei yesterday.
“There seems to be something deeper going,” said Stephen Yates, who served as
deputy national security adviser to former US vice president Dick Cheney,
referring to Ma’s condemnation on Sunday of Wang’s alleged involvement in
lobbying on behalf of a fellow lawmaker in an embezzlement case.
Ma has also urged Wang to return home as soon as possible from Malaysia to
explain his actions, a move Yates described as “unusual.”
Wang left Taipei on Friday for Malaysia for his second daughter’s wedding.
“I think the challenge for President Ma is to explain to the country what the
higher purpose behind these tactical moves [is],” Yates said.
If Ma has a higher purpose that is supported by the public, he may be able to
earn more backing at a time when his administration has been beleaguered by low
approval ratings, Yates added.
Yates said he has a “strong guess” that Ma’s motivation is linked to plans for
handling the legislative review of the service trade agreement signed with China
in June.
Many analysts think that Wang is not keen to move the review process forward as
quickly as the Ma administration would like.
Yates said that checks and balances are the hardest part of the democratic
process.
Asked whether he believes Ma will be able to handle the case successfully, Yates
said Ma “has no choice but to face it.”
“I think Taiwan has been through a lot,” he said. “And it will get through this
too.”
Taiwan has made it through decades of democratization and now “the citizenry is
relatively stable; economic development is relatively stable,” he said.
A well-known expert on Asia security, Yates is now chief executive officer of DC
Asia Advisory, a Washington-based consultancy.
Wang has been accused of interfering in a legal case when he allegedly used his
influence in June to stop a prosecutor from appealing a not-guilty verdict in
favor of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
While admitting to calling then-minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) in June,
Wang has denied any wrongdoing.
Lawmakers are barred by law from from lobbying for people involved in an ongoing
legal case.
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