Wu met pro-Beijing politician in HK
　

'RIDICULOUS': The Cabinet dismissed DPP doubts about Wu Den-yih’s meeting with Leung Chun-ying, who is seen in Hong Kong as a possible successor to Donald Tsang
　

By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTERS
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 1

“Premier Wu has been consistent regarding the purpose of his visit to Hong Kong, which was to exchange ideas on disaster prevention measures.”— Su Jun-pin, Executive Yuan spokesman

The Executive Yuan yesterday said Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) met Hong Kong politician Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) during his visit to Hong Kong on Sept. 5.

Leung is the convenor of the non-official members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and has been mentioned in Hong Kong media as a likely successor to Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) as the territory’s chief executive in 2012.

Citing the timing of the trip — two days before the announcement that Wu would become premier — the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused Wu of meeting Chinese officials to discuss his premiership.

Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday rebutted the claim as “ridiculous.”

“The Republic of China is a sovereign independent country. Saying that Premier Wu had to report to [Chinese authorities] concerning his appointment was a ridiculous allegation,” Su said.

“Premier Wu has been consistent regarding the purpose of his visit to Hong Kong, which was to exchange ideas on disaster prevention measures,” Su said yesterday. “His accusers have to show proof.”

Su denied that the Executive Yuan had been embarrassed into acknowledging the meeting after Wu’s Hong Kong itinerary was made public by a political commentator on a talk show on Sunday night.

Su said Wu had not hidden the meeting from the public but had mentioned when approached by reporters in Kaohsiung County last Thursday that the itinerary of his Hong Kong trip had been “arranged by Dr Leung Chun-ying.”

Chung Nien-huang (鍾年晃), a political commentator, said on SET-TV’s Dahua News (大話新聞) that Wu had met Leung, citing a story published on Friday in the Chinese-language Hong Kong Economic Journal daily that revealed the meeting.

Wu’s trip to Hong Kong on Sept. 5 was first reported on Wednesday, with Wu saying he had gone to learn from Hong Kong’s experience dealing with mudslides.

A report in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), cited Wu’s secretary as saying that Wu had visited Hong Kong with his wife, newly wedded son and daughter-in-law for a “family gathering.”

His secretary said Wu had also taken the opportunity to learn about measures Hong Kong had taken to combat mudslides.

Paul Lin (林保華), a commentator on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) history, told the Taipei Times yesterday that Leung is an “underground member” of the CCP and well-trusted by Beijing.

Lin said Leung’s close connections with the CCP belied his claims that he is not involved with the party.

Lin said Leung was appointed by Chinese authorities in 1987 as secretary-general of the Basic Law Consultative Committee created in 1984 to gauge public opinion for a draft of the Hong Kong Basic Law ahead of the territory’s handover from Britain to China in 1997.

“The secretary-general was in charge of the commission, which showed his relationship with the CCP. Leung’s predecessor was also an underground member of the CCP,” Lin said.

Lin said Xu Jiatun (許家屯), who headed the Hong Kong branch of China’s state news agency Xinhua until 1990, wrote in memoirs published in 1993 that a friend of his knew first hand that Leung was a communist.

Xu, a former CCP member, fled to the US in 1990 after learning of a plan to purge him from the party because of his pro-­student stance during the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations.

“There is a high chance that Leung will replace Tsang. In July, when asked whether he would run for chief executive, Leung said he would rather talk about the issue later. [That was] different from the negative answers he had given before,” Lin said.

The DPP caucus yesterday continued to question the purpose of Wu’s trip.

DPP caucus whip Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) alleged that Wu had reported his selection by Ma as premier to Chinese officials in Hong Kong.

“Taiwanese have the right to know [if this is true],” Chai said.

DPP caucus secretary-general Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) told a press conference that Wu should make public the details of his activities on Sept. 5.

Yeh said it made no sense for Wu to visit Hong Kong to learn about preventing mudslides because Nantou County — Wu’s own legislative constituency — had suffered frequent landslides over the years.

“Premier Wu, don’t forget that you were a legislator elected by a Nantou constituency,” Yeh said. “Nantou has more experience with mudslides than Hong Kong. It would be better to take an inspection tour of Nantou.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) called the allegations nonsense.

At a dinner banquet hosted by Ma for KMT legislators in Taipei on Friday to solicit support for the new Cabinet and exchange ideas, Ma endorsed Wu’s Hong Kong trip, saying he was aware of it beforehand.

Ma said that Wu’s visit to Hong Kong to learn about civil engineering there was his idea.

While in Hong Kong, Wu said he had visited the Civil Engineering and Development Department and received information on mudslide prevention.

Bin Laden says US ‘powerless’ to end war in Afghanistan

AP, CAIRO
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 1

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden described US President Barack Obama as “powerless” to stop the war in Afghanistan and threatened to step up guerrilla warfare there in a new audiotape released to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in the US.

In the 11-minute tape, addressed to the American people, bin Laden said Obama was following the warlike policies of his predecessor George W. Bush and former vice president Dick Cheney and he urged Americans to “liberate” themselves from the influence of “neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby.”

The tape was posted on Islamic militant Web sites two days after the eighth anniversary of the 2001 attacks. Bin Laden usually addresses Americans in a message timed around the date of the attacks.

Bin Laden said Americans had failed to understand that al-Qaeda carried out the attacks in retaliation for US support for Israel.

If the US reconsiders its alliance with the Jewish state, al-Qaeda will respond on “sound and just bases.”

The Saudi construction magnate’s son-turned “holy warrior” and his deputies have frequently sought to wrap al-Qaeda in the Palestinian cause, seeking to draw support in the Arab world, where the issue is one of the public’s top concerns.

Al-Qaeda has also sought to depict Obama as no different from Bush, who was widely despised in the Arab world for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and his close support of Israel. Obama has won greater popularity in the region, giving a landmark speech in Cairo in June, moving to withdraw US troops from Iraq and taking a somewhat harder stance on Israel in the peace process.

“If you end the war [in Afghanistan], so let it be,” bin Laden said. “But if it is otherwise, all we will do is continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes.”

“You are waging a hopeless and losing war for the benefit of others, a war the end of which is not visible on the horizon,” he said, according to a translation of the tape posted yesterday by SITE Intelligence Group, a terrorist-monitoring firm, and by The Associated Press.

When Obama retained Defense Secretary Robert Gates of the the Bush administration, “reasonable people knew that Obama is a powerless man who will not be able to end the war as he promised,” bin Laden said.

Bin Laden devoted much of his address to discussing US connections with Israel and castigated Americans for failing to understand that the issue was behind al-Qaeda’s animosity.

Prosecutors to appeal sentences
　

DISPROPORTIONATE: Prosecutors said it was not fair for Huang Jui-ching to have to pay 67 times more than Tsai Ming-che to avoid serving time when she was less involved
　

By Shelley Huang and Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTERS
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 3
　

District prosecutors said they would appeal the sentences given former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) daughter-in-law, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), and family friend Tsai Ming-che (蔡銘哲) because the fines were disproportionate to their involvement in Chen’s corruption cases.

Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were found guilty of receiving kickbacks from a development company to pave the way for the construction of the Hsinchu Science Park by purchasing a plot of land in Taoyuan County from the company at a price prosecutors said was unreasonably high.

Former Hsinchu Science Park head James Lee (李界木) and Wu’s friend Tsai Ming-che were found guilty of pocketing part of the money and transferring kickbacks to accounts held by Chen family members.

Lee was sentenced to six years in prison and was deprived of his civil rights for three years. Tsai was sentenced to two years in prison, but could receive five years probation instead if he pays the treasury NT$3 million (US$92,000).

Huang was sentenced to one year and eight months and fined NT$150 million on money laundering charges. If she wants to receive probation in lieu of serving time, she must pay the treasury NT$200 million.

Prosecutors said they would appeal Huang and Tsai’s sentences because Huang would have to pay 67 times more than Tsai when it was clear that Tsai was heavily involved in the case while Huang was only partly involved. This was a violation of the principle of proportionality, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, Chen’s office yesterday said the former president had asked his lawyers to file an appeal but that he would not attend the hearings if his appeals were not handled in a fair and transparent manner.

Chen’s office issued a statement citing an anonymous source at the High Court as saying that after Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) released Chen from detention last year, Taiwan High Court President Huang Shui-tong (黃水通) asked Judge Chen Hsiao-pei (陳筱佩) to determine whether Chou should be removed from the former president’s cases even though Chen Hsiao-pei was abroad at the time.

“In other words, it was a clear case of administrative interference in a trial for the High Court president to designate a certain judge to handle a particular case,” the statement said.

If the High Court engages in such “petty maneuvering” and abuse of authority again, the former president would again consider refusing to attend hearings or remain silent in protest, the statement said.

Chen Shui-bian remained silent at his pre-trial hearings, staring in June, to protest what he described as an unfair judicial system. He also relinquished his right to call witnesses or speak in his defense, saying they were unnecessary because he was innocent.

He broke his silence at the end of his trial in late July when he reiterated that the switching of judges last year was unconstitutional and that there had been no procedural justice in his trial.

Others have also claimed the switch was politically motivated. Some legal experts also said the decision to merge the trials had violated judicial procedures.

Chen Shui-bian’s office has asked the Council of Grand Justices to rule on the legitimacy of his pre-trial detention and the switching of judges from Chou to Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓).

Taiwan High Court spokesperson Wen Yao-yuan (溫耀源) said yesterday that Chen Hsiao-pei had been selected from a random drawing, in accordance with the law.

As for which high court judge would preside over Chen Shui-bian’s appeal, Wen said the High Court would conduct a random drawing in accordance with the law and that the entire process would be transparent.

Primary raises doubts about Ma’s leadership of KMT
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 3

Former minister of health Yeh Ching-chuan’s (葉金川) loss in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) primary for Hualien County commissioner this month was a warning to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), analysts say.

Yeh was considered Ma’s handpicked candidate and his loss reflects unhappiness with Ma’s leadership, the pundits said.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Yeh’s loss was Ma’s first no-confidence vote. It also predicted the KMT would suffer a setback in the Yunlin County legislative by-election later this month.

Others ask whether Yeh’s loss indicated the beginning of the “post-Ma Ying-jeou era.”

Yeh resigned from the ministry on Aug. 3 amid mounting speculation that Ma wanted him to stand in the party primary, but despite criticism that he was quitting in the face of a widening swine flu threat.

The KMT nominated former Hualien County Agricultural Development Office director Tu Li-hua (杜麗華) following Yeh’s defeat. Complicating the issue is the refusal of KMT Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) and Hualien County Deputy Commissioner Chang Chih-ming (張志明) to give up bids for the Hualien County commissioner race.

Chang said he has the backing of Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-san (謝深山). Fu, however, enjoys widespread support and has topped several opinion polls.

The KMT excluded Fu from the party primary because he has a criminal record. He was convicted in May 2003 for speculating in Taiwan Pineapple Group shares in 1998 and an appeal is pending.

Wang Yeh-lih (王業立), a political science professor at National Taiwan University, said Yeh’s defeat posed a threat to Ma’s leadership and could create a domino effect.

“It indicates a decline in Ma’s leadership and popularity, especially after Typhoon Morakot,” he said, adding that some candidates had taken down posters or billboards featuring them with Ma.

As Ma is set to take over the KMT chairmanship next month, Wang said, the first hurdle he will face will be to prevent a split in the December elections.

Apart from Hualien, Taitung, Taoyuan and Hsinchu candidates are experiencing similar problems, he said.

The DPP could stand a good chance of winning some seats if Ma cannot convince other hopefuls to stand down.

“The political landscape will change dramatically if Ma fails in this task,” Wang said. “In a sense, it marks the beginning of the ‘post-Ma’ era, but it is still too early to tell.”

Ma will face a strong challenge to his leadership of the party if it wins fewer than 10 seats in city and county elections, Wang said.

Describing Yeh’s defeat as a warning, Wang said that although it was right for Ma to nominate someone with a clean reputation and national recognition, he failed to take Hualien’s peculiar political culture into account.

“Previous elections have taught both the pan-blue and pan-green camps that Hualien residents prefer someone who is local and spends time providing services to them,” Wang said. “Yeh’s defeat shows the KMT’s long-term indifference to cultivating local talent.”

Institute for National Development executive director Leou Chia-feng (柳嘉峰) said the DPP faced the same dilemma, citing the example of former Straits Exchange Foundation vice chairman Michael You (游盈隆), a Hualien native who failed three times in his bid to become county commissioner.

“As the DPP does not have the assets to compete with the KMT, its candidates must be eminent and have local connections or they do not stand a chance,” Leou said.

Although Ma’s selection of Yeh was a “good effort,” his sinking approval rating played a role in Yeh’s debacle, Leou said.

Yeh’s hesitation in resigning from the health department and a change of primary rules also took their toll, not to mention that he spent little time campaigning in the run-up to the primary, Leou said.

While it was too early to say if Yeh’s defeat marked the beginning of the “post-Ma Ying-jeou era,” Leou said it did reflect the disdain of local factions over Ma’s nominating style.

Local factions would only cooperate with Ma if they benefit from it, Leou said, adding that Ma could gradually win them over once he becomes KMT chairman because he will have more resources at his disposal.

“Ma is still in the trial and error stage as party chairman,” Leou said. “One thing is certain, however. He must make compromises if he wishes to strike a balance between taking care of the interests of local factions and his own.”

One way to pacify Fu and Hsieh would be to dish out favors, Leou said, including offering jobs.

“But then again, this is nothing new,” he said. “We see this happen every four years.”

Nanhua University professor Wang Szu-wei (王思為) said Yeh’s defeat showed Ma had failed to use his personal charm to overcome local factions.

“He thought he could duplicate the Taipei City model, but he failed to realize the city has its own political culture,” Wang Szu-wei said.

The DPP’s struggle for one voice

Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 8

Exceptional circumstances call for exceptional action, and there is no doubt that Taiwan faces an exceptional predicament: Despite the Cabinet reshuffle that followed the mishandling of Typhoon Morakot, the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is becoming increasingly detached from the public and impervious to criticism.

From the harsh ruling in the trial of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) — marred by a reassignment of judges, political meddling and a ruling smacking of political retribution — to the administration’s refusal to listen to dissenting voices on cross-strait relations, the government is acting according to an agenda that mocks transparency and ignores popular misgivings.

The Ma administration has coped with the post-Morakot crisis and the Chen trial verdict partly because the opposition is weakened and unable to find a voice capable of forcing the president to listen.

Part of this is the result of fragmentation that occurred within the pan-green camp during Chen’s second term. In the process, light-green and other centrist voters were marginalized, which, added to a struggling economy, made it easy for the pan-blue camp to secure the presidency in last year’s election.

Roundly defeated in legislative and presidential elections, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is struggling to get back on its feet. When allegations of corruption were made against the former first family, the party took another hit, and its response — distancing itself from Chen and then censuring him — itself fueled party disunity.

The pan-green camp should be seeking a unified voice to counter Ma’s pro-China policies, but pan-green figureheads continue to make emotional appeals that only discredit the entire movement.

Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), for example, continues to trade in hyperbole, such as when she described the ruling in Chen’s trial as “Taiwan’s Sept. 11,” a declaration that both distracted the public from the sinister ramifications of the ruling and disrespected the victims of the terrorist attacks in the US eight years ago. Even bookish DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at times speaks in exaggerated tones.

The time has come for party leaders to avoid preposterous language, regain the trust of “light greens” and revive the party’s appeal to “light blues.”

It is clear that demonstrations, however large and rowdy, will not persuade Ma to act more cautiously on China policy. Furthermore, with signs that an economic memorandum of understanding with China could be signed as early as next month and an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) early next year, waiting until 2012 to exact electoral retribution on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) may be too late. Even the year-end local elections will only have a marginal effect on national policies.

The Ma government is rapidly altering the political balance of the cross-strait “status quo” by exacerbating Taiwan’s dependence on China and opening the door to Chinese influence in the real-estate, banking and media sectors.

With all this in train, Taiwan simply cannot afford to see more of the same from the pan-green camp. Its leaders must professionalize and fine-tune their rhetoric, break out of the confines of the electoral cycle and establish concrete links with influential members of the international community.

New, powerful voices both within and outside Taiwan must be added to the mix. Then, and only then, will Ma be forced to listen.

Ma is taking control, but can Wu?
　

By Shih Cheng-Feng 施正鋒
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 8

It came as a real surprise that Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) was appointed to lead the Cabinet; his predecessor Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) had been certain that there would only be a minor reshuffle. Perhaps the size of the discrepancy between public expectations and performance and the need to restore public approval forced President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to make Liu assume all responsibility for the government’s handling of Typhoon Morakot. It is clear, however, that the new Cabinet line-up is mediocre.

Wu, formerly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general, prevailed over Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), so the potentially popular triumvirate of Ma, Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Hu did not materialize. But the well-regarded Chu is likely the one whom Ma wants to nurture as successor. The only reasonable explanation for the sudden choice of Wu is that Ma wanted him to cover for Chu, especially since it is uncertain that the KMT — even with its hands on government resources — will do well in city and county elections at the end of the year.

The Nantou-born Wu has served as legislator, county commissioner and even mayor of a special municipality (Kaohsiung). He missed out only on running for provincial governor. Historical experience shows that serving as either Taipei or Kaohsiung mayor is a precursor to becoming premier and even president.

Although Wu lacks experience in the central government, he is the only suitable candidate among the pan-blue political elite, apart from People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who performed well during his time as provincial governor, and KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄).

However, whether one views the new Cabinet as “election-oriented” or as one that “fills the cracks,” the line-up indicates that Wu has limited influence over personnel arrangements; some Cabinet members were even retained at the president’s request. This points to the transitional nature of Wu’s premiership.

So, besides the power of appointment over the heads of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council, Ma has a decisive say over the appointment of other portfolios that are traditionally the realm of the premier. The new Cabinet is thus an extension of Ma’s personnel strategy during his two terms as Taipei mayor. With his original cadres staying on, Ma has grabbed the opportunity to put his people in charge of the eight key ministries.

If former minister of foreign affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) was replaced because he was out of the loop and former minister of national defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) stepped down because of his handling of disaster relief, the replacement of former minister of education Cheng Jei-cheng (鄭瑞城) is not so easily explained. It seemed that Cheng lost his job because he smiled while inspecting schools in disaster zones — something that was shown on pan-green broadcast media outlets. But the real reason was his unwillingness to listen to pan-blue-camp legislators. Accusations that he was “light green” or not “blue” enough were just pretexts for his dismissal.

Former Research, Development and Evaluation Commission chairman Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) had planned on returning to academia, but he was retained by Ma and put in charge of the Ministry of the Interior.

Under late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), the interior ministry was in charge of police, household registration, social clubs and religious matters, but it was also the ministry with the most complicated duties and the least respect. With ethnic balance in mind, this portfolio was retained for Taiwanese politicians.

When the Democratic Progressive Party took power, Mainlander academics took the portfolio based on similar considerations.

When Ma assumed office, he had Taiwanese take over foreign affairs-related portfolios because the premier was a Mainlander. His latest move to control the interior ministry, however, reflects his ambition to suppress local factions.

If academics in their ivory towers struggle to show sympathy for the public, then politicians tend to be characterized by their affection for the ordinary voter. It is often the case that civil servants-turned-political appointees are incapable of shouldering responsibilities despite their expertise. Compared with the previous “academic Cabinet,” some are calling the new line-up a “public opinion” Cabinet because Wu and Chu began their political careers through election.

However, the majority of Cabinet members remain technical experts. If Ma has control over KMT headquarters, then the biggest challenge for the loquacious premier will come from the legislature.

Before resigning, Liu said: “God bless the Republic of China; God bless the people of Taiwan.”

This suggests that Wu will be needing the blessing of his compatriots.

Shih Cheng-feng is dean of the College of Indigenous Studies at National Dong Hwa University.

Suffering old wine in new bottles

Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 8

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has been playing the reshuffle game. By forcing Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and some in his Cabinet to step down and appointing Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Eric Chu (朱立倫) as the new premier and deputy premier and charging them to form a new Cabinet, he has attempted to alleviate public complaints and improve his own standing.

The new Cabinet was announced on Wednesday evening. In general, it seems to be old wine in new bottles.

The new Cabinet does not make up for Ma’s dour administrative style, his lack of efficiency in governance or his lack of daring and determination.

Instead, he has found himself another group of people to implement old policies. The result is a reshuffle that will not help revitalize the economy, which has been in a disastrous state since the second half of last year. Taiwan’s future continues to look uncertain.

The new Cabinet seems to have given many people renewed hope, but a closer look shows that the situation the government has created over the past year has left us with worse government debt and a larger deficit than expected.

Concrete economic benchmarks such as economic growth, the unemployment rate, growth in imports and exports and per capita GDP are all declining. As daily life gets harder by the day, the public is at wit’s end.

Will the new Cabinet adjust the government’s cross-strait policy? Will there be a change to the thinking that would leave Taiwan’s economy completely dependent on China?

If this distorted thinking is not thoroughly revised, we cannot see how the new Cabinet could usher in a wind of change and save Taiwan from suffering tremendous damage.

Pouring old wine into new bottles only deals with the manifestation of a problem, not the problem itself, so there is no reason for long-suffering Taiwanese to believe that this “remedy” will have any effect.

Appointing a new Cabinet when the president retains all decision-making powers means that nothing will change. With the cause of a sickness still in place, there will be no new medicine.

The government has two main afflictions: The economy and the cross-strait situation. Both are on the verge of becoming terminal.

On the economy, some indicators have improved.

The stock market index and the real estate market have improved slightly, but that is because interest rates are too low. The low cost of capital has created excess idle funds that have moved into financial markets, and this is the reason for the rising stock market and increasing real estate prices. It is, in fact, a bubble economy of sorts.

But there are deteriorating indicators, too: Unemployment for July reached a record high of 6.07 percent, and growth in the first quarter of the year fell to an unprecedented minus 10.13 percent. Further, exports for the first half fell by 32.1 percent and taxes for the January to August period were NT$205.3 billion below target, the highest figure for uncollected taxes for that period in any year.

These data again show that the economy has showed no signs of improving since the beginning of the financial crisis last year.

The stock market is a money game. A rising stock market offers a bit of pie in the sky; it doesn’t necessarily mean the economy is on the way back. For that to happen, the seeds of growth must first be planted in fertile soil.

To save the economy, the government must come up with ways of rewarding business investment.

It should offer tax and land benefits to companies that remain in Taiwan and hire local labor, and develop policies aimed at nursing industry in general, not just those that meet temporary political needs.

The high-tech industry has enjoyed tax deductions and exemptions — but it has still moved much of its operations to China. Meanwhile, traditional industries that provide most of the nation’s jobs must take on an extra tax burden. Future policy aimed at helping industry should make Taiwan’s interests its first priority rather than focus on a selected few.

Businesses that create jobs should receive benefits. Most important, the goal should be to create a complete industrial chain in which neither up, mid or downstream companies will find it advantageous to move overseas. This is the only way to create a cluster effect that strengthens competitiveness.

The fact is that when it comes to revitalizing Taiwan’s economy, the public can exert influence on which government policies are put in place. What it cannot do is dictate the vitality of global economic development. In this context, the Taiwanese and Chinese economies are competitors, not partners.

Pinning Taiwan’s hopes of economic development on China is a mistake. Cross-strait policies built on this poorly developed idea will only put Taiwan on the road to oblivion.

The members of the new Cabinet are clearly tools for the implementation of Ma’s unification policy.

With these people at the helm, it will be impossible to come up with a new strategy to find a way out for the economy. Such a government is unworthy of the hopes and expectations of the nation’s voters.
　

A Cabinet for polls, not dependable governance
　

By Lai I-Chung 賴怡忠
Tuesday, Sep 15, 2009, Page 8

While the timing and details of the Cabinet reshuffle came as a surprise, the axing of premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) is not inexplicable. The composition of the new Cabinet, with some ministers replaced and others staying on, shows that the reshuffle is aimed at maintaining the government’s pro-China policies and improving the prospects of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in local elections in December.

The features of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) third-rate government that gave rise to public resentment remain unchanged. Given Ma’s refusal to admit to any fault on his part, all we can do is pray that Heaven will protect Taiwan until the next presidential election in 2012.

Typhoon Morakot and the ensuing floods led to the premier’s resignation, but other factors contributed to growing unease with the government.

Ma’s administration has belittled Taiwan’s sovereignty, drained the nation’s assets and politicized the judiciary, backtracking on democratic gains won over the years. But it is the government’s persistent arrogance and lack of common sense in the face of death and destruction during and after the typhoon that has revealed its reckless and uncaring attitude. Public opinion has turned sharply against the government, putting it on the defensive. It was therefore right that Liu stepped down.

The National Security Council (NSC) was widely criticized for turning down offers of aid from abroad following the typhoon, but it refuses to acknowledge its mistake or recognize the national security implications of the disaster. By turning down aid when it was offered, the NSC damaged Washington’s confidence in Taipei just as trust between Taiwan and Japan is at its lowest point since the countries broke off diplomatic relations in 1972. All this is a consequence of giving cross-strait relations priority over other ties based on the idea that Taiwan is part of China.

NSC Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) remains in his post, as does Mainland Affairs Council (陸委會) Minister Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), indicating that the government intends to maintain its pro-China stance and work toward an economic cooperation framework agreement with China, which will further harm Taiwan’s interests and diminish its sovereignty.

New Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) were tasked with forming a Cabinet, but there has been no change in the leadership of some ministries directly responsible for handling the typhoon, including the Public Construction Commission, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Council of Agriculture. Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德), who has been running up public debt, also remains in his post.

The reshuffle is not aimed at dealing with problems thrown up by Morakot, and economic policies driving the economy deeper into the red will continue. All Ma has done is put two political stars with local administrative experience at the head of the Cabinet to present a fresh facade and salvage the KMT’s dented prospects for December’s elections.

The new Cabinet will thus continue leaning toward China, gutting the nation’s finances and using the police and courts to hunt down political opponents. Public resentment following the typhoon has led to a desire for change, but Ma’s appointments show that he is not interested.

His attitude contrasts sharply with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who appointed one of his harshest critics, Han Seung-soo, as prime minister, and Japanese prime minister-elect Yukio Hatoyama, who has set himself the task of freeing the country from the hold of bureaucrats. Lee and Hatoyama chose Cabinet members with the public interest in mind, but Taiwan’s government is concerned only with winning elections.

Lai I-chung is an executive committee member of Taiwan Thinktank.