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EDITORIAL: Opening
credits of political drama
Most Taiwanese, media outlets and economists owe President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) an
apology. Ma is neither stupid nor inept: The swiftness, accuracy and
ruthlessness with which he acted against Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng
(王金平), a political enemy with almost 15 years experience as speaker, would make
even Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) envious, considering his handling of
former Chinese Communist Party Chongqing secretary Bo Xilai (薄熙來).
Ma may not be very good at running the country, but he is an expert at political
power struggles, leaving his opponent with no immediate room to maneuver.
Using wiretapping records from the Special Investigation Division (SID),
Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) learned about a telephone conversation
Wang had with Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
After comparing that with records of Wang’s conversations with former minister
of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) and High Prosecutors’ Office Head Prosecutor Chen
Shou-huang (陳守煌), Ma disregarded any concerns that the wiretapping might be
illegal and moved to eliminate Wang.
Accompanied by Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺),
Ma held a press conference at the Presidential Office and said this was “the
most shameful day in the development of Taiwan’s democracy” and: “If this was
not influence peddling, then what is?”
Ma clearly does not care that the president — although constitutionally higher
than the legislative speaker — cannot direct and control the speaker. Although
Ma is also chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and dealing with a
party member, in doing so at the Presidential Office he used the wrong status
and the wrong forum.
Wang should have had an opportunity to explain and defend himself against the
accusations of illegal lobbying. However, the Presidential Office and the
Cabinet had already made plans for dealing with the legislature and they were
just waiting for the KMT’s disciplinary committee to expel Wang and strip him of
his status as legislator-at-large.
They did not give Wang a chance to defend himself and acted without waiting for
his return to Taiwan. Ma’s swift and crafty reaction was very different from how
he handled corruption scandals surrounding former Cabinet secretary-general Lin
Yi-shih (林益世) and former KMT Taipei City councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如).
Ma received Huang’s report on Aug. 31 and Wang departed for Malaysia to attend
his daughter’s wedding on Sept. 6. One hour after Wang’s departure, at a press
conference, Huang informed the media of the report. Ma, who had approved Wang’s
leave and knew that he would be on an isolated Malaysian island, made a show of
demanding that Wang return immediately to make it seem as if Wang was unwilling
to do so. The party’s disciplinary committee meeting was set to take place in
the morning on the day after Wang returned, giving him no time to prepare a
response.
This is a lesson in advanced political infighting, and Ma should be given an
award for his directing and screenwriting. However, Ma seems to have forgotten
that his counterpart is not a character in a political thriller; he will not
stick to the script.
Wang probably has the widest political network, reaching across party lines from
the central government down to local governments. With almost 40 years of
legislative experience and an understanding of legal and political issues, he
has few peers.
Judging from the political strength from his wide support base and the legal
knowledge he displayed at Wang’s press conference, Ma has overestimated himself
and underestimated his opponent. The KMT’s disciplinary committee may have
expelled Wang from the party, but Wang has appealed the decision.
The show is just beginning.
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