Ma administration should listen to the people, and put away its arrogance

DPP’s Director of Communication and Information Cheng Wen-tsang said today (June 20th) that he believes the Ma administration to be ineffective and disorganized, and pointed out the dramatic drop of his approval rating since coming into office. The stock market, which has since crashed to an estimated 1200 points from 9295 points at Ma’s inauguration, and the market’s loss of $3 trillion NT has not met the public’s expectation.

Director Cheng points out that the stock market is a vital portal into the economy, and President Ma promised to stimulate the economy during his presidential campaign and many stockholders in the Ma administration entered the stock market with this bold promise. However poor performance of the flailing stock market has since forced investors to bail out indicating low investor confidence in the Taiwanese market. Director Cheng emphasizes that if President Ma wishes to save his reputation, he needs to keep his promise and make the economy his first priority and bear the responsibilities of his administration’s mistakes.

Director Cheng notes that although President Ma wishes for Premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s cabinet to be on the frontline, Premier Liu has always held the attitude of a scholar, making strategic decisions from his office. Even his recent decision to visit the countryside was made because of increasing pressures from the public sector. In the past month, Premier Liu has only made lackluster, delayed efforts to visit central and southern Taiwan after the devastating floods. Director Cheng asserts that democracy in Taiwan has reached a high note and urges Liu’s cabinet to set its arrogance aside and step out of the comfort of its offices and really listen to what the people needs. Director Cheng hopes that Liu can make efforts to make decisions from outside his office and do more to serve the people beyond cursory inspections.

Furthermore, the Ma administration’s economic advisory group is gambling with Taiwan’s future economy by placing too much emphasis on the development of closer ties with China. Such a move is not only highly risky but also delusional. We can see that even after increased activity between Taiwan and China, there has been no significant improvement or development in the stock market. The protection of Taiwan’s economy by attracting Taiwanese businessmen to keep their investments and businesses in Taiwan amidst rising freight costs and changes in the Chinese investments market should be a priority.

In regards to DPP members being nominated for positions in the Examination Yuan and Control Yuan, Director Cheng states that these nominated members will have their DPP memberships revoked accordingly. The party will also keep the nomination list under strict scrutiny. Director Cheng pointed out that many of the names on the nominated list for Control Yuan had expressed support for Ma during the presidential campaigns, whether or not this is a coincidence or a previously worked out agreement should be clarified. Director Cheng emphasizes that the KMT effectively blocked many of the Control Yuan’s appointments in the past for two years when the DPP was in office, and has only agreed to nominate candidates for the Control Yuan after it took office. This is indicative of the KMT’s willingness to disregard the constitutional system to uphold bipartisan politics.

As for KMT Central Standing Committee member Lien Sheng-wen accusing Taiwan of only having third-rate airports during the KMT Central Standing Committee’s recent discussion of Chinese tourists coming to Taiwan, DPP legislator William Lai already pointed out that the majority of Taiwan’s airports were erected during Lien Chan’s terms as Minister of Transportation and Communications and Premier of Taiwan. This indicates that the KMT failed to consider long-term sustainability while planning these projects. As a result, failure to provide adequate preparations and repairs to anticipate direct charter flights could jeopardize safety and quality of service, all of which should have been considered during the initial planning procedures. Lien Sheng-wen’s criticism brings to light that Ma’s administration planned inadequately for these proposed immediate flights.

KMT Central Standing Committee member Shuai Hua-ming’s comment that girls in Alishan are not much prettier is indicative of KMT’s lack of understanding for Taiwan and its values, and also of its arrogant attitude towards the indigenous people of Taiwan. Director Cheng emphasizes that Shuai’s comments are highly inappropriate and it is necessary that he apologizes to these indigenous people.

Ma administration should listen to the people, and put away its arrogance