After Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) took over as premier last month, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) set a “3-4-5” goal that he said the Cabinet should reach this year: an average salary increase of 3 percent, an unemployment rate below 4 percent and an economic growth rate of above 5 percent.
Surprisingly, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) fired back, quoting former Council for Economic Planning and Development minister Yiin Chii-ming’s (尹啟銘) latest post on his personal blog.
Yiin said that if the “3-4-5” demand is considered reasonable, and if the KMT government fails to achieve the goal by the end of the year, that would be evidence that the DPP has not worked hard enough to assist the public.
He ended with a question: “Should Su not be punished for this as DPP chairman?”
This really was a world-class joke. The KMT holds more than half of the legislative seats and should now live up to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign slogan: “complete government power, complete political accountability.”
Still, this missive by the KMT’s publicity system shows that after gaining complete power, Ma, who has served concurrently as the KMT chairman for almost five years, has implemented a new party-state system.
Not only has he forgotten his promise of complete political accountability, he has also turned complete unaccountability into his specialty. Faced with public complaints, he either blames the former DPP government or the opposition parties while claiming that the performance of his administration is the best in history.
Ma’s attitude seems to be that the previous government was responsible for building a solid foundation for his political achievements and that the opposition parties are responsible for helping him accomplish his political tasks. If his administration’s performance is unsatisfactory, it is not his fault. Rather, the previous government and the current opposition parties are to blame.
Perhaps Ma believes that Taiwan is prospering under his great leadership and that his low approval rating of 13 percent is a result of the public’s lack of appreciation.
In addition, he insists on forcing through his own major policies because he wants to thoroughly implement the so-called “1992 consensus” and “eventual unification.”
Since opposition from the Taiwanese public and the opposition parties lies behind his lackluster political achievements, he does not think that he should be blamed.
Despite Ma’s complete hold on power, the KMT’s publicity machine is asking Su to take responsibility, highlighting the party’s domineering and unreasonable attitudes.
Jiang recently stressed that he would actively communicate with the opposition parties. However, on the highly controversial issue of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), Ma concluded, even before initial dialogue with the opposition and social groups, that construction should be resumed.
How dare a president with an approval rating of only 13 percent be so arrogant? Because he has nothing to fear as he serves concurrently as KMT chairman, and controls the party and its assets, which allows him to direct KMT legislators to bully the public.
Although his approval rating keeps dropping to new lows, he insists on running for KMT chairmanship once again. The reason for that bid is self-evident.
Under the KMT’s new party-state system, Ma controls the Cabinet and other government agencies from the Presidential Office without having to take any responsibility.
Moreover, under the cover of his KMT chairmanship, he controls more issues under the table, also without having to take any responsibility. The KMT even gave Su a Lunar New Year present, asking him to take full responsibility. This is not the place to further debate democracy with these KMT party hacks.
According to their theory, Su should be punished if the government fails to achieve the “3-4-5” goal. Why do they not simply say that whoever disapproves of Ma’s conduct, and thus contributes to his 13 percent approval rating, should be sent off to labor reform to be brainwashed?
Everything from the fuel and electricity price hikes to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant following the presidential election last year shows that as Ma serves concurrently as the KMT chairman, the party’s heavyweights — including the premier, the legislative speaker, the presidents of the Examination, Judicial and Control yuans and legislators — must listen to this “dictator.” Although he is unpopular, he is still powerful and can do whatever he wants.
All he cares about is a third term as KMT chairman and his historical legacy. Everyone else is expendable. Now that the Taiwanese public, the masters of the country, have dumped their 13 percent president, the question is: Will the KMT also go down with their “dictator”?
Translated by Eddy Chang