Last week both Sean Lien (連勝文) and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) made thinly veiled attacks on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his handling of the economy. Lien remarked that whoever is elected as the next mayor of Taipei, given the sluggish economy, “could be, at the very most, the master of a beggar clan,” while Wu commented that Ma was guilty of selecting individuals for important government posts from too narrow a group.
Senior members of the KMT and the party spokesperson hit back at Lien and Wu, but nothing was heard from Ma. It was only when he made a personal appearance, after the furor failed to dissipate, that everyone realized that Ma had asked senior party members and the party spokesperson to speak out on his behalf.