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Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ma Ying-jeou's Cabinet Reshuffle: Ah-Q's Last Stand?

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has barely begun his second term as president; yet already he seems to be circling the wagons in a hopeful last-ditch defensive effort to fulfill a final fantasy. It is true that there have been warning signs and indications that popular confidence in him achieving anything was on the wane. His re-election figures certainly told part of the story. In 2008, his margin of victory was by 2, 213, 485 votes; in 2012 after four years of lackluster performance his 2 million plus victory margin votes had dropped to 797,561 votes (327, 973 if one would add James Soong's votes to the opposition). Following that his post election approval ratings have continued to sink down to the embarrassing range of 15 per cent and lower. All these should be signs that he needs to switch gears and work together with the opposition and not isolate himself. Instead he has chosen the opposite path and resorted to new, desperate and unusual measures in his cabinet reshuffle.

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Emperor fiddling as Taiwan burns

“Incompetent” and “arrogant” have often been used by critics to describe President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in light of his poor governance. However, in view of his administration’s recent personnel reshuffle, it seems “selfish” could also be added to the list of adjectives, given that Ma appears more interested in “leaving a legacy” than in tackling the nation’s economic woes.

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Chen Shui-bian has slight fever, son says


Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair, second left, cheers supporters of former president Chen Shui-bian as they deliver a petition for medical parole to the Ministry of Justice in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: CNA

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had a slight fever which could be related to an infection, his son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), said yesterday.

Chen Chih-chung broke the news in a Facebook post, saying the cause behind his father’s illness has yet to be determined, but it could be related to a urinary tract infection.

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Choice of diplomatic rookies all due to King

When President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) appointed the 43-year-old Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) to head the Mainland Affairs Council, there wasan uproar. It was not a matter of his age, but of his experience, or lack thereof. Wang is a rookie, with no experience in foreign relations and no experience in dealing with China. One could even make the case that he lacks any practical political experience whatsoever. And yet now he has been propelled, in a single bound, into a key position in China relations. It’s difficult to know where to start in describing such a decision.

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Newsflash

Academia Sinica researcher and Sunflower movement leader Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday announced his decision to become a member of the New Power Party (NPP), urging more young people to join the political party launched in January by prominent social activists.

Huang, who played a central role in the Sunflower movement protests last year, told a news conference in Taipei that he remained undecided over whether to enter next year’s legislative contest.