It wasn’t difficult to find out how President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) spent his Lunar New Year holiday. Anyone who browsed news channels over the nine days could easily find Ma criss-crossing the nation, either busily campaigning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates for Saturday’s legislative by-elections or giving away red envelopes containing chocolate gold coins to temple visitors — often with KMT candidates standing close by.
It was festive and appropriate seeing the president spread holiday cheer and send out New Year greetings, but it is disturbing to see him perform his public duty with obvious partisan colors, blurring his roles as president and KMT chairman.