Scrutiny of Governance: Is President Tsai Ing-wen Truly Unafraid?

  Scrutiny of Governance: Is President Tsai Ing-wen Truly Unafraid?

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

January 18, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

President Tsai Ing-wen has been stumping for DPP candidates for the year-end local elections; she said, "in reforms, I am not afraid of offending people." On appearance, she was not afraid, but by spitting out those words, how could she remain guiltless? Look at the President's troops and deployment in her trip to Nantou. On that day, she made a thirteen minute whirlwind speech, wasting over a thousand men, about half of Nantou’s police force to maintain security and order; the heavy deployment elicited questioning from local residents: Has Zhongxing New Village been placed under "martial law rule"? Was this the proof that a president was "not afraid"?

Tsai Ing-wen cares about security and order, on the one hand, because the performance of her government is not good, eliciting protesting public like a stalking horse; but a more crucial factor is that the DPP, when in opposition, expressed support for the Sunflower student movement, withdrawing the criminal charges once in power, tantamount to “legitimizing the actions of occupying government agencies by protesters. However, now that the DPP itself has become the target of protesters, it must bear in mind its tolerance and patience vis-à-vis the occupation of government agencies by young students. For more than a year, from the Legislative Yuan to the Presidential Plaza, barricades equipped with sharp blades and barbed wire have been widely used, creating an unprecedented record. The DPP’s image of "standing with the people," has been totally destroyed; heightening the walls around government buildings was an idea too late to be implemented. How could someone say she was not afraid without embarrassment?

In fact, using "not being afraid to offend people" to scrutinize the reforms Tsai Ing-wen had pledged to pursue, it is not lacking in instances. Instance 1: After the lavish party of the National Affairs Conference, where is the Judicial Reform? Instance 2: The Labor Standards Act was revised twice within a short period of time; the flip-flopping has been ridiculed as "The Labor Standards Act Becoming the Capital Standards Act." Instance 3: Tsai Ing-wen has always expressed support for “same-sex marriage.” However, recently she made a sudden turn, citing an "elder who has always been respected and who has genuine affection for Taiwan" as her shield for the complexities and impossibility for implementation.

Scrutinizing the achievements of her governance, scrutinizing the fruits of the reforms, scrutinizing her support ratings in polls, scrutinizing the protest activities in the streets, scrutinizing the level of security arrangements for the Presidential Palace and the central government agencies, and finally one day, the public will scrutinize the historical appraisal of Tsai Ing-wen. May we ask, is President Tsai truly unafraid?

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