President, Now the Person Who Needs to Be Reformed Is You Yourself!

  President, Now the Person Who Needs to Be Reformed Is You Yourself!

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

September 6, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

Just as the election campaign for the ruling party is in the doldrums, President Tsai Ing-wen once again is playing the “reform card,” appealing for popular support. In the election campaign recently, the loudest slogan "all trades and all businesses support reform” is precisely such a product, but it seems to have lost the power to touch people’s hearts. The reason is that the people have witnessed the true picture of Tsai Ing-wen’s reforms after being in office for two years and four months; they have also witnessed the egocentrism of her governance. In other words, the expectations of the people for reform are no longer on the person of President Tsai. This slogan used by the DPP to galvanize the voters looks like an exercise in futility.

The greatest blunder of the DPP is that it believes complete control of the government means that it can do whatever it wants; reforming Taiwan to be the model that it has always wanted, thus, all resources could be distributed and put to use at will, not minding the people’s groaning or dire expectations. All of this has been self-embellished as "reforms." Also because of this, when the pensions for the military, civil servants, and public school teachers were cut, it was extremely proud; when seizing the KMT’s party assets, it looked down on all others; when pushing for the “one fixed holiday, one flexible day-off,” it was egotistic; when tourism operators were in despair as the number of Mainland tourists suddenly dropped, it showed not a bit of compassion; when allocating NT$100 billion for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Construction Plan, it refused to have any oversight; as the transformation of energy sources for the nuclear-free homeland obviously could not be reached, it went ahead just the same; when flooding in south Taiwan became a disaster, it forbade the opposition party to air criticisms.

If the people clearly realize that the basic essence of the DPP’s reforms is in reality "high-handedness," that is using the resources of the state for "partisan benefits." Let us ask, how many people are still willing to continue supporting this fake "reform card"? The support rating for Tsai Ing-wen has long fallen below 30%, yet she still plays the reform card; in fact, it is a huge blunder. Just imagine, the grassroots economy is in such doldrums; storefronts see a booming claw crane game machine economy; where would the DPP galvanize “a hundred trades" and “a hundred businesses” to support reforms? Not only that, President Tsai has prided herself on the “achievement” of pension reforms for the military, civil servants, and public school teachers, but precisely because the groups suffering the impact have begun to tighten their belts in consumption, leisure and travel spending, the reforms have affected the domestic restaurant and tourism industries, which are facing a threatening chill. The Tsai government has been bragging about the “achievement” of pension reforms, but can it truly be a plus for the ruling party?

After more than two years of governance that has lost touch with the heartbeat of the populace, what needs to be reformed now the most is in fact the mentality of governance on the part of President Tsai and the team under her leadership. There are three areas where Tsai Ing-wen needs to be reformed the most: First, is to immediately stop the various acts that rupture this country, including suspending the wonton alterations of Taiwan’s history, stopping the use of regions or communal groups to tear apart the people’s feelings, and pushing for the fundamental policies of the state, she should engage in effective communication with the opposition parties and people; the second is to stop the acts of governance that violate the Constitution and transgress the law, including not wantonly poaching private sector institutions and assets, and indiscriminately appointing unprofessional figures to serve as high government officials or envoys abroad, stopping extending hands into judicial and control organs, and other independent institutions so as to avoid leading to the collapse of the checks and balances of the five powers under the Constitution; third, put down ideological operations or high-pitched young literati-style rhetoric, stop the cross-Strait diplomatic confrontation without end, return to the initial ambition aimed at the people's welfare and economic development, allowing those who have lost their erstwhile standard of living because of Tsai Ing-wen's administration to regain their dignity.

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