Summing Up Accomplishments in the Three Years? Tsai Ing-wen Couldn’t Even Convince Lai Ching-te

 Summing Up Accomplishments in the Three Years? Tsai Ing-wen Couldn’t Even Convince Lai Ching-te

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

May 21, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

May 20^th marked the third anniversary of President Tsai’s inauguration. She called a press conference on the theme of "Summing Up Accomplishments in the Three Years, the Keywords for Taiwan's Progress", and enumerated the achievements of her administration, hoping that the people would help her "overcome the barriers", allowing her to stay in power. However, she forgot that the DPP, under her leadership, suffered a stunning defeat in last yearend’s elections, and Lai Ching-te, the premier she herself appointed, was now presenting her a challenge.

Looking back at May 20^th three years ago, at that time, all walks of life showed warm feelings toward the values of progress and rationality that she advocated; while the DPP’s absolute numerical superiority in the Legislative Yuan was the best support for her "complete control of government." Who knew, once in actual politics, her “values of progress", however, became self-limitation, with no capacity to adjust the gap between ideals and reality. Her "rational humility", however, became cold arrogance, even oblivious to the grievances and fury of the people. This is the principal reason why the DPP suffered a disastrous defeat in the 9-in-1 local elections last yearend.

If Tsai Ing-wen indeed had accomplished a lot in the three years of her government, how come the DPP had to swallow the bitter fruit of the humiliating defeat in last yearend’s elections? And on what grounds did Lai Ching-te blatantly stand up to challenge her? The reason lies in that the comrades within the party have all seen through her problems, while she herself could not change. It is her headstrong attitude that President Tsai has been optimistic in interpreting the three years under her rule; while through her personnel appointments and approach to affairs of state, the public could not but see her feebleness and peril.

The most apparent indications are two: First, the picture of her personnel appointments has been totally revealed: Lai Ching-te, the premier whose ties of cooperation with her were the longest, is now publically challenging her, and the current Su Tseng-chang Cabinet is filled with losers from the local elections; if she were given four more years, the situation could only get worse. Second, she has exhausted her capability in self-adjustment: Tsai Ing-wen is self-confident and never calls it quits; even when her policies hit the wall, she would not adjust, never admitting failure. Cross-Strait policies have reached a deadlock, but she still insists on her bellicose attitude. Thus, it could be seen that she persists in her obstinacy, but could not make choices for the better; this is the most perilous leader of a nation.

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