A Talk with President Tsai on the Fitness of Su Tseng-chang as Premier

 A Talk with President Tsai on the Fitness of Su Tseng-chang as Premier

 United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

October 29, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

Generally speaking, there are three yardsticks to measure whether or not a political appointee is fit for his position: one is his knowledge, second is his capability, and the third is his stature. It may be difficult for the public to require every political appointee to have both talent and virtue, as well as excellent knowledge, but at a minimum the character and education of a premier must not be lower than common folks, and he must accept public scrutiny of his capability of governance. With these standards to examine Su Tseng-chang’s performance, he indeed lets people down. He has repeatedly taken the lead to degrade the quality of Taiwan's democracy, undermining Taiwan's political culture. Does President Tsai truly believe that by appointing a premier with low style, he is fit and helpful for the electoral prospects of the DPP?

During Tsai Ing-wen’s term, she has appointed three premiers, among whom Su Tseng-chang’s performance was the most startling. He unabashedly strikes a pose and lingo of a pompous high official, mobilizing, with all efforts, executive resources to pep up his own political party, and twisting without any taboos the values of democracy for his own sophistry, and thinking of nothing to step on the bottom line of morality for an off-key performance to show his personal loyalty.

For the dispute over Chan Tong-kai's possible trip to Taiwan to surrender himself, Su Tseng-chang issued an obviously incongruous "devil talk", criticizing Ma Ying-jeou and the lawyer who provided consultations to Chen Tong-kai; as the remarks were extremely shocking, they elicited wide attention of outside circles. From Su Tseng-chang’s performance, it lets people witness the despicable phenomenon of democracy’s retrogression in Taiwan; however, the DPP does not feel anything about this retrogression. Undeniably, Su Tseng-chang, in early years, had his glorious moment being a human rights lawyer but being twice appointed premier in 13 years, wielding great powers, yet he only let people witness his old, behind the times pomposity of his officialdom.

Tsai Ing-wen has appointed three premiers, with diminishing results in the end. Should she win re-election and Su Tseng-chang being reappointed, then so far as the public is concerned, it would be prolonged anti-democratic days to bear. Just imagine, if a man of haughty officialese with vicious language and despicable acts, apt at employing public office for personal use, continues to sit high on the council of the state, exhibiting all day long his authority, shouting and scolding around, then does this country still have a future? The Tsai government is now riding on the coattails of Hong Kong's protests and demonstrations over the amendment bill to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, and its prospects look good. However, if crediting all these to Premier Su Tseng-chang's "enlightened leadership," that would be extremely absurd!

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