By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The government under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), last year in particular, was full of lies and acted irresponsibly, with Ma’s own character flaws at the root of the problems, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
“Ma did not practice what he preached and there was no such thing as responsible politics in the government under his watch. All we can say is: ‘Shame on him,’” DPP Policy Research Committee Executive Director Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a press conference in on Ma’s performance last year
Wu said Ma’s performance could be easily assessed by two standards that apply to all politicians — whether he “walked his talk” and how he handled political responsibility.
Most of Ma’s campaign pledges ended up as “bounced checks,” Wu said, citing his promises of a military budget of at least 3 percent, reconciliation with the opposition and divestment of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) ill-gotten assets, as well as his pledges to fight corruption and vote-buying and cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Not a single government official reprimanded or replaced during Ma’s terms for traffic accidents, poor rescue and rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of natural disasters and diplomatic scandals, Wu said, adding that that gave public servants the impression they would not have to take responsibility for what they did.
Ma had no one to blame but himself for what Taiwan is experiencing today — a stagnant economy and numerous problems in environment and national finances, among others, DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
The president is the root of all problems because he has neither a vision for this country nor a competent team, such as competent administrative and legislative branches, to handle national affairs, he said.
Moreover, Ma has proven incapable of coordinating and communicating with the public and his party members, Ker added.
Lin Wan-i (林萬億), executive director of the DPP’s think tank, said it was not surprising that Taiwanese are suffering financially, citing key indicators, including the unemployment rate, average salary, consumer price index, national debt and the numbers of low-income households and foreign workers.
Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), president of the pro-independence think tank Taiwan Brain Trust, said one of Ma’s biggest failures was declining investment volumes.
Wu said investment volume is the most important economic indicator because it was related to trade activity and employment, but the nation has performed poorly during the past two years, registering investment growth rates of minus 7.88 percent in 2011 and minus 2.13 percent last year, which were unprecedented numbers.