Thursday, October 20, 2005

Ma Says Chen is an Emperor

Mayor Ma Ying-jeou of Taipei yesterday criticized President Chen for acting in an imperial manner:

Mayor of Taipei Ma Ying-jeou characterized President Chen Shui-bian's rule as that of an emperor yesterday.

Questioned at the city council, Mayor Ma referred to President Chen's pledge to let the Ministry of the Interior outlaw the Kuomintang's sale of a school complex and said such an intervention is what an emperor used to do.

The Kuomintang sold the party school in Taipei for NT$4.2 billion last month. The buyer is asking for a change in the zoning code so that it can be developed as a residential complex.

The school is one of the KMT's many ill-gotten gains from the period of one-party rule. The "President Chen is an Emperor!" is a common refrain from mainlanders that I have heard many times. I suppose it takes one to know one....and Ma himself, who got a scholarship as a student spy ratting out his fellow students from Taiwan to the security apparatus of the KMT state, knows all about imperial behavior.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

"Takes one to know one?" Is that the best you can do?

The DPP has confiscated magazines, searched newspaper offices, and used state-run TV and state-sponsored advertisements for its own interests.

When was the last time Ma did that? Chen absolutely has an autocratic streak, while Ma has brought democratic reform to the KMT.

Anonymous said...

Well, I suppose saying that Chen has an autocratic streak is an improvement over your usual claim that Chen is a dictator.


Michael