tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post4699550512927662269..comments2023-10-22T18:25:39.688+08:00Comments on The View from Taiwan: Two Views of Ma: Nan Fang Shuo and Lin Cho-shuiMichael Turtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-54623412871602220732011-06-01T08:26:19.818+08:002011-06-01T08:26:19.818+08:00@M
I think there is the illusion of a strong pres...@M<br /><br />I think there is the illusion of a strong presidency. This carries over from the Chiang regimes where the executive was the Supremo.<br /><br />Lee was able to use a lot of his momentum to cajole the Taiwanese and middle of the roaders into supporting reforms... mainly by convincing them that reform would rob the opposition of its talking points so the KMT could retain power, which is really at the heart of the party anyway. <br /><br />Although Lee convinced his party to neuter the National Assembly and turn the provincial government into an administrative appendage of the central government, the Legislative Yuan has remained the most powerful and corrupt body in the government. As we saw with Chen, he could make as much noise as he wanted, but all bills had to be passed by the LY. As we are seeing with Ma, the LY can choose not to act or act as a rubber stamp and allow the executive to head policy. The politics that underlie the mechanics of the executive and the LY are entirely different, but the executive needs the LY to help wrangle support during election years. This is why we see the Yen Ching-biaos appointed to posts and awarded favorable districts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-38458702641489591722011-05-31T21:36:47.245+08:002011-05-31T21:36:47.245+08:00C'mon, give Obama a break: he got dealt a bad ...C'mon, give Obama a break: he got dealt a bad hand and he's playing it as well as he can. With any luck he'll break ahead of the pack (oops, mixing my metaphors) in a second term.<br /><br />I guess you guys have already forgotten Ralph Nader's "Al Gore and George Bush are basically the same thing" argument -- how'd that work out for you?<br /><br />BTW I'd be interested in reading discussion about the pros and cons of Taiwan's "governmental framework" -- any good links?Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-65136835294570631482011-05-31T08:57:05.772+08:002011-05-31T08:57:05.772+08:00Neither commentator really points to other issues ...<b>Neither commentator really points to other issues that plagued both Chen and Ma -- Taiwan's unwieldy pushme-pullyou governmental framework with its multiple centers of power which was never intended to be more than the candy coating over an authoritarian state, its weak presidency, and its self-centered and feckless legislature. Nor did they mention his problems with elites in his own party.</b><br /><br />Why do you think Taiwan has a weak presidency? Most scholars take the opposite position. The Lee Teng-hui era constitutional reforms actually created a very strong presidency.Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-34415449791923367562011-05-31T06:45:20.621+08:002011-05-31T06:45:20.621+08:00Yes, on the key issues Obama is Bush's third t...Yes, on the key issues Obama is Bush's third term.Michael Turtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974403961870976346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10698887.post-74900336609311593942011-05-30T23:44:43.154+08:002011-05-30T23:44:43.154+08:00Interesting, I'm wondering if it's really ...Interesting, I'm wondering if it's really going to change people's positions on Ma and the KMT. Ma had seriously sweet media coverage and now people are starting to realize that he's really out of touch. I wonder if this means anything will or could change though. How many dead people is it going to take to realize the system doesn't work all that well? How much more can they give away to buy peace and stability? Could Taiwan devolve down to a level equal to Argentina?<br /><br />Poke: I believe they are the Obama tax cuts now since he extended them. Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.Okaminoreply@blogger.com