Chen's Speech on the Recall

The Asia Times reports on Chen's speech on the recall:

Taiwan's president struck back at the opposition's campaign to recall him, saying in a television address Tuesday night that his rivals were falsely accusing his wife of corruption and that their bid to oust him had no merit.

President Chen Shui-bian worked his way through a long list of arguments the opposition has used to justify the campaign to sack him with two years left in his second term. Some of the main allegations included charges Chen has mismanaged the economy and his family is corrupt.

Chen defended himself but in my opinion did not go far enough. The pan-Green camp needs to get on-message: the Blues are killing the nation by paralyzing the government and damaging confidence in the economy....

Still, uncertainty over the campaign has hurt investor confidence on the island, contributing to a drop in stock prices Tuesday, traders said. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange fell 219.49 points, or 3.3 percent, to 6,363.55.

“People don't know how long this political back-and-forth will last,” said Daniel Tseng, an analyst at Fubon Securities Investment Services in Taipei.

.....instead of taking potshots at Chen, as so many of them have, lately. Of course, you can count on James Soong, Chairman of the PFP and desperate to revive his ailing party and fading political career, to supply the humor:

James Soong, one of the recall bid's main leaders, said the campaign wasn't a bid by him to grab more power. He said he would retire if Chen was recalled.

“I'll pull out of politics,” said Soong, leader of the minor opposition People First Party.

The Beeb also reported on Chen's speech:

Earlier, his decision not to write to the legislature infuriated a group of around 20 opposition lawmakers, who attempted to march in front of the presidential office waving placards and calling on the president to step down.

They said his refusal to issue a written defence showed contempt for the legislature and was tantamount to an admission of guilt. Scuffles broke out with police.

Imagine not respecting the legislature. That would put Chen in step with just about everyone I know, Green or Blue. The BBC also reports on the move against the PM:

The opposition parties say if the vote fails, they will attempt to topple the cabinet by tabling a vote of no confidence in the prime minister.

Being toppled might actually work in favor of the competent, quiet Su, who has considerable appeal across Party boundaries and is expected to contend for the DPP Presidential candidacy. He'd have a bulletproof excuse for not accomplishing any of his promises.......Ma Ying-jeou led a Blue camp attack on the President yesterday, as reported by Taiwan News:

Ma, who is also Taipei mayor, re-emphasized that the proposal to recall President Chen Shui-bian aims to reflect the spirit of "accountability" rather than to cause political conflict, and urged the public to condemn ruling party lawmakers who oppose the recall motion.

According to the joint statement titled "Reflect the Public Opinion, Support the Motion to Recall the President," opposing Chen and saving Taiwan from corruption are not only an individual political party's appeal but also people's consensus. To preserve Taiwan's dignity and the happiness of the next generation, everybody should move to oust President Chen Shui-bian together, the statement stressed.

There's nothing funnier than Ma, the KMT leader talking about corruption, given his firm support of corrupt local politicians (in Keelung and Taitung, for example. And again). Still, conversations with locals indicate that he has managed to maintain his reputation for integrity. Meanwhile Reuters reports that Chen's approval numbers have gone back up.

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's popularity has risen slightly since May, a poll showed on Monday, but more than half the respondents felt he was unfit to rule.

The survey by the China Times and a television station found that 28 percent were satisfied with Chen's performance as president, up from 21 percent in May, when his son-in-law was detained in relation to insider trading allegations.

The rise could provide a crumb of comfort for Chen who has faced relentless pressure from the opposition for him to quit over financial scandals implicating family and senior aides.

The number of people dissatisfied with Chen dropped to 56 percent from 61 percent over the same period, the telephone poll of about 1,000 adults showed.

The newspaper attributed the improvement in Chen's popularity to the ability of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its supporters, known as the "green camp", to divert attention from the scandals by painting the opposition action as a power grab.

I wondered if we'd reach that magic moment when Chen would get a bounce. One poll doth not a bounce make, but it sure is nice to see. Perhaps the Blues have finally gone too far, and forced the public to see how indifferent they are to the future of the island (Paralyze the Government, Attack Chen). Note that the poll is from the pro-KMT and anti-Chen China Times. Unfortunately Reuters then goes on to display the international media's usual ability to avoid nuance and local knowledge:

Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, has been accused of accepting millions of Taiwan dollars of department store gift vouchers and his son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, has been detained since late May on suspicion of insider trading. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Observe how Reuter's sticks both of these accusations together as if they were somehow equal in weight. In fact, there's no evidence to support the accusations against the First Lady; they are apparently vapor. Meanwhile the insider trading accusations against Chao give every appearance of being true.

UPDATE: ESWN has a post on polls after Chen's speech.

[Taiwan] [Chen Shui-bian] [Ma Ying-jeou] [James Soong] [DPP] [KMT] [PFP]