Ma threatens government officials with investigation

The new blog Echo Taiwan points to a news article about Ma in which the Chairman of the KMT threatens government officials who don't come up with answers Ma likes when they do their jobs....

More ridiculous is how KMT's Chairman Ma commented on this. He actually threatened the entire Taiwan investigation system by saying:

"One day the government will be run by a different party"
"All the things and people (about the current investigation) could be investigated (by the new government)"

How could a political leader in a supposedly democratic country openly threaten the entire law system with possible future retaliation in such a blunt manner ? And he threatens the law simply because that the way the investigation proceeds doesn't satify KMT's thirst !!

The news article is online. The opening paragraph reads:

國民黨積極推動罷免陳水扁總統，檢調查案進度卻不如國民黨的期望。馬英九昨天把矛頭指向檢調單位，強調民進黨不會永遠執政，有一天政黨輪替，「所有人做過的事，都有受檢驗的機會。」「現在不是卅年風水輪流轉，四年就會風水輪流轉」。

One of the disadvantages of being Chairman is that your party faithful always want you to comment on everything. With so many people hanging on your every word, that's already a temptation to think you're as wise and clever as your fans say you are, and to exceed proper bounds, which Ma promptly did last week when he threatened Chen with death using a common saying. Ma retracted this, as the Foreigner noted in a great post on this issue, after he was brought up on charges.

I've long claimed that Ma is an arrogant ideologue and that one day his overweening arrogance will trip him up, hopefully before he is elected President. Well, folks, another nail in that particular coffin was laid yesterday with that little threat directed at the nation's prosecutorial arm (and Ma the former Justice Minister too!). While I doubt the Ma Fan Club will give up its position that Ma is a cool and pragmatic politician, those of you more thoughtful types should be given pause by this kind of rhetoric. The overweening arrogance revealed in this comment does not show a thoughtful and moderate politician fit to lead a small nation that is an important component of US East Asian security strategy.

The time to support the DPP is now, Washington.

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