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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Controversy over Lai as MAC head Continues

I blogged the other day on the MAC appointment of Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛), a Taiwan Solidarity Union politician who was also Taiwan's WHO negotiator and whom, I was told by someone who had worked with her, is an anti-globalization lefty. The incoming premier appointed Lai to head up the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan's chief policymaking body on China. This appointment has stirred up strong feelings among KMT members who feel they do not live in a democratic society where representation of all voices must be made -- no matter how insignificant:

Concerned about president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and premier-designate Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) choice of former Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) as Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) chairwoman, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday urged their leaders to give priority to the party “faithful” when making future Cabinet appointments.

Approached for comment, KMT caucus acting secretary-general Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said the caucus did not oppose the Cabinet lineup Liu had made public so far.

“But we would like to remind them again that the KMT is full of talented people,” he said.

“Over the past eight years, these loyal KMT members worked hard to supervise the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) [government]. They also did their best to campaign for the KMT during legislative and presidential elections,” he said.

Hsieh said the caucus respected Ma’s authority to nominate Cabinet officials, but the reaction to Lai’s nomination was “unavoidable.”

Hsieh urged Lai to endorse Ma’s platform of commencing direct weekend charter flights between Taiwan and China on July 4 before she assumes office.

He also called on Lai to specify what supplementary measures she would propose if the cap on Taiwanese listed firms’ investment in China were to be lifted.

“If the two issues could be resolved, we would feel relieved [about Lai’s nomination],” he said.

Some KMT legislators expressed reservations about Ma’s choice of Lai as MAC head after Liu unveiled a second round of Cabinet appointees on Monday.

Some questioned whether having a pan-green MAC chairwoman would have a negative impact on cross-strait negotiations.

Ma defended his decision on Monday, saying that Lai’s appointment would help the incoming administration find common ground with the more than 5 million people who did not vote for him in last month’s election.

However, KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) said that Lai’s nomination had cast a cloud on cross-strait relations, adding that KMT members would have felt more “warmth” if Ma and Liu had had consulted them prior to “such an important appointment.”

Commendably Ma positioned himself in the middle on the appointment, which I personally regard as a signal that MAC will not have much of a voice in policy formulation under the Ma Administration. This "controversy" filled the TV news all day yesterday, overshadowing news that China had blocked another WHO bid under the name "Taiwan." The DPP also criticized Ma's take on the appointment, saying that Lai was not from the DPP and thus cannot represent the 5 million who didn't vote for Ma.

Someone should remind these KMT partisans that the Chen Administration featured a KMT premier, a KMT EPA head, and KMT defense ministers throughout both his terms. Objections to a TSU (note: no DPP) politician for the MAC post are ridiculous.

As if to reassure locals that the MAC will continue to be relevant, Ma also announced yesterday that only the MAC and the SEF will represent the government in talks with China:

The Mainland Affairs Council and the Straits Exchange Foundation under its oversight are the only official agencies in charge of holding cross-Taiwan Strait talks, President-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the opposition Kuomintang said on Monday.

Ma made the remarks while answering reporters' questions at the KMT headquarters after Honorary Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) departed for Beijing on a private visit earlier the same day. Lien is slated to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) during the tour.

Asked whether any agreement reached in talks between Lien and Hu would influence policies of the incoming KMT administration, to be inaugurated on May 20, Ma made it clear that only the MAC and SEF are authorized to represent the government in entering into negotiations with the Chinese side.


Yes, MAC and SEF represent the government, but who speaks for the KMT party? I think we got the answer to that question with KMT Chairman for Life Lien Chan's visit to China this week, with a bevy of KMT officials in tow. And does Ma control Lien, or Lien control Ma? I think we got the answer to that one too. Sooner or later President Ma will have to visit Beijing and make his kowtow to the Dragon Throne, or risk being marginalized by processes that do not include him....

4 comments:

  1. "“Over the past eight years, these loyal KMT members worked hard to supervise the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) [government]. "
    Hahaha, now there's a good one for you...!! Notice the word 'cooperate' was not used. In fact, here the word 'supervise' is synonymous with the word 'obstruct'......

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  2. I have to laugh that Lien's trip is still being billed as a "private" one. Who holds talks with the president of another country during a private visit?

    Unless... that is... they are meeting to play Mah Jong and discuss the good old times when their parties were enemies.

    I too feel Ma is in a doozy. Hu is pushing for talks under the "1992 Consensus" to resume as soon as possible. Lien obviously wants the same thing. And no talks can truly go ahead without discussing sovereignty issues.

    As for the appointment to the MAC, obviously nobody told those KMT politicians who are worried about someone from the TSU discouraging cross-strait negotiation by Beijing that satisfying the people of your own country is usually more important than satisfying government officials of another.


    On another note, have you noticed the absence of comments from the die-hard blues here lately? It is as if the media war of the election is over, the DPP is finished, and their job is done. Time to move on to other sites where they can support the Chinese government in its media war over the Olympics...

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  3. And on yet another note, the decision by "Mad Chen" (TM) to refuse entry of the Sacred Flame of the Motherland, aka the Olympic torch, looks rather wise and circumspect right now.

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  4. Now that Thomas mentions it, the blues are using Lai's doubts against the so-called 92 consensus to reject her...

    Yesterday's news were a doozy. Crazy hairpiece guy -we all knwo who- critizing Lai's appointmente, even the Chinese had something to say about it. And in the middle, Lien gets invited to the opening ceremony of the Olympics. My head's spinning.

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