It's not the politicians, guys II

From Don DeGlopper's Lukang: Commerce and Community in a Chinese City. It's old, but still relevant. Re the post two below this one It's not the politicians, guys: what kind of politicians do you think these people will elect? What kind of politics will we have in this world? The attack on Chen Chu over the Kaoshiung gas explosion is no different than any other attack on any other politician at any level -- this kind of thing goes on at the local level all the time, it just doesn't get reported because it's "local". All politics is local, as it was famous said, but in Taiwan, even the national-level politics is just local level political behavior blown up to galactic scale....
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

Three Days with FTV

This week I had the very great privilege of working on some travel segments for FTV. We visited tourist sites across southern Taiwan. It was really great seeing host Michella Jade Weng again and working with professionals in a demanding, high energy industry. It was also wonderful to return to Shuimen town and Sandimen on day 1, a place full of happy memories for me. Click on Read More for more!

The Lin Bribery Mess and the KMT =UPDATED= Lin Confesses

Had a lucky capture on 88 going up to Hsinshe on this lovely, sunny day. 

UPDATE: Lin Confesses

Taiwan Headlines offered a sturdy round up of the commentary on the resignation of Lin Yi-shih from his post as Cabinet Sec-Gen on Friday. On Wednesday, Lin was accused in a Next Magazine investigative piece of taking bribes from a local businessman. By Friday he was gone. TH translated a piece from the pro-KMT United Daily News (UDN) on the context and consequences:

The KMT now only controls three regional legislative seats and a mayoral seat in southern Taiwan, which is traditionally a DPP stronghold.

President Ma recruited Lin to his administrative team after Lin, a four-term lawmaker, lost his bid for re-election in January.

Lin, the scion of an influential political family in Kaohsiung, is seen as one of Ma's proteges, a group that is known as "Ma's Army". Lin became one of the KMT's vice chairmen in 2006 when Ma took over the party's helm for the first time, and Lin once headed the party's youth corps.

During his last legislative term, Lin served as the party's chief legislative whip responsible for policy coordination. He was the youngest person ever to hold that post in the KMT.

Observers said Lin's resignation amid bribery accusations could hurt President Ma's credibility.

In his election campaign in 2008, Ma played up the widespread allegations of corruption against his predecessor Chen Shui-bian. Lin is the first senior official in the Ma administration to be tarnished by corruption charges.

The scandal, which has occupied the news here this week, appears to be the usual sordid influence peddling so common in Taiwan. Several papers have noted that the KMT Administration has been distancing itself from Lin in hope of not being tarred with his brush. The UDN piece ended with a common observation, that Ma has surrounded himself with his own people bent on maintaining position by pleasing him -- Lin was a key member of "Ma's Army", AKA the Ma Troop, in the KMT -- instead of with skilled administrators and politicians. This is a polite way of saying that the Administration has yet to solve the perception that it is out of touch and not very competent.

The China Times piece excerpted by Taiwan Headlines observed that Lin, a major figure in the Red Faction in Kaohsiung, was being groomed as the KMT's K-town mayoral candidate. Now the KMT will have to scramble to find a candidate. The Taipei Times analysis gave a less detailed account but raised the same points: the KMT has suffered a hurt in the key southern municipality of Kaohsiung.

The Taipei Times reported on the questioning of Lin's accuser today:

Chen, head of Ti Yung Co (地勇選礦公司), a metal-recycling company, has accused Lin of accepting a bribe of NT$63 million (US$2.15 million) to help him secure procurement contracts from China Steel Corp (中鋼) and two of its subsidiaries in 2010, and of asking for a further NT$83 million this year.

Prosecutors said that they had named him as a defendant in the case, based on his deep involvement.

The case is also said to affect President Ma's chances to retain the KMT Party Chairmanship post in the next election for that position. As the Taipei Times noted,

Meanwhile, despite Ma’s trademark emphasis on “clean politics,” government statistics showed that among the 31 cases since November 2007 in which political parties were penalized because their nominees were engaged in vote-buying, the KMT was involved in 26 cases, while the Democratic Progressive Party had three and the People First Party and the Dadao Compassion Jishih Party each had one.

The Election and Recall Act for Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) was amended in November 2007 to hold political parties responsible if candidates endorsed by them are found to be engaged in campaign irregularities.

The KMT has been fined NT$16 million (US$535,000) for the 26 campaign irregularities.
Most of the vote-buying incidents involving KMT candidates — with a few exceptions such as the case involving former KMT legislator Chiang Lien-fu (江連福) in December 2007 — have occurred after Ma was sworn in as the party chairman in October 2008.

However, my own view is that the public is used to vote-buying cases, especially KMT voters, and simply don't care. It will take a lot more than this to put a dent in Ma's image, especially at this point when his satisfaction scores are already so low.

FOLLOW ON TO PREVIOUS POST ON BEEF: The China Post writes that Ma Hisownself is overseeing further progress on ECFA, offering that as compensation for the Administration's failures to produce any Free Trade Agreements with Taiwan. Buried in that piece is an interesting paragraph quoting the President:

Ma said that if the beef issue is not resolved, it will be “very difficult” for Taiwan to resume Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks with the U.S. or to join the TPP, a Pacific Rim free trade pact, within eight years, which is his administration's goal.

See the purpose of the ractobeef issue? It appears to be to keep Taiwan out of US-led trade groups in the Pacific. If Taiwan doesn't permit ractobeef in, it can't join any of those US-led trade initiatives and will have to move into China's orbit enlarge ECFA. Or whatever. Looking forward to much handwringing and crocodile-tear flowing from the KMT Administration in the coming four years. Meanwhile, the DPP's inflexible stance means that it is actually furthering this goal. Time for the DPP to moderate its stance and talk-talk with US officials on circumventing the KMT's apparent policy of isolating Taiwan.
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Daily Links:

• Rectified name on the Cheng Kingdom in Taiwan. What a shame Andrade didn't take the deal, then translate the areas where he was censored and post to the internet so people could update their copy once they had it. Take the money, Tonio!
• Taiwan angler with a great post on catching Red Drum.
• Jay Nordlinger's Taiwan Journal is now done. The last installment is here and has links to previous. It appears that Nordlinger spent most of the trip in Chinatown Deep Blue Taipei. Next time come down to Taichung, Jay, and I'll show you Taiwan. 
• Taiwan coal burning plants seeking to buy coal now while the price is low.
• Family of future Chinese leader Xi Jinping has cashed in big, says Bloomberg in report blocked in China. Good work, folks at Bloomberg.

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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.