STRATEGIC: One analyst said Ma Ying-jeou's lineup had the advantage that it would curb Lien Chan's influence and stop a power struggle among young KMT members
By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Apr 27, 2008, Page 3

The lack of new faces in president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) Cabinet lineup is a likely sign that the new administration will be weak innovators, but experienced officials capable of efficient implementation of policies, analysts said.
Ma announced his appointment of former vice premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) as premier and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) as head of the Straits Exchange Foundation on April 14.

One week later, Liu announced 17 Cabinet members — 12 men and five women. Many of those selected served as officials in the last KMT administration.

Accompanied by the vice premier-designate Paul Chiu (邱正雄), a former finance minister, Liu said Cabinet personnel were chosen for their competence and integrity, adding that he expected his Cabinet to get hard to work immediately upon entering their new roles.

“People have high expectations of us. We have to rely on experienced officials because there is no room for new Cabinet officials who would need time to learn to handle administrative affairs,” Liu said.

Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒), dean of National Dong Hwa University’s College of Indigenous Studies, said however, that the new Cabinet was likely to be too technocratic.

“In a democratic society, Cabinet members should be capable of pursuing cross-department talks and integration,” Shih said. “These technocratic officials may be able to execute policies, but it could be difficult for them to promote changes in society,” he said.

Negotiating bills and budgets with the legislature could also prove a challenge for the new Cabinet, Shih said.

Shih also said Ma and Liu should include more ethnic Taiwanese in the Cabinet, as Ma had promised during his campaign that women and ethnic Taiwanese would be fairly represented in his administration.

Thirteen of the 17 Cabinet members announced by Liu were ethnic Taiwanese. Ma and Liu will announce additional Cabinet members dealing with national defense, finance and cross-strait relations this week.

Political scientist Yang Tai-shuen (楊泰順) of Taipei’s Chinese Culture University echoed Shih’s criticism over the lack of creativity and innovation in Ma’s Cabinet.

The lineup of technocrats could have difficulty reacting promptly and effectively to unexpected situations, Yang said.

The public will, however, support the new Cabinet as they hope for improvement over the Democratic Progressive Party administration, Yang said.

Political analyst Wang Kung-yi (王崑義), a professor at National Taiwan Ocean University, said the incoming Cabinet should serve as a transitional one, with the duty of setting a solid foundation before handing their portfolios and experience to younger members.

“There’s no honeymoon period for Ma after the presidential election, since he is expected to carry out his platform immediately. Using older people is therefore understandable,” Wang said.

Ma and Liu’s choice of political veterans, Wang said, had the added advantage of preventing a potential power struggle among younger candidates vying for influence within the party.

Before Ma announced his appointment of Liu, media outlets received a fax with allegations that Liu had an affair with talk show host Ying Nai-ching (尹乃菁) two years ago.

Accusations targeting prospective Cabinet members continued after Ma’s top aide Steve Chan (詹啟賢), who served as Ma’s campaign manager, unexpectedly said last week that he would not join Ma’s administration. The decision sparked speculation that Chan left Ma’s team because of a conflict with another Ma aide, former Taipei deputy mayor King Pu-tsung (金溥聰).

KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) then reportedly blocked KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) from taking the position of Presidential Office secretary-general after Ma allegedly invited Wu Den-yi to consider the post.

Wang said Chan’s decision not to join the administration indicated a tense power struggle between factions of the KMT competing for Cabinet positions. Ma’s Cabinet appointments are a strategic attempt to eliminate the influence of power-hungry old guard such as members of former KMT chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) think tank, Wang said.

Although minister without portfolio-designate Tsai Hsun-hsiung (蔡勳雄) and Straits Exchange Foundation chairman-designate Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) were both part of that think tank, they will play marginal roles in the new administration as either assistants or heads of semi-official agencies, Wang said.

Ma’s lineup will help him erode Lien’s power, while also staving internal conflict in the KMT, Wang said. Once that is accomplished, younger figures close to Ma will likely replace older Cabinet members in a Cabinet reshuffle after about two years.

On the issue of ethnicity, Wang said it should not be a factor in selecting a Cabinet, as the party’s values are upheld by both Mainlander and ethnic Taiwanese members.

“Besides, with Ma garnering more than 7 million votes in the election, I think it’s time to put the ethnicity issue behind [us] and judge Ma’s administration based on its performance,” he said.