By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Sep 12, 2009, Page 3
The new Cabinet line-up failed to bring a refreshing change
to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)
administration, which could limit its performance, analysts
said.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義)
finalized his Cabinet line-up and unveiled the list on
Wednesday night, two days after Ma announced Wu’s
appointment. Twelve portfolios were replaced, with about
two-thirds of the Cabinet members staying on.
Cabinet officials are under heavy pressure because of the
much-criticized response to the Typhoon Morakot disaster,
including secretary-general of the executive yuan Hsueh
Hsiang-chuan (薛香川),
minister of national defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏)
and Council of Indigenous Peoples minister Chang Jen-hsiang
(章仁香),
lost their posts as expected.
Not all newly appointed officials were new faces. Jiang Yi-huah
(江宜樺)
left his position as Research, Development and Evaluation
Commission chairman to take over as the new interior
minister, while Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱)
had served as Veterans Affairs Commission director in the
old Cabinet.
Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基),
on the other hand, is a member of the “Ma troop,” as he
served as commissioner of Taipei City’s Education Department
during Ma’s tenure as Taipei mayor.
Yang Tai-shun (楊泰順),
a professor of political science at Chinese Culture
University, said the new Cabinet wasn’t much different from
the old Cabinet, which was formed by Ma’s “sycophants,”
adding that the new Cabinet’s performance would depend on
the leadership of the premier.
“It is obvious that Ma’s pattern of appointing people in his
circle who will follow his commands remained the same,” he
said.
Yang criticized the appointment of Jiang, Kao, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添),
the former representative to Indonesia, and Minister of
Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥),
saying that officials with “mediocre” records would make it
difficult for the Cabinet to improve.
Political critic Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒)
of National Tung Hua University also disapproved of the
appointment of Jiang, saying that as an academic with little
experience in administrative affairs, it would be difficult
for him to head the Ministry of Interior and handle the wide
scope of affairs in what is called “the largest ministry” of
the Cabinet.
Shih said the Wu Cabinet would be able to implement Ma’s
policies more efficiently, but could only be of limited help
in raising Ma’s approval ratings if the president failed to
demonstrate his own vision and present better policies for
the nation.
Ma and Wu Den-yih held a press conference on Thursday to
introduce the new Cabinet. Calling the new team “the action
Cabinet,” the president said its major task was to enhance
disaster-prevention measures.
Ma denied the Cabinet reshuffle was aimed at winning local
elections in December.
Shih, however, said the new team would be an “election
Cabinet,” and one of Wu Den-yih’s main tasks would be to
raise Ma’s support rate and assist him with his plans for
re-election.
Wang Yeh-lih (王業立),
a political science professor at National Taiwan University,
said the new Cabinet failed to show Ma’s determination to
pursue administrative reform, adding that it lacked new
faces and talent.
There will be no “honeymoon period” for the new Cabinet, and
the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will suffer a big loss
in year-end elections if the new Cabinet fails to learn from
past mistakes and continues to ignore the public’s voice, he
said.
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