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By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter Sun, Jun 17, 2012 - Page 3 The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’
failure to pass a draft bill on Friday that would allow the import of US beef
containing ractopamine residue was a blow to President
Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) leadership, as his repeated calls for the bill to clear the
legislative floor were in vain. Lifting the ban on US beef containing traces of the livestock feed
additive has been a priority of Ma since his re-election in January. In his capacity as KMT chairman, Ma demanded the full support of the
KMT caucus on the bill and threatened to discipline those who did not vote
along the party line. While some KMT lawmakers took a hard line and tried to force a vote on
the amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) during the opposition’s boycott of the vote
last week, a substantial number of KMT lawmakers were clearly reluctant to
force a vote. “KMT lawmakers are unwilling to follow Ma’s orders because of pressure
from voters, and Ma’s failure to control his party caucus will make him a
lame duck president if he does not improve communication with party
legislators,” National Sun Yat-sen University
political science professor Liao Da-chi (廖達琪) said. Although Ma repeatedly vowed to initiate bold reforms when he began a
second term on May 20 and stressed the necessity of the bill on US beef
imports being passed to improve the nation’s trade relations with the US and
other nations, KMT lawmakers are reluctant to cooperate due to the
government’s poor communication with the legislative branch, she said. “Ma is facing a great challenge over his leadership early in his second
term, and he must learn to communicate with legislators more effectively.
Otherwise he won’t be able to get his orders out of the Presidential Office,”
Liao said. The bill on US beef imports is one of a number of controversial
policies that have sparked growing public discontent and dissent from within
the party. The unpopular policies, from hikes in fuel and electricity prices
to the securities and futures tax, have caused Ma’s approval ratings to
plummet and many KMT politicians to distance themselves from him. Ma’s critics describe him as a stubborn and arrogant politician who
lacks communication and negotiation skills, both as president and KMT
chairman, and the traits have taken a toll on his leadership within the party
at the beginning of his second term, as KMT lawmakers brush off the
government’s attempts to seek unanimous support from the party caucus for
reform proposals. To call for party unity, Ma attended the KMT’s caucus meeting o n June 7 and asked party legislators to ensure that the bill on US beef
pass the legislature by the end of this legislative session. However, the caucus meeting, held to strengthen communication between
the executive branch and legislative caucus, lasted only an hour. Ma left the
room immediately after making a speech, without listening to lawmakers’
responses. The brief meeting on June 7 served as an example of Ma’s lack of effort
at communicating with party members, a KMT Central Standing Committee member
who wished to remain anonymous said. The KMT caucus has suggested that Ma and the Cabinet should explain the
government’s stance on the US beef issue to party members, but Ma insisted
the government did not have any pre-established stance on the issue, leaving
party lawmakers confused about the Ma administration’s position. “President Ma needs to better explain the government’s stance to party
members and understand party lawmakers’ pressure from voters. He cannot
expect full support from party members by simply asking us to consider the
party’s overall interests,” the anonymous KMT Central Standing Committee member
said. National Dong Hwa University political
analyst Shih Cheng-feng (施正鋒)
said Ma should initiate talks with KMT lawmakers, seek their support and
widen his small decision-making team to strengthen party unity. If
Ma does not find a way to improve relations with party legislators, his
leadership will be further weakened and the administration’s credibility will
be seriously damaged, Shih said. * 《Taipei Times》2012/06/17。 |
