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The 19th of May 2010 marked the second anniversary of Ma’s presidency. Since it is also the mid-point of his first term, it is an appropriate time to look back on the journey on which his administration and this country have traveled, and to look forward to the perspectives for the next two years.
Domestically, over the last two years, Ma’s administration has restored clean government and the rule of law. He has prevented high-ranking officials and their family members from engaging in corruption. His government has respected the neutrality of civil servants, and the independence of the judicial process. Therefore, his government has also provided better protection of human rights. In particular, Taiwan has moved aggressively to ratify two international covenants on human rights and has incorporated them into Taiwan’s domestic law, so that the protection of human rights has been enhanced to meet international standards. The new labor pension program has also been put into practice to improve the protection of labor.
On the domestic political front, Ma has made clear efforts to promote tolerance and dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties. A televised debate was held between Ma and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen on the issue of the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). Ma also launched a major effort to reform the aged governmental structure. The central government is undergoing major restructuring and will be streamlined significantly. The reform of administrative districts is also under way. Seven counties are being combined into five special municipalities. The municipality competitiveness of Taiwan against other international cities will be enhanced significantly.
Economically, Taiwan has maneuvered itself through the international economic tsunami over the last two years. The worldwide economic recession reduced Taiwan’s exports and caused unemployment to rise significantly. In response, the administration announced further reductions in interest rates and full insurance coverage of all bank deposits, a policy that quickly restored financial stability. Later, consumers’ purchasing power was boosted by the launching of consumption vouchers. The government’s policy not only kept the laying off of employees by companies to the lowest possible level at that time, but also enabled Taiwan’s economic recovery to gain momentum. Exports have been restored and the indexes have remained extremely robust in the first quarter of this year. The unemployment rate has declined over a period of several months. Furthermore, the economic growth rate in the first quarter of this year has finally broken into double digits.
The shift from confrontation to negotiation and from conflict to reconciliation in cross-Strait relations may mark the most significant achievement of the new administration. Direct air and sea travel across the Taiwan Strait has begun, and tourists from mainland China have poured into Taiwan. The resulting reduction in regional tension and the enhancing of stability have been universally applauded by the international community. Taiwanese companies investing in mainland China that would previously have listed on the stock market in Hong Kong are now willing to return to list in Taiwan because of the newly-created convenience. The result is a boost in Taiwan’s economy and an increase in job opportunities.
The reconciliation between Taiwan and mainland China has also provided Taiwan with greater room to maneuver in the international community. By adopting a strategy of flexible diplomacy, Taiwan has tried to avoid a scorched earth diplomatic struggle against mainland China. There has not been any shift in diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to mainland China by any of the 23 sovereign states with whom Taiwan has maintained diplomatic ties over the last two years. In addition, Taiwan has been admitted into the last two WHAs and several other major international events. Taiwan’s relationships with major players in the international arena such as the US, Japan, Southeast Asian countries, the European Union, and Australia have significantly improved. The mutual trust between Taiwan and those major players at the highest levels have been restored. The US has responded positively to up to about 80% of the arms purchases requests from Taiwan recently. Therefore, Taiwan’s international isolation has been gradually reduced.
It is no wonder that, in its 2010 World Competitiveness Yearbook, Switzerland’s IMD has ranked Taiwan eighth among the 58 nations covered. Taiwan’s position has been improved by over 15 spots from the previous year’s 23rd place ranking. Taiwan has also been ranked 3rd in the world in terms of corporate competitiveness and sixth in regard to government efficiency. These are the highest such rankings for Taiwan in the 16 years since it began to be included in the report.
However, the government’s slow reaction to the devastating landslides that resulted from Typhoon Morakot in early August last year caused great dissatisfaction among the people. Although the government later adopted the fastest possible means to reconstruct the disaster areas, criticism remains. Ma admitted at the two-year anniversary of his inauguration that the government could have done better in many areas over the past two years, especially in communication with the public, coordination among agencies, and crisis management. This also represents an opportunity for further improvement and development. The government today is much better prepared when facing disaster prevention and response, handling the outbreak of epidemics, and generating economic recovery. Ma added that these experiences will make Taiwan stronger in the future, and lay the foundation for a “golden decade to come”. The economy is recovering, and firms and consumers are gradually gaining back their confidence.
As for the outlook for the future, Ma has unveiled his “six steps to a better Taiwan.” He believes that these will create the foundation for Taiwan's golden decade. The six steps are to “strengthen the country through innovation”; to “revive the country by promoting culture”; to “save the country through environmental protection”; to “stabilize the country by adhering to the Constitution”; to “secure the country by providing social services”; and to “protect the country by promoting peace”.
In order to strengthen the country through innovation, Ma’s experiences of building the Neihu Scientific Park and the Nangang Software Industrial Park in Taipei will be repeated in many other areas. Universities will be sponsored to serve as hubs for technological and other innovations. Taxation wavers and a patent protection policy will encourage talented people to vigorously join the market. Taiwan will maintain its leadership in patent productivity in countries throughout the world.
In order to revive the country by promoting culture, Taiwan will have to keep to its core values of openness, an enterprising spirit, kindness, diligence, honesty and tolerance. Taiwan’s culture is a culture of diversity, innovation, volunteerism, and compassion. As long as Taiwan is able to attract more and more talented people from all over the world, it will enable the soft power of Taiwan and make a strong impression on the rest of the world.
In order to save the country through environmental protection, Taiwan needs to adopt a revolutionary energy policy. The government is promoting the use of green energy to keep carbon emissions to a minimum. At the same time, Taiwan should keep its green energy technology, such as LED lighting, wind power, and electric vehicles, highly competitive globally. The result of the government efforts is already being seen. However, the government’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions back to 2005 levels, and by 2020, to cut the emissions by at least 30% below “business as usual” levels. This goal is much higher for Taiwan than for Korea or Singapore.
In order to stabilize the country by adhering to the Constitution, the administration’s goal is to continue its efforts to make the government clean and to operate in accordance with the rule of law. Before a consensus to amend the Constitution is reached, the government will use other methods, such as amending laws, relying on interpretations by the Justices of the Constitutional Court, or establishing constitutional conventions, to promote constitutional evolution within the system, so that the constitutional reform can be promoted without constitutional amendment, and at the same time, a consensus can be enjoyed within society. In the future, the Organic Act of the Central Election Commission will enable the Central Election Commission to become a much more neutral organization. The Administrative Neutrality Act will protect the civil servants of the government from inappropriate political interference. The Organic Act of the Executive Yuan will change the structure of the Executive Yuan and make it more efficient. The Local Government Act has changed the administrative districts, and will also change the relationships between the central and local governments permanently. The Political Parties Act will restore party practices back to normal. The Fair and Speedy Criminal Trials Act has just been passed in order to prevent justice from being delayed. The amendments of the Punishment of Corruption Act make it a crime for (government officer) defendants in corruption-related cases to refuse to explain the sources of property. Furthermore, a major reform of relevant civil service bills by the Examination Yuan is also under way which will boost service quality. All these things can be done without the Constitution being amended.
In order to secure the country by providing social services, the administration is making a clear effort to bring distributive justice back to Taiwanese society. The gap between rich and poor has continued to widen throughout the last decade. This trend should not continue. Therefore, a major tax reform is under way. The administration will also face the serious aging problem of Taiwan’s society. Because of Taiwan’s low birth rate, Taiwan’s population has the lowest growth rate in the world. A better environment should be created so that young people will be encouraged to start families and to have more children. At the same time, a long-term care initiative has been launched to meet the needs of the aging society. In addition, the government is encouraging and helping the private sector to further establish the industry to meet the needs of the aging society.
In order to protect the country by promoting peace, Taiwan should continue its policy of reconciliation toward mainland China. So that the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait will be maintained, and that Taiwan’s breathing space in the international arena can increase, Ma has announced that his government will adhere to the principle of “no unification, no independence, and no use of force” under the framework of the Constitution of the ROC and the 1992 Consensus with mainland China. In the near future, Taiwan will sign ECFA with mainland China. Taiwan should also be seeking the possibility to establish a (military) Confidence Building Mechanism with mainland China. However, Ma has stressed on many occasions that “during the course of rapprochement with the mainland, Taiwan’s dignity should not be harmed, and Taiwan’s sovereignty should not be jeopardized.”
It is not an easy job to make all these things happen so soon. However, it is also a historical opportunity for Ma to lead Taiwan through the dangerous waters, and to maintain the peace and prosperity of Taiwan. Ma will have to convince the opposition party in particular to support his efforts. Most important of all, Ma needs the people of Taiwan to stand together behind his “six steps to a better Taiwan” strategy so that the golden decade can truly become a reality.
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