Who do you think will be Ma’s vice presidential candidate in 2008? How about Wang Jinping? Does Wang still hold a subtle grudge against Ma for beating him in the KMT chairmanship race?
If they can resolve their differences, Wang could be a valuable asset to Ma because Wang is Taiwanese-born. Would having Wang on the ticket attract Green moderates to the Blue camp?
Wang and Ma are still at odds. While there’s a shot at the presidential ticket, Wang won’t sign up for second fiddle to Ma. He’s holding out, possibly for a cross-party ticket with him and Tsai Ying-wen. Most likely candidate for Ma is former Kaohsiung Mayor Wu Duen-yi at this point. For the DPP ticket, I’d guess Su and Tsai, likely with a Lu/Hsieh ticket just because Annette Lu’s sick of being second in command and feels it’s her due to run for president, whatever the party says. But then again, I’m a cynic.
Some other communist KMT crook. The only smart bet would be Song Qu Yu, the fall guy for Li Teng Hui.
Taiwan democracy, ROCK ON!
I don’t think James Song is going to run again. Even if he did, Ma wouldn’t want him on the ticket because it would then be two “mainlanders” together. Soong might go for Taipei City Mayor this time around, but I think that would be his last political effort.
Would the pan-Blues just hand Soong the keys to Taiwan’s showplace metropolis as a booby prize? Is it a reward for his decades of less-than-consistently-loyal, not-entirely-selfless service? Is there any reason to think he’s actually interested in the day-to-day work of mayor? Or that he’d be good at it? If he’s not quite up to it, he’ll make a sad contrast to his two predecessors - each of them their party’s most dynamic, up-and-coming star at the time…
Maybe they can find him something more ceremonial, or just give him a gold watch… Also, with his party melting away, I thought all his dithering over returning to the KMT was costing him a lot of support?
I don’t think the KMT wants to see Soong as Taipei mayor; in fact they’re doing everything they can do prevent it. I just said Soong might try to run anyway.
Lee Ao?
Lien Sheng-wen. Without a doubt.
Chairman Ma(o) might choose Diane Lee of past PFP fame in order to entice more PFP defectors and consolidate the blue camp. The choice would also counter the DPP strategy of a male-female ticket. Another option is Sisy Chen, but does anyone really take her seriously? Anyway, A-mei would not suffice because of past misdeeds termed offensive by the all-mighty CCP. And, Little S is busy being a mommy, so oh well. Oh yeah, there’s that renowned female KMT member who is always in the headlines at the forefront of all that is going on; what is her name? Invisible Woman?
Diane Lee is an interesting choice. One huge chunk of Ma’s base of support is among the deep Blues, and Lee will appeal to that. The problem with Lee is that she is a loose cannon, who makes up stuff to get publicity.
Soong and Ma don’t like each other very much, don’t see that ticket either. Wang JP is not an option as he is biding his time, waiting for revenge. Ma has already moved to eliminate him as a force in the party by vaccuming up PFP legislators, who are all deep blue and thus anti-Wang, and by changing the voting rules and at-large legislator rules to favor his people over Wang’s and prevent Wang from being re-elected to the legislature. Wang is backed by party insiders, though. It wouldn’t surprise me if Wang attempted to sabotage Ma’s election somehow – he must still be smarting over Ma’s accusations of corruption and vote buying during the Chairmanship campaign, and he won’t be happy to be removed from the Speaker’s chair either. If I were the DPP I would be working on extracting Wang and as many of the dissatisfied southerners from the KMT as I could.
The KMT is currently in an identity/generational crisis that has not yet played out. Ma’s choice will be a most interesting indicator of the future of the party, as well as the perspicacity of Ma himself, who is none too bright.
Vorkosigan
What kind of idiotic comment is this? He performed pretty well as justice minister didn’t he? He graduated from Harvard law school didn’t he? I am always entertained by English teachers that have the audacity to make such sweeping generalizations about a person’s intelligence without meeting or working with them. At least when take the piss out of Canadians, I can say I have a lifetime of experience dealing with 'em. Do you have any experience in government here? If you think Ma is stupid, what do you think about the performance of Chen’s boy scouts? You know? The kind similar to my former PO advisor who had third-rate M.A. from Akron and a fourth-rate mind.
While I am bloody wary of Ma’s foreign policy views, he couldn’t be worse than the administrators at the moment, and he will treat foreigners a little better don’t you think? I trust Harvard and internationalism more than local bigots that flatter you only to knock you down-- to teach foreigner a lesson.
Give me LTH and Cornell or Ma and Harvard over the Tainan lawyer clique-- any day of the week.
No. He opposed getting rid of the security laws that the KMT was using to crush dissent, and he opposed direct election of the President. Later he would change on these.
Because his party-state masters cut a deal. How do you think things were done in the old days, Chewy? Lien Chan and Soong both have PHDs. Do you think they did it on actual brains? Well, Soong, maybe, he has a streak of low cunning that sometimes seems almost like intelligence. But Ma got in a on KMT scholarship, and that means that he was serving the security interests of the state, and that he, through the party, had a deal with the university.
It’s always a delight to be entertaining. And to teach English, although with the research methods course and the econ 101 course I teach, I just don’t have the same kind of time I used to spend on English teaching. Too, research and publishing takes up time as well.
I need experience of government here to determine whether the good mayor Ma is all decked out with brainpower? How’s that again?
Wow! I must be wrong because one of Chen’s people has an MA from Akron and isn’t very bright. You just can’t argue with logic like that. You must just absolutely slay those Canadians.
Look, nobody said anything about the DPP and the depths of their klewlessness has nothing to do with Ma Ying-jeou’s personal wattage. Ma is well-groomed and goodlooking, His handlers do a good job with him. He’s a good weasel and his basic arrogance and lack of spine haven’t screwed him up yet. It helps, of course, that the media is profoundly pro-Blue. Ma’s been groomed since he was a kid for this role…
No, I don’t. There is a rampant xenophobia that underlies the KMT-style nationalism.
Ma’s internationalism is a veneer, Chewy. The Deep Blues who support Ma and whose values he reflects hate Japan, despise America, and worship China. They are not internationalists at all. People who think that are confusing their greater experience of the world with a more international view. Don’t.
Yes, well, the difference between Ma and the Tainan lawyers is that the latter actually passed their Taiwan bar exams…and the difference between LTH and Ma is like night and day. LTH’s PhD thesis was a classic that won awards. I’ll take the Tainan lawyers, thank you. I know they aren’t going to do a loot-n-scoot on Taiwan, and then sell the place to China.
Vorkosigan
[quote=“Vorkosigan”]
No. He opposed getting rid of the security laws that the KMT was using to crush dissent, and he opposed direct election of the President. Later he would change on these. [/quote]
He sure cut down on the endemic corruption didn’t he? Perhaps too well – it cost him his job.
[quote]
Because his party-state masters cut a deal. How do you think things were done in the old days, Chewy? Lien Chan and Soong both have PHDs. Do you think they did it on actual brains? But Ma got in a on KMT scholarship [/quote]
I don’t deny having connections helped them out a great deal. However, going to Harvard, Berkeley, or the University of Chicago for postgrad studies requires hard work and diligence. There is a pressure to succeed – especially within wealthy and well connected political and/or economic families. There is definitely a “to whom much is given, much is expected” philosophy here when it comes to academic achievement. In short, they did not pass or do well solely because of their connections. Doing so makes elite education in the US merely a commodity. It takes hard work and a reasonable amount of intelligence to complete such studies.
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and to teach English, although with the research methods course and the econ 101 course I teach, I just don’t have the same kind of time I used to spend on English teaching.[/quote]
And may I ask what your qualifications are to teach Econ 101?
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I need experience of government here to determine whether the good mayor Ma is all decked out with brainpower? [/quote]
I was curious if you have had any practical experience in national or municipal politics working with him? Do tell me how you determined he is stupid?
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Wow! I must be wrong because one of Chen’s people has an MA from Akron and isn’t very bright. You just can’t argue with logic like that. You must just absolutely slay those Canadians. [/quote]
In my opinion, his performance as justice minister in weeding out corruption, his strong English, and his international education make him better than most Taiwanese politicians. And see, unlike you, I have worked with a lot of political appointments in Taiwan. I never thought I would hear DPP PO appointments preach such a vile, racist form of cultural relativism and make so many blunders and fuckups. I could run a better office with a blindfold around my eyes and with my dick taped to the ceiling.
Christ…you make him sound like John Kerry or Al Gore. heheheheheheheheh.
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No, I don’t. There is a rampant xenophobia that underlies the KMT-style nationalism.[/quote]
Again, if you actually had any tangible government experience, I think you would see that it is the KMT that treats foreigners better. I am as pro-US, Israeli, and Japanese as they come. It pains me to admit this. Eighty percent of both parties are filled with xenophobic bigots. A few internationalists in both camps are thoroughly decent people. I do believe Ma fits this profile.
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Ma’s internationalism is a veneer, Chewy. The Deep Blues who support Ma and whose values he reflects hate Japan, despise America, and worship China. [/quote]
The DPP being a party of human rights is a veneer. Many DPP political appointments despise foreigners of any sort. IF you aren’t Taiwanese – you don’t exist. “Green…blue…both brown.”
[quote]
Yes, well, the difference between Ma and the Tainan lawyers is that the latter actually passed their Taiwan bar exams…and the difference between LTH and Ma is like night and day. LTH’s PhD thesis was a classic that won awards. I’ll take the Tainan lawyers, thank you. I know they aren’t going to do a loot-n-scoot on Taiwan, and then sell the place to China.[/quote]
I respect LTH a lot more than Ma. However, LTH and Ma are internationally educated technocrats that are extremely competent. I take issue with you calling Ma stupid. The Tainan lawyers are turning Taiwan into the Philippines instead of Korea or Japan. They may have passed the local bar exams, but that does not make them creative. In fact, I think it means the opposite…they are proponents of rote learning and the “this is the way we do things in Taiwan” mantra.
[quote=“Chewycorns”]
[MA] sure cut down on the endemic corruption didn’t he? Perhaps too well – it cost him his job.[/quote]
So legend says. But when I note his current strong support of corrupt local officials, I’m sure his attacks on corruption as justice minister were…um…selective.
…like G. Bush? Please. To be a KMTer in those days meant getting a pass. The studies that show Ma’s academic skills are his later degrees.
I’m an international trade guy. Why is that important?
By watching him…I determined he is not too bright. He’s tremendously arrogant, and essentially a weasel. He’s good at that, though.
Strong english is not a clue of anything, he never weeded out corruption, and his education was purchased by the KMT. He remains, at heart, the stereotypical Chinese who looks down on foreigners, hates Japan, loves China, and despises democracy when he is not using its processes to further expand his control. Ma is simply a highly-refined authoritarian shit, like the kind that the KMT has nurtured during its entire time on the island.
I don’t. Ma is ultimately a servant of China, not a better world. I am sure the KMT treats foreigners better – it is part of their strategy for winning them over. The DPP is rather clumsy when it comes to handling the foreigners it needs.
Wel, LTH is…
Actually. one of the things the education reforms has been trying to do is to do away with the rote learning system. Not that it has been very effective.
I’ll let you have the last word.
Vorkosigan
Hu Jintao.
I agree, Pagao. All Soong needs is a post like Taipei city mayor and the PFP will be saying hasta la vista to the KMT guard and if Ma wins in the Presidential Office, Soong will be leaps and bounds beyond the litigious DPP. I don’t think this bothers the KMT, though, as it will be spending a lot of time on internationalizing Taiwan and helping modernize China.