Fling Open the Doors. Be a President for All the People

Fling Open the Doors. Be a President for All the People
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
January 31, 2012

Summary: Voters have rewarded Ma Ying-jeou with a second term. Therefore he should be bolder. He should be more decisive. He should fling open the doors. He should take on greater challenges. He should make the difficult decisions, He should leave behind a better system of government. During the next four years President Ma will have the opportunity to leave behind his own legacy. President Ma, the eyes of the nation are upon you.

Full Text Below:

President Ma Ying-jeou has won his bid for reelection. The cabinet reshuffle is now in full swing. Voters have entrusted President Ma with another four-year term. He now faces many difficult challenges. Whatever leadership President Ma exhibits during his second term will have a major impact on the nation's future.

Over half the voters backed him. President Ma's policies have been affirmed. In particular, his promotion of cross-Strait reconciliation has received popular support. This means the public on Taiwan looks forward to more cross-strait exchanges and more beneficial results from these exchanges. The Ma administration must ensure that more people benefit from his policies. It must demonstrate vision. It must increase the level of cross-strait exchanges, It must promote exchanges between the younger generation. Besides promoting trade, investment, and procurement, it must enhance mutual understanding between the public on both sides. It must enable Taiwan to exert a positive influence on social evolution on the Chinese Mainland.

Cross-strait exchanges should be increased, because Taiwan has more experience with democracy and liberalization. Taiwan is implementing democratic values. It is demonstrating its spiritual strength. Therefore it can serve as a point of reference for the Mainland. Democracy and freedom include respect for human rights, pluralism and tolerance. They have enormous significance for cross-Strait conflict resolution and the cross-Strait consensus. If the two sides can gradually resolve their disputes, it will be a blessing not just to the public on Taiwan. It will be a blessing for the public on both sides of the Strait.

Ma Ying-jeou received 6.89 million votes and won a clear majority. But Tsai Ing-wen received 6.09 million votes. James Soong received 370,000 votes. Clearly 6.46 million voters did not want Ma Ying-jeou as their president, Many of them feel uneasy about the direction and pace of Ma's cross-Strait policy, These people are also President Ma's clients.

Ma Ying-jeou received 51% of the vote. He won. He must now strive to fulfill the role of a "president for all the people." He must dialogue with the remaining 48% of the electorate. He must listen to them. He must understand what they are saying He must actively communicate his policy, especially cross-Strait policy, He must resolve the concerns that motivated these people to vote against him. He must ease the obvious social schism between the Blue and Green halves of the community. After all, fierce internal opposition is certain to hobble cross-Strait policy.

Many of the votes cast for Ma Ying-jeou were cast on the basis of party affiliation. But a head of state represents a nation. He or she represents the interests of all the people. And so it is for the Republic of China. Once one becomes president, there can be no partisan bias. President Ma has been criticized for drawing from too limited a circle of experts. His confidants and staffers are too far removed from the grassroots, They are too inbred. Ma is a national leader. His decision-making must be even-handed. He must tolerate different ideas. He must respect opposing views. His greatest concern must be the future of the people as a whole. He must attend to the long-term well-being of the next generation, and the long term prosperity of the nation. During his second term President Ma will no longer face re-election pressures. But he will remain under public scrutiny. The public must remain vigilant and never relax. President Ma too cannot afford to relax.

The greatest difficulty Ma will encounter during his second term, will be the "lame duck effect" that will appear two years before leaving office. A struggle for succession will have begun. Fence-sitters will be seeing which way the wind blows. Policy may be difficult to implement. Political promises may be unconvincing. But this is precisely when President Ma should focus on structural and institutional matters. If he can lay the groundwork for sound policy, future policy will be easier to implement.

Demands for justice can move people because the gap between rich and poor has provoked enormous resentment. It is impossible to eliminate the gap between rich and poor. But it is possible to help the disadvantaged and salvage the social welfare system. The government has long been short of money and manpower. It must provide more resources and support.

An aging population and a declining birthrate have also cast a pall over our future, This is a trend that cannot be avoided and will be difficult to reverse. A nation consists of individual human beings, The problems faced by individual human beings are the nation's biggest problems. The government must make long term plans for a shrinking population. It must help schools transform themselves and teachers change occupations. It must enhance childcare services. It must build long term care systems. It must relax immigration rules to increase the population.

Voters have rewarded Ma Ying-jeou with a second term. Therefore he should be bolder. He should be more decisive. He should fling open the doors. He should take on greater challenges. He should make the difficult decisions, He should leave behind a better system of government. During the next four years President Ma will have the opportunity to leave behind his own legacy. President Ma, the eyes of the nation are upon you.

大開大闔 扮好全民總統角色
2012-01-31中國時報

馬英九總統贏得連任之後，現正緊鑼密鼓進行內閣改組。面對選民再次付託的四年新任期，馬總統的挑戰與考驗相當艱鉅，而馬總統在第二任期內展現的領導能力與執政方向，更將對國家發展產生重大影響。

超過半數民意的背書，意味著馬總統的施政大方向獲得肯定，尤其推動兩岸和解交流更是得到大部分民眾的支持，而這也意味著，台灣民眾對兩岸交流帶來更多利益有所期待；在這方面，馬總統帶領的執政團隊一方面應該讓更多民眾感受到實質的獲益，一方面也應該以前瞻的眼光，深化兩岸交流層次，促進年輕世代的往來，在經貿、投資、採購之外，增進兩岸人民的相互了解，也讓台灣可以在中國大陸社會發展的過程中產生良性的影響力。

為什麼要深化兩岸交流的層次，因為在民主開放的道路上，台灣有比較多的經驗，台灣正在實踐的民主價值，以及從而彰顯的精神力量，是一個可以供中國大陸思考的方向。而民主自由理念蘊含的尊重、人權、多元與包容，對化解兩岸矛盾，構築共同思維有重大意義。兩岸之爭若能逐漸在理念接近中化解，將不僅是台灣全民之福，更是兩岸人民之福。

不過，馬英九雖然以六百八十九萬票的過半票數獲勝，但投給蔡英文的六百零九萬票，加上投給宋楚瑜的卅七萬票，意味著總共有六百四十六萬選民是很明確不要馬英九當總統的，而且其中有不少選民對馬政府兩岸政策的速度及方向，是感到不安的。這些人，一樣是馬總統的頭家。

馬英九固然得到了超過百分之五十一的選民支持，但在勝選之後，必須努力扮演一個「全民總統」的角色，與其餘百分之四十八的選民對話，傾聽他們的聲音，了解他們的想法，並且對自己的施政理念做更積極的溝通，尤其對於兩岸政策，必須努力化解這些沒有投票給他的民眾心裡的疑慮，並力圖緩和明顯藍綠各半的社會分裂態勢。畢竟，如果內部意見激烈對立，勢將牽絆兩岸政策的推進空間。

也許投票給馬英九的選民有特定的政黨屬性，但元首代表國家，也代表著全民的利益，以及台灣共同的命運，一旦成為總統，就不能有黨派之偏。過去馬總統曾被批評決策圈太狹窄，親近幕僚與基層有距離，又同質性太高，既然成為國家領袖，在決策時就須兼顧各方主張，包容不同理念，尊重反對意見，以全民的未來為最大依歸，也以下一代長遠福祉及國家的繁榮成長為自我期許。馬總統在第二任期已無連任壓力，但民眾的評價之眼，卻依舊時時緊盯毫不放鬆，馬總統當然也不能鬆懈。

第二任期的最大困難，是「跛鴨效應」可能在卸任的前兩年就浮現，因為接班角力戰已經蠢蠢欲動，西瓜派準備另覓明主，以致政策容易被視為難以持續，政治承諾也欠缺說服力。但此時馬總統更應該著重於結構性、制度性的問題，因為，如果能為好的政策打好基礎，日後施政便能更為順遂推展。

例如「公平正義」訴求之所以能夠打動人心，就是因為貧富差距激起了不少民怨，雖然貧富差距不可能消除，但扶持弱勢者、提供急難援助的社福體系，長期以來始終處於缺錢缺人的困境，需要政府更積極地提供資源與支持。

此外，人口老化與少子化的陰影，籠罩著台灣的未來，這是一個無法逃避、也難以扭轉的課題，國家是由一個個的人組成，人的問題，就是國家最大的問題。政府必須對人口問題做制度性的長遠規畫，包括如何協助學校轉型及教師轉業、如何加強幼兒托育服務、如何建立長照制度、如何放寬移民規定以引進人口等等。

其實獲得選民再度授權的第二任期，應該可以更有魄力、更決斷地大開大闔，挑戰一些比較困難的決定，為社會留下更多良好制度。全新的四年，將是馬總統為自己留下歷史軌跡的全新機會，全民正拭目以待。