Although the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) has an absolute majority in the Legislature, many of President Ma Ying-jeou’s campaign promises have failed to materialize. The reason behind this is that politicians and policies have all been held hostage by elections.

The latest example is a draft amendment to the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act, which would require that government employees be dismissed if they get a “C” rating for three consecutive years. The bill drew a strong backlash from civil servants, who threatened to oust the KMT in the next elections.

As expected, Ma was frightened and decided to meet with Examination Yuan President Kuan Chung and Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng next week to try to sort out the differences. While we are not surprised that Ma would backtrack on his policy, we feel sad and helpless.

Who is the target audience of this show? It is the sitting duck taxpayers like you and me. Allowing elections to hold politicians hostage and extort them is the greatest misfortune of Taiwan’s democracy. (March 13, 2010) (By Y.F. Low)

More Info: http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=182473&CtNode=39