Can an Unconventional Cabinet Rejuvenate Taiwan?

Can an Unconventional Cabinet Rejuvenate Taiwan?
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
February 5, 2013

Summary: The Chiang-Mao Cabinet has more or less been sorted out. Attention has been focused mainly on the reorganization of ministries charged with fiscal policy. Shih Yen-hsiang and Yin Chi-ming have been made national policy advisors. Their places are being filled by Chang Chia-chu and Kuan Chung-ming. Can such a cabinet restore ROC economic prosperity? That depends on whether the cabinet leaders and managers can work efficiently hand in hand.

Full text below:

The Chiang-Mao Cabinet has more or less been sorted out. Attention has been focused mainly on the reorganization of ministries charged with fiscal policy. Shih Yen-hsiang and Yin Chi-ming have been made national policy advisors. Their places are being filled by Chang Chia-chu and Kuan Chung-ming. Can such a cabinet restore ROC economic prosperity? That depends on whether the cabinet leaders and managers can work efficiently hand in hand.

The current cabinet reshuffle was unconventional. Incoming Premier Chiang Yi-hua made the transition from ordinary academic to minister in four short years, then jumped to cabinet chief. Many people are unfamiliar with him. Even Blue camp comrades are still sizing him up. Meanwhile, Green camp opponents are wary. They are not treating the matter lightly. This point is worth pondering. Many officials responsible for the transportation system have assumed positions of authority during the recent reshuffle. Mao Chi-kuo, Chang Chia-chu, Ye Kuang-shi and others have hopped onto the cabinet locomotive. At the same time, fiscal policy oriented personnel have retreated. This too, was unconventional.

The ROC economy faces a difficult transition. Yet the cabinet reshuffle has put personnel without fiscal policy experience in positions of authority. Was this because talent was hard to find? Or was it because those in power consider non-economic factors the problem, and are attempting to solve the problem in a different way? This is puzzling. In any event, this unconventional cabinet has broken the old pattern. Can the government break with the past and form a new cabinet the public can looks forward to? That depends on how serious Chiang Yi-hua and his team are about this experiment in reshuffling. That depends on whether they do everything in their power to achieve their goals.

Last year at about this time, Sean Chen was ordered to form a cabinet. The public had high hopes for his fiscal policy oriented cabinet. But the ROC economy has remained at its nadir all year. The economic growth rate has been revised downwards nine times. The Free Trade Zone Pilot Program has remained stalled. Obstacles continue to block industrial transformation. Sean Chen himself made little progress on reform for U.S. beef imports, capital gains taxes, pensions, and state-owned enterprises. Admittedly complex political factors are involved, for which he should nto be blamed. But the ineptitude of the CEPD has also disillusioned people about the fiscal policy oriented cabinet. This is one of the most important factors leading to the current cabinet reshuffle. 

From this perspective, it matters little who is or is not in the cabinet. It matters little who offered advice behind the scenes. The Chiang-Mao cabinet's most important task is to boost public confidence and change the public mood. It matters little whether this cabinet is considered a fiscal policy oriented cabinet. That is unimportant. What is important is whether it can overcome the current atmosphere of fiscal impotence. The cabinet lacks shining fiscal policy stars. The cabinet must rely on Chiang Yi-hua's leadership, on Mao Chi-kuo's management skills, on Chang Chia-chu's comprehensive governance, and on Kuan Chung-min's reason and enthusiasm. They can inspire each other. They can consult individuals and businesses, in search of answers. Only then can they achieve their goals.

In recent years, when people talk about fiscal policy oriented officials, they invariably voice nostalgia for Sun Yun-suan, Li Kuo-ting, Chao Yao-tung and other pioneering geniuses. But officials of such vision are not easy to find today, Today's political and economic environment is riddled with social divisions. Even if pioneers with their vision were to appear, it might be impossible to persuade people to trust them. Furthermore, Li Kuo-ting and others were able to lay such a solid foundation for Taiwan, not because they possessed any particular expertise in fiscal policy, but because they had an extraordinary sense of mission. They had the ability of engineers to analyze and solve problems. As a result they constantly pursued excellence. They constantly worked to realize their vision, and they constantly endeavored to surpass themselves.

When Sun Yun-suan was ordered to form a cabinet, or Li Kuo-ting was invited to join a cabinet. their first thought was not "I've been promoted!" It was "How can I possibly fulfill this impossible mission I have been entrusted with?" Only this provided them with the impetus necessary to bring these grand plans for the nation to fruition, despite their limited authority. Chen Shui-bian was in office eight years. Ma Ying-jeou has been in office five-years. During this 13 year period, the ROC had 11 different premiers and hundreds of different cabinet members. They include ministers who served only 48 days before leaving office in a panic. They include ministers who cared more about their own image than contributing to the cabinet, and therefore hastily resigned. Today the cabinet is being reshuffled. We need not anticipate the arrival of any Superman. But we hope all cabinet members will be serious about their mission. Is that too much to expect?

The Taiwan stock market gave the Sean Chen cabinet an enthusiastic welcome. But the cabinet was a flash in the pan, and the market steadily declined. This time, Chiang Yi-hua has been ordered to form a cabinet. The market rose a mere five points. Public support was also cooler. This shows that observers are capable of evaluating the new cabinet without jumping to conclusions, based merely on outside appearance. Chiang Yi-hua has never undergone any major battles. He must show that he is capable of assuming the heavy burden of premier. He must keep his eyes and ears open, and think clearly. That is more important than constantly trying to read the president's mind.

The new cabinet is hardly scintillating. Can it exceed public expectations? That will depend on team spirit, cooperation, effort, as well as cabinet members's attitude towards their own work.

「非典」內閣能否再造台灣榮景
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.02.05 04:13 am

「江毛內閣」大致底定。最受矚目的財經部會改組，施顏祥和尹啟銘轉任國策顧問，遺缺分由張家祝、管中閔接掌。此一組合能否擔負再造台灣經濟榮景的重任，關鍵繫於內閣團隊的領導及管理是否有效整合。

這次內閣改組最大的特色，就是「非典型」。新揆江宜樺短短四年多從一介學者搖身成為部長，再躍升為閣揆；不僅許多民眾對他仍極感陌生，藍軍同志對他也仍在估量。相形之下，綠營對手則對他保持戒懼，絲毫不敢輕忽，這點值得玩味。此外，交通體系官員多人在這波出線，包括毛治國、張家祝、葉匡時等人進入內閣火車頭；與此同時，財經體系人馬卻呈現消退，這也是非典型布局。

正當台灣經濟面臨轉型困局，內閣改組卻反而是非財經背景人馬當道，這究竟是人才難覓？或是主政者看到財經困局裡的非經濟因素而試圖以不同手法突圍？讓人好奇。無論如何，這個非典型內閣具有突破舊格局的本質，而最後能否「由破而立」建立民眾期待的新局，則要看江宜樺和他的新團隊有多認真看待這場改組實驗，並竭盡所能去完成自己的目標。

去年此時，陳?受命組閣，他所領軍的「財經內閣」曾被民眾寄予厚望。然而，整整一年台灣經濟都始終在谷底掙扎，經濟成長率九度下修，自由經濟示範區的推動緩步不前，產業轉型的障礙依舊如故。而陳?本人，則在美牛開放、證所稅、年金及國營事業改革等議題的夾攻下，難有施展。其中，固有許多「非戰之罪」的複雜政治因素，但經建部門的表現無力，也使人們對「財經內閣」失去了幻想。這正是這波內閣改組最主要的因素。

從這個角度看，無論內閣是誰進誰出，或何人在幕後操刀獻計，江毛內閣最重要的任務，就是提振台灣的信心和氣象。這個內閣有無「財經內閣」之名，其實已不重要；重要的是，要能設法突破目前財經的沉悶與無力。那麼，在缺乏亮眼財經明星的情況下，內閣團隊唯有靠江宜樺擅長的提綱挈領、毛治國的管理長才、張家祝的綜合治理、加上管中閔的理性和熱情，彼此激盪砥礪，並不時勤訪民間及企業尋求良策，方有可能達成目標。

這些年，人們談到財經官員，無不對孫運璿、李國鼎、趙耀東等人開創的不凡時代緬懷不已。但不可諱言，如此視野宏大的官員已不易見，而以今天的政經環境和社會的撕裂，就算出現真知灼見的先行者，或也未必能得到人們一致信服。進一步說，李國鼎等人之所以能為台灣奠立如此堅實的根基，原因並非他們具有特殊的財經專長，而在他們具有非凡的使命感，具有工程師般窮究問題、解決問題的訓練，因此能夠不斷地追求、瞻望、實踐與超越。

當年孫運璿受命組閣或李國鼎應邀入閣時，他們心中想的，絕對不是自己「升官」的喜悅，而是應如何完成使命始能不負所託的惶恐。唯有那樣，才有足夠的動力，推促他們完成超乎自身權位應許的國家大計。從陳水扁的八年到馬英九的五年，台灣十三年間換過十一位閣揆，異動過上百名閣員，其中有任期四十八天即倉皇求去的部長，有愛惜羽毛重於團隊表現而草率掛冠的部長。今天的改組，我們不必說渴望什麼「超人」降臨，但期待所有閣員嚴肅看待自己的使命，應不算奢望吧？

陳?組閣時，台股給了他熱烈的慶祝行情，但曇花一現後即一路走跌。這次，江宜樺受命組閣，股市僅小漲五點淡定以對，民調支持也是偏冷。這樣的對照，說明外界對新閣的表現可以再作觀察，不必從外觀急於遽下結論。唯對未曾經歷重大戰役的江宜樺而言，要證明自己擔得起這個閣揆的重任，保持耳目的開放及思維的清晰，絕對比不斷去猜測總統的心思重要。

新內閣的布局並未令人驚艷，能否拿出超乎人們預期的成績，端視這個團隊有沒有合作及奮進精神，以及閣員用什麼態度看待自己的工作。