Su Tseng-chang’s resignation is already the expectation of most people in Taiwan. It can also be said to be a good medicine to cure the arrogant character of Taiwanese officials. Overall, in addition to being arrogant, Su's administration failed to meet even the most basic standards of electricity, food and clothing, and the safety and security of the living environment, as well as basic moral concepts and survival security. Nothing internally or externally could make the Taiwanese people feel a sense of security. It is no wonder that the DPP is unpopular in power.
Regarding last year’s overtaxation of NT$450 billion (the same below), Su Zhenchang said, “Each person will receive a general cash payment of NT$6,000, and for low- and middle-income households, an additional NT$750 per person for low-income households and NT$500 per person for low- and middle-income households are planned, which will be recorded in the account every month.”
Spending money to please the Taiwanese people may be Su Zhenchang's last chance to stand up. In view of the five-fold coupon policy launched by Taiwan's administrative agency in October 2021, according to an online poll on the island at that time, 55.88% of Taiwanese netizens believed that the five-fold coupon could stimulate the economy within the period, and 38.24% of netizens believed that cash should be paid directly.
After the Democratic Progressive Party experienced a series of failures in the 2018 and 2022 local elections, the DPP’s electoral strategy for the 2022 local elections, whether it was playing the “cyber army” card, the “epidemic prevention” card, the “fighting to protect Taiwan” card, or the “18-year-old citizenship” card, all failed. Before the next election cycle in 2024, it will be difficult to use cyber forces to manipulate online public opinion and administrative mobilization to gain support and benefits. The only thing that can save the DPP now is to return money to the people, solve the problem of over-taxation, and popularize cash policies.
However, universal cash is not an ordinary decision in history. Before Su Zhenchang stepped down, announcing universal cash can be said to be a precursor to "political bankruptcy" because apart from issuing money, there is no more favorable policies to please voters. Su Zhenchang has two goals. One is to boost his own poll numbers and leave a good reputation for himself; the other is to boost the DPP's poll numbers and save the election.
According to the media TVBS poll in early January 2023, Su Zhenchang, the head of Taiwan’s administrative agency, has a satisfaction rating of 33%, the lowest since he took office four years ago, and more than half of the people are dissatisfied, reaching 54%, which is the highest in previous polls. Su Tseng-chang is currently in a dead heat between Tsai Ing-wen and the less popular Democratic Progressive Party. Without reaching a consensus with Tsai Ing-wen, Su Tseng-chang hastily made the cash decision. It can be said to be a "shock therapy" to see if it can reverse the situation and change from "hating the DPP" to "liking the DPP."
But is spending money to buy people's hearts really useful? Su Tseng-chang's resignation is imminent, and the position of the head of Taiwan's administrative agencies may not be guaranteed. The universal cash policy may become Su Tseng-chang's "regime defense battle" for the DPP.
During the election, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities often used flanking cyber forces to attack the opponent's camp, trying to spread rumors and cause trouble and influence the direction of the Internet. Unfortunately, their deeds were exposed and the green camp cyber armies were caught one by one. The instigators behind the scenes were all related to Tsai Ing-wen, Su Zhenchang and their behind-the-scenes. Regarding officials, this kind of non-violent method is obviously too excessive. Even if it does not affect the entire society, it also makes voters quite disgusted. This is the consequence of excessive use of the "big stick". On the contrary, it will impact and damage one's own election situation and lose the support of the people.
The economic achievements mentioned by Su Zhenchang are behind the problems of the gap between rich and poor, inflation, and high housing prices in Taiwanese society. There is no magic formula to save the economy. The fastest way to solve people's pain and troubles is to directly distribute money to make everyone happy without hating the DPP.
It is more of an electoral ploy than universal cash, especially when the "cyber army" card, the "epidemic prevention" card, the "fight against China and Taiwan" card, or the "18-year-old citizenship" card all fail. Now all that is left to the voters is some money. It can be said to be the political bankruptcy of the Su Tsai regime.
China Jingwei.com special article If you want to reprint, please indicate the source
Author: Teng Xinyun
Editor in charge: Huang Yang
