In the afternoon of the day, Ma delivered a statement at the KMT headquarters under the title “Taiwan Must Stride Forward”, in which he called for strengthening Taiwan by allying with Asia-Pacific nations for global development. Ma stressed that, if it assumes power, the KMT will strive to achieve the goal of 6 percent annual economic growth in the hope that in 2011 the average income of every citizen on the island will rise to US$20,000. Other pledges made by Ma in the statement included the creation of a “local reconstruction fund” to help improve the local financial situation and lowering the unemployment rate to below 3 percent.

Ma’s emphasis on ways to solve people’s livelihood problem in his bid for the presidency should be a welcome offer of “beef” to local voters plagued by an extremely sluggish economy for quite a while. However, the public reaction to Ma’s speech appeared to be lukewarm. Of course, the timing of the statement might not be perfect as it was overshadowed by many other hot issues such as the upcoming primary of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — marked by cutthroat bickering among the DPP presidential hopefuls — and the possibility that Wang Jin-pyng, a KMT heavyweight who is also interested in running for the presidency, will make some kind of move.

Observers may agree that Taiwan is currently in a peculiar political climate. It is not that most local residents do not know what they want and hope for. Tragic news concerning poor people committing suicide appears every day in mass media. Statistics showing that Taiwan has steadily been moving backward from the first to the last of the “four small dragons” in Asia and, in fact, has been gradually overtaken by other less developed Asian countries in terms of progress and prosperity, are clear to many. People here also agree with Ma’s assertion that mere ideology and personal belief can not rule the nation well. But, it seems that Taiwan people can be easily manipulated by unscrupulous politicians into acting irrationally, contrary to what they normally believe, particularly at poll times. Therefore, what they need most now are leaders who can transform words into action. Well said as it was, Ma’s statement failed to inspire confidence in his listeners that the rosy picture he has painted will actually materialize in the near future in chaotic Taiwan. From now on, Ma should take advantage of every opportunity to prove to the public that he possesses such leadership caliber.

With his unquestioned integrity and intelligence, Ma certainly has his political charisma. But he needs to add strength and assertiveness to his genius, making his supporters believe he is a leader strong, confident and wise enough to lead them to overcome all kinds of adversaries in pursuit of their cherished goals.

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