Wu, Chu qualified to serve

Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen has warned that President Ma Ying-jeou's choice of Wu to be premier was poorly made.

She said that Wu lacks experience running a Cabinet-level ministry, making him unfit for his new position.

She also said she doubted Wu would be able to effectively coordinate work between the various ministries and departments that will come under his control.

DPP Legislator Trong Chai declared that Wu would head a “political Cabinet” dedicated to helping President Ma's ruling KMT win elections rather than help southern Taiwan recover from the devastating effects of Typhoon Morakot.

Former President Lee Teng-hui, who was making a visit to Japan, expressed surprise when one of his aides informed him of Wu's selection.

When Lee was asked whether Wu was an “earnest man,” Lee snapped: “I don't know,” although he also said that critics should at least give Wu a chance in office before starting to criticize him.

Given Taiwan's status as a full democracy, the criticism of Wu is not surprising.

However, the DPP's stinging accusations against Wu lack substance, and are even hypocritical.

When the DPP's Chen Shui-bian was president from 2000 through 2008, he named a total of six premiers, including one, Chang Chun-hsiung, who served on two separate occasions.

With the exception of his first premier, Tang Fei, who served a mere five months in office, not a single one of President Chen's Cabinet premiers had previously served as the head of a Cabinet ministry.

It is hypocritical for the DPP to demand that the KMT appoint former Cabinet ministers to serve as premier when the DPP itself failed to do so for the vast majority of the eight years it was in power.

As for the issue of Wu's experience, he is clearly qualified to serve in the office to which he has been appointed.

While Wu has long been a household name in Taiwan, many people have forgotten that he is one of the few politicians who has been elected to high office in northern, central and southern Taiwan.

A native of central Taiwan's Nantou County, Wu started his career working as a reporter and editorial writer for The China Times.

After deciding he could do as good of a job as the politicians he was covering, Wu won a seat in the Taipei City Council in 1973, and again in 1977.

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