Cabinet gets ‘Kuai Kuai’ carried away

Ma, a vice chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), avoided the two previous Cabinet meetings in a show of defiance of President Chen Shui-bian, whose re-election victory the opposition is seeking to nullify at court on the grounds of voting impropriety.

When he finally made a brief appearance at the routine Wednesday meeting, Cabinet spokesman Chen Chi-mai said afterwards that he would reward Ma with a packet of “Kuai Kuai” — a popular children’s snack whose name means “obedient” — if the mayor shows up three more times.

Chen Chi-mai’s remark sparked heated criticism from opposition lawmakers, who are already furious at certain government officials for frequently skipping legislative question-and-answer sessions.

“I believe that lawmakers are willing to give officials from the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan ‘Kuai Kuai’ each time they come to a legislative meeting, instead of every three time,” said KMT lawmaker Chiang Yi-wen, holding up two packets of the snack in her hands.

To demonstrate her point, Chiang revised the theme song of “Kuai Kuai” to “only if you come to the meeting, I will give you Kuai Kuai” and sang it aloud at yesterday’s plenary session.

Compared to Chiang’s parody, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong made a harsh-toned criticism on Chen Chi-mai and demanded Premier Yu Shyi-kun to apologize for the “Kuai Kuai” remark.

“The vulgar and irresponsible attitude the cabinet spokesman used towards the mayor of Taipei, saying that he will reward ‘Kuai Kuai’ if (Ma) behaves. I think Premier Yu should deliver a public apology to Mayor Ma,” Soong told reporters.

The “Kuai Kuai” controversy also spread to the Taipei City Council, where Ma’s staff stopped a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilor from giving Ma a packet of the snack in mockery.

“Gentle, obedient and moderate in performance, this is ‘Kuai Kuai’ and one of your images,” DPP councilor Lee Chien-chang told Ma during yesterday’s interpellation session.

In response, Ma said, “the joke in the Cabinet should not be repeated in the city council.”

Lee then tried to approach Ma to present a packet of “Kuai Kuai,” while two of Ma’s core staffers, Wu Wu-sheng and Hugh Lin, immediately rose from their seats to stop him.

Wu, director of the Information Department, and Lin, director of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, are dubbed the “Ma troop” with their aspirations to run for offices.

The mayor himself refrained from making any comment on the “Kuai Kuai” ridicule.

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