Asia Weekly

Asia Politics

Has Ma fallen off his horse?

Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou is feeling the public's dissatisfaction after he "stumbled" over the issue of tainted milk products from mainland China and failed to deal with the "economic fallout from recent typhoons," says Cindy Sui in Asia Times Online. Ma's handling of the milk crisis "frustrated the public." When the government finally acted, it "confused" consumers by raising the level of melamine allowed in products. Efforts to deal with the economy have been seen as "ineffective," and Ma's sole trip to areas "hard-hit" by typhoons came late in September. Former president Lee Teng-hui accused Ma of "incompetence" for "failing to offer concrete measures" to deal with the two issues, says the Taipei Times. Taiwan "appears lost, like it is walking around in a fog," said Lee. Former president Chen Shui-bian "lambasted" Ma and said he "should step down if he could not immediately improve the economy," says Ko Shu-Ling in the Taipei Times. Recent polls show Ma's "approval rating has fallen to far below 30 percent," notes Asia Times.

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