3143 Edition
May 21-27, 2012
Editorial

Translated by Lydia Ma

Pressured by increasing public dissatisfaction, President Ma Ying-jeou called a press conference one day before his second-term inauguration ceremony to defend himself and explain his dilemma. However, this press conference did not generate his desired effect because on the day of his inauguration, people flooded the streets outside the Presidential Palace to protest against him on issues such as loss of national sovereignty and rising unemployment and poverty. Coverage of protesters chanting slogans such as “Ma Ying-jeou, step down!” and “It’s hard to get by! The President must explain!” outside of the Presidential Palace where the inaugural ceremony was being held must have made guests invited to attend this solemn ceremony feel uneasy.

People all over the world nowadays are hungry for freedom, democracy, diversity, and human rights. These ideals have now become global values and basic rights demanded by every citizen of his country’s leader. National leaders are called to heed these requests whether they like it or not. Unlike the past, national leaders can no longer go on for long focusing solely on the well-being of their own political parties or their legacies and ignore the cries of the people.

In his book entitled The Taste of Power, Slovak writer and journalist Ladislav Mnacko writes that power is an attraction a million times more lethal than love. He explains that though love stories that don’t work out may have tragic endings, it may still leave a legacy worthy of admiration or at least a good romantic example. However, power in the hands of wrong people is like venom with long lasting and poisonous effects.

We can find plenty of examples illustrating Mnacko’s point throughout history where “powerful” yet “foolish” national leaders increased the suffering of the people and were later despised for centuries after their death. On the other hand, there are also many “wise” politicians who never ascended the throne of power and regretted this missed opportunity throughout their lives. Sadly, both instances have apply to Taiwan.

It is a well-known fact that President Ma Ying-jeou once claimed that he was baptized into the Catholic Church. As a Christian, it naturally follows that he should obey God’s commands lest he be tempted with evil and arrogance. To put it bluntly, we ask nothing more of President Ma than to obey God’s commands through the prophet Micah, so that Taiwanese may be blessed under his presidency. The prophet Micah once wrote to the Israelites with the following exhortation: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

As we observe this year’s Pentecost, it is our hope that the newly re-installed President of Taiwan would understand the need to rely on the Holy Spirit and obey the teachings of the Bible as our country’s leader. In order for our nation to be blessed, President Ma must not depart from God’s ways, otherwise, not only will he fail to safeguard his own power, he will also drag the nation down with him.