Dr. Ching-chih Chen

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Resignation not the way to end the blame game
Friday August 06, by Dr. Ching-chih Chen

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published on Taipei Times http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2002/12/11/186771

Resignation not the way to end the blame game

By Chen Ching-Chih

Wednesday, Dec 11, 2002,Page 8

Resignations have attained outrageous significance since Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) won the 2002 presidential election and formed the first non-KMT government in Taiwan since 1945.

Over the past two years, rarely has a week passed when we didn't hear cries for some official to step down. Is it essential or even necessary that officials should consider resigning to assume responsibility, real or perceived, for every little thing that happens?

The Japanese are very quick to take responsibility for the mistakes they make, while the Americans, in contrast, are not. In Japan, for instance, after a civilian airliner crashes, in addition to the airline's CEO, the transportation minister will likely also resign.

However, we seldom hear about a US official stepping down to take even political responsibility unless asked by his superior to do so. For example, no senior US official has yet resigned to take responsibility for the failure to avert the Sept. 11 attacks.

Is the Japanese political culture more advanced than the American one? The answer is obviously "no." More so than the Japanese, the Americans are inclined to investigate first rather than sweep the case under the rug after the resignation of an official alleged to be responsible. This is the reason US President George W. Bush appointed Henry Kissinger to head the investigation of the terrorist attacks on the US.

Late in 2000, while serving as vice premier, Yu Shyi-kun resigned to take responsibility for the Pachang Creek tragedy. Yu was subsequently praised for his noble act. While his resignation spared the Chen administration from continuing criticism for the failure to save these four lives, Yu set, in my opinion, a bad example.

In the first place, the local authorities in Chiayi County were more to blame for the tragic failure than the central authorities in this particular case. Second, Yu's action seemed to have raised the expectation that every time there is a political blunder, real or otherwise, there is an outcry for the heads of officials, the higher the better.

In November, for instance, critics in the media and political circles demanded that a number of high officials should resign for various reasons. These included top representative to the US Chen Chien-jen (程建人) for his failure to prevent the embarrassing airport security search of first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission Chairwoman Chang Fu-mei (張富美) for her supposedly poor performance and Presidential Secretary General Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) for his controversial remark on the flag. These demands culminated in demands for the resignation of the premier and other officials following the government's U-turn on reform of farmers' and fishermen's associations.

If Taiwan is to have political stability and maturity, critics must not be so quick to demand that high officials step down. It is unreasonable to expect the officials of any administration to be faultless.

When a political mistake is made, it is better that the official involved, in most cases, be allowed a chance to learn from the mistakes. More importantly, frustrated officials should not readily yield to pressure for their resignations, let alone volunteer to resign. If necessary, create a commission for investigating the case thoroughly. Without facts, how is it possible to learn anything from the experience?

In short, if it is not transformed, the existing culture of resignation will not only continue to make the people of Taiwan look foolish, but will also have a significant negative impact on the nation's progress in general.

Chen Ching-chih is professor emeritus of history at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Illinois.