On Governance

* Taiwan's presidential election is heating up, with the primary focus on whether the KMT would collaborate with Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and form a combined ticket. While both parties have voiced the intention to collaborate, no concrete progress has been made in the last two weeks. There is no indication that the proposed KMT-TPP collaboration appears imminent, but the end of October is the deadline that would either make, or break, the planned alliance.

* The stalled negotiations can only be interpreted as a result of too much "self-centered political calculation." Each party has its own set of interests and clearly lacks the understanding necessary, and appreciation, of gesture and rhetoric coming from the other party. Without a foundation of trust, the collaboration probably wouldn't work, and even if it did, it likely would not survive the first instance of policy, or operational, disagreement.

* Governance is the measurement of governmental performance for the benefit of the people. Usually it's not the accomplishment of a single person, but a group of competent, committed officials working together as a team. As people often say, "it's no longer the age of one-man show."

* This is something that has been overlooked in the presidential campaign. Voters would examine candidates' qualification, experience, and policy proposal in making their decision, but seldom they would question whether a particular candidate has "a team" to govern effectively and whether this "team" has accomplished enough in the past to warrant another shot at governance. Maybe people can dig a bit deeper, think a bit wider before casting their ballot.