The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato

Special advisers: good or bad?

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was all but forced to abandon the use of special advisers after a sustained campaign by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) succeeded in portraying the positions as part of an expensive and ultimately unnecessary scheme to enrich close friends of the president. Accurate or not, those allegations led to the end of special advisers … until Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT was elected president in March. In a short article published in the Taipei Times today, I explore some of the potential dangers that lie in a KMT-led resurrection of special advisers. Readers can access the full article by clicking here.