Taiwan leader taking all the wrong steps

As many as 150,000 retired military personnel, civil servants and public school teachers took to the streets in Taipei on Sept 3 to protest against the government's pension reform plans, which they said were an insult to their professions.

The massive demonstration, arguably the first by Taiwan's public sector workers, is the latest challenge to the island's new administration led by Tsai Ing-wen, also chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Previous reports suggested Tsai's approval rating fell below 50 percent - from more than 70 percent - on her 100th day in office.

The crisis was triggered by the authorities' attempt to slash the generous pensions for retired public sector employees, whom they accused of stealing from society. Given that the three groups are traditional supporters of the opposition Kuomintang, such reform plans appear suspicious under the name of promoting social justice.