To mark the first anniversary of Presi-dent Ma Ying-jeou's May 20, 2008 inauguration, I conducted Taiwan Panorama's first-ever presidential interview. Though I have interviewed President Ma twice before, once as justice minister and once as mayor of Taipei, sitting down with the president was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me as well.

Ma was just as warm and cordial on this occasion as on the previous two, and smiled throughout the hour-long interview. No matter how probing the inquiry, he offered a clear and straightforward explanation of his stance, offering up his thoughts on and approach to the matter at hand, and repeating and illustrating key concepts as necessary. Never imperious, evasive, or combative, he was practical, direct, and possessed of an international perspective throughout. While it is impossible that every member of the public will agree Ma's every position or be satisfied with every aspect of his performance over the last year, we are all fortunate to finally have a president who doesn't place himself above the political system, does as he says, and is ready to communicate with the public.

When the Democratic Progressive Party became the ruling party, it vowed to pursue investigations that would shake the country to its roots, but its subsequent actions were largely carried out for political gain; few had anything to do with reforming the political sphere or bringing justice to society. President Ma, on the other hand, was confronted with former President Chen Shui-bian's corruption case soon after taking office. He has maintained throughout that he finds no joy in this lamentable situation and that he takes it as a reminder to remain vigilant. Ma has also been unwilling to comment on the proceedings, and in keeping with the presumption of innocence has refused to answer hypothetical questions about the prospect of pardons. Ma's adherence to the law, focus on the issues at hand, avoidance of rash political pronouncements, and lack of personal bias, show that he has the right inclinations.

Ma's attitude brings to mind this month's special feature, "Reevaluating May Fourth," which examines the May Fourth Movement's introduction of science and democracy to China, and how the absence of the rule of law prevented it from establishing a stable structure. Democracy is an idealistic and romantic notion that requires the existence of good processes, rules, and oversight mechanisms to function. May Fourth leader Chen Duxiu stressed master morality's "respect for individual freedom and autonomy, and not [serving as] the property of another," but he ultimately became an advocate for communism, which represses the individual. Science, meanwhile, applies the spirit of inquiry to the pursuit of facts and truth. But, if we admit the subtle convolutions of the human mind, how can we depend upon the experimental method to expose truth and falsehood? China developed its first nuclear bomb (1964) and embarked on its Cultural Revolution (1966) in rapid succession. Are these events indicative of Chinese progress or regression?

May Fourth was not the first movement to attempt to stamp out traditional Chinese values. Hong Xiuchuan's Taiping Rebellion burned Confucian temples in the mid-Qing Dynasty, and Tan Sitong called for smashing traditionally defined relationships in the late Qing. By the time of May Fourth, the Three Relationships (ruler-subject, father-son, and husband-wife) had already been shaken. The May Fourth Movement simply pushed further in the same direction, hoping to bring traditional culture and values crashing down. But the May Fourth thinkers went too far in their efforts to emulate the West and modernize China-they succeeded in rectifying 2,000 years of bad habits, but they threw the baby out with the bathwater. As we memorialize the 90th anniversary of May Fourth, we should also remember that China has yet to completely recover from the toxic legacy of those days.

Fortunately, Taiwan has held onto traditional Chinese values as it forged ahead with its development of democracy, science, and the rule of law. Like President Ma himself, vast numbers of Taiwanese are equally comfortable with Western scholarship and Chinese classics. I hope that as our politics get back on a viable track over the next few years, our culture and values will also move in a direction that makes every person of Chinese ethnicity proud.