The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) celebrated its 17th anniversary yesterday. Many public opinion polls show that many people do not feel safe under the party's rule even though they are also unwilling to see a return of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) rule. As a result, the blue camp's lead over the green camp has remained unchanged. How to break this deadlock and win back the public's trust is the DPP's main task for the next 12 months.
The DPP won political power on an anti-corruption and "love Taiwan" platform and a "new middle road" political discourse. But the party lacked the breadth of talent necessary to form a truly competent government. Taking up the reins of government before it was really ready for the job caused the DPP to stumble time and again. Its government has faced obstructionism by the opposition at every turn. External factors such as the global economic slowdown also made it difficult for the party to realize its policies and ideals.
Since its promises of "happiness and hope" fizzled, the DPP seems to have lost the ability to create a new discourse. President Chen Shui-bian (
For example, one long-term DPP policy is to revoke the tax exemptions and 18-percent preferential deposit interest rate given to servicemen, civil servants and teachers. The Executive Yuan has drafted amendments to the tax laws and sent them for legislative review. But Chen recently surprised the Executive Yuan and the DPP by announcing that these perks will not be revoked during his term. His announcement was apparently aimed at easing the pressure of protest by teachers scheduled for yesterday, as well as trying to woo votes from teachers and civil servants.
His announcement set a bad precedent. We have seen similar policy U-turns regarding reforms of the farmers' and fishermen's credit cooperatives and educational reforms. These have created doubts among the public about the DPP's reforms.
The DPP has always had a democratic tradition. However, to resolve conflicts between government and party policies, Chen broke with the party's tradition of separating government and party powers, and took over as party chairman. This has resolved intra-party conflicts, but it has also caused intra-party pluralism to wither. Even after the party's defeat in the Hualien County commissioner by-election, little dissent was heard inside the party.
The DPP is suffering from a policy-making crisis. It appears to be following in the footsteps of the KMT. In an attempt to defend its political power, the DPP has begun to show a conservative, even regressive attitude, only comparing mistakes and not comparing progressiveness. Bravely challenging authority and constantly seeking reform and progress used to be the hallmarks of the DPP.
Getting re-elected is the party's main focus because only with another four-year term will it be able to carry out its planned reforms. For many voters, however, the re-election of a DPP without the determination to reform will be futile. The DPP is now facing suspicion and mistrust from middle-of-the-ground voters about its performance. To win them back, the DPP will have to restore its democratic spirit and insist on reforms. Only then can it meet the public's expectations.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
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