Fri, Apr 23, 2004 page8

• Chen must seize this moment to push reform

  • By Liu Kuan-teh 劉冠德
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  Despite the opposition's continued refusal to accept the outcome of the presidential election, the result is a watershed for reshaping the nation's political landscape. It not only granted President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) a new mandate to continue reforms with more than 50 percent of the vote, it also increased the chances of the pan-green camp gaining a majority in the Legislative Yuan at year's end.

  That explains why the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been busy drawing up plans for the December legislative elections. If the DPP, along with its green-camp

  partner, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, can win more than half of the legislature's seats, then the full transfer of political power will have finally been accomplished.

  With the opposition camp having opposed Chen for four years by blocking everything he has proposed, the only effective way to bring healthy competition back to national politics is to let the president do his job

  -- with solid support from the legislature.

  Strategically speaking, Chen and the DPP's top priority is not to attract more defectors from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to cobble together a majority in the legislature; rather, it is to initiate reform of the Legislative Yuan itself.

  During the presidential election, the pan-blue camp echoed Chen's call for a reduction in

  the number of legislative seats. Whether or not the KMT and the People First Party (PFP) will stand by this is doubtful, but it is in any event Chen's job to make use of public support for legislative reform in the next election campaign and thus pave the way for a constructive second term.

  It is generally acknowledged that current political instability is the result of conflict between the DPP government and the opposition in the Legislative Yuan. Several public surveys have named the opposition as the main source of political disorder. Reducing the number of seats in the legislature and reforming the electoral system have not only attracted popular support but are also a political necessity.

  Overhauling the single non-transferable system of voting will also contribute to the success of legislative reform. The system is nothing less than a cancer within this democracy. As long as legislators are able to secure an often minimal core vote, they can do whatever they like in obstructing the legislative process or humiliating government officials. The lack of legislative efficiency is also closely associated with this voting system.

  In this regard, constitutional change, as Chen said during the campaign, is needed when it comes to reforming the electoral process. The aim of this

  is to enhance the legitimacy

  of individual legislators and

  clean up and make efficient the proceedings of the legislature as a whole.

  A smart leader measures the public pulse and executes timely and decisive reforms. Chen has been entrusted with Taiwan's continuing democratization by voters. The reform of the Legislative Yuan is the first step toward building a mature civil society and mature political institutions.

  As the KMT and the PFP entangle themselves in finger-pointing and struggle to work out a strategy choosing candidates for the legislative poll, the DPP should seize its opportunity and offer a clear and feasible reform agenda to voters.

  There is no time for Chen and his party to be complacent about their victory, for greater challenges lie ahead. Whoever can ride this momentum will win public support later this year.

  Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
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