President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was sworn into office for his second term on May 20, raising the curtain on the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) long-term rule. As the most significant milestone over the past half-century in Taiwan's history, Chen's inauguration marks the watershed between the ending of an outsider regime and consolidation of a newly rising democratic power.
The process of the new filling in for the old is hardly smooth. Especially in pace with Taiwan's silent revolution, the state-party institution of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that had held on to power more than five decades is unlikely to crumble overnight. Although the KMT candidates were defeated in democratic elections, the party's past rule still emboldens the crestfallen to defy justice, truth, the rule of law and proceedings of democracy.
The remnant force now clings to a vain hope of overturning the election results. If their plan of overturning the results is aborted, they might mobilize to the last drop of their energy and spare not even the destruction of enemy and self alike. This is the mindset of the KMT that gives rise to chaos -- from the 2000 recall bill to the 2004 coup, to today's grouchy pan-blue camp that apparently thinks "If I can't be the star, then I will smash the stage."
Such unscrupulous bullying may have found justification during the past martial law rule. Yet this becomes grotesque in a democratized Taiwan. KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
To wrestle with Chen, Lien announced a merger proposal to unite the KMT and People First Party (PFP) on May 19. The merger bill put forth by Lien was co-signed by almost all party vice chairpersons. Lien put the bill on hold for the KMT representatives to rule in it and sent a personal message to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Isn't Lien's abduction of the pan-blue camp by his faith the cause of the strife between the ruling and opposition parties, the spilt relations between ethnic groups, the political turmoil and the dichotomized identification since the pan-blue camp's defeat in the 2000 presidential election?
The most important element in democratization and modernization is to demystify. Taiwan has walked from autocracy to democracy step by step. Only the ghost of Lien lingers on. Since Lien has shown his ghastly face, the people will give him the ax, if not the KMT itself.
Chin Heng-wei is editor in chief of Contemporary Monthly. TRANSLATED BY WANG HSIAO-WEN
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