One of the original goals for those convicted in the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件) was to establish party politics in Taiwan. It is ironic that, now, after 20 years, the leading presidential candidate claims there is no need for political parties. Have party politics really become redundant in Taiwan?
Despite the end to martial law in 1987, which lifted the ban on political parties and eased media censorship, and the creation of an environment more conducive to party competition, the framework underlying party politics in Taiwan remains unbalanced, unequal and unfair. There are several reasons for this:
First, the outdated electoral system employed for legislative elections is detrimental to party politics in Taiwan. Known among academics as the Multi-member Single Non-transferable Vote System (SNTV,
Second, money politics, a legacy of the KMT's fifty-four-year rule, remain prevalent in Taiwanese politics. It is a cancerous network of political and economic interests and collusion has only adapted into an increasingly malignant form. The presence of money politics and the "black gold phenomenon" accompanied by underworld influence on local government continues to pose a serious threat to the central government in the post-martial law era.
Third, the KMT's conglomerate of party-owned businesses continue to hinder competitive democracy. The KMT continues to be the richest political party in the world. The KMT regularly uses its sprawling network of party-managed businesses to influence the stock market or buy votes during elections. This phenomenon is dubious at best, and certainly abnormal. The KMT's ability to financially steamroll its political opponents further puts into question the prospects for fair competition between political parties in local and national elections and remains detrimental to the development of Taiwan's party politics.
It can be said that Taiwan's party politics evolved from a comparatively immature political environment. The result has been the creation of a political scene consisting of two major and one minor political party. Nevertheless, the efforts made by the opposition over the last 20 years deserves great credit.
As Taiwan's year 2000 presidential election approach, it is worth noting the emergence of a so-called "non-partisan government" (超黨派政府) concept. This has received significant attention. The main proponent of this concept is the independent candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜), who promises to "put political parties aside, and place the people in the center," (政黨放兩邊人民擺中間) cleverly implying conflict between the interests of political parties and those of the people, as well as redirecting society's dissatisfaction with the KMT toward political parties as a whole.
A closer examination of the "non-partisan government" concept reveals an absence of true substance. The suggestion that a "non-partisan government" will be able to attract the best human talent available seems appealing, but is ultimately unlikely under the current constitutional framework of government, leaving talk and promotion of this immature concept nothing more than empty rhetoric.
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