Nonetheless, how can we explain the wide social acceptance to the "non-partisan government" concept? Other than the fact that there are indeed areas for improvement in party politics as they exist now, a wider and historical perspective is necessary to comprehend this current political phenomenon. Taiwan's year 2000 presidential election signals the closure of the Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) era, the beginning of a severe split at the core of the KMT, as well as the development of schisms within the anti-Lee, pro-unificationist New Party. In short, with the twilight of the old century and dawn of a new century, with an impending reorganization of old political structures and realignment into new political forces, the year 2000 presidential elections mark a historic crossroads at which there is great potential for change.
At this historic junction, Taiwan should take a path toward achieving greater democracy, greater freedom, greater equality and toward achieving a fairer and more just society. The emergence of a "New Right," the unexpected re-manifestation of a "Greater China national consciousness" (大中國意識), which had been marginalized over the past decade by in the trend toward Taiwanization, poses a new threat to Taiwan's grassroots democracy.
Superficially, this "New Right," led by Soong, appears nothing like the Right of old. It does not raise its ideological banner high, nor does it vociferously denounce Taiwan independence, but in the very marrow of its bones is a reactionary conservatism. It deflects attention to its repackaged ideology, masquerading instead under populist policies. The true danger, which is part and parcel of this "New Right," resides in its animosity toward party politics. This reflects an antagonism toward democracy.
Empirical evidence shows that the most likely scenario for the breakdown of one-party dominance is a transitional government based on cross-party principles. The opposition DPP knows this very well and that's why Chen Shiu-bian (陳水扁), the DPP's presidential candidate has called for the establishment of a DPP-led "cross-party government" (跨黨派政府) if he is elected as the new president. Even the ruling KMT tried to boost vice president Lien Chan's (連戰) campaign momentum by expressing the willingness to cooperate with the DPP after the election. However, what these arguments suggest is the possibility of a coalition government composed of political parties, instead of one man.
Taiwan is a nascent democracy, which should step forward to, and not back away from, creating a stronger, more stable and effective democracy. The greatest lesson we have learned from the Formosa Incident is that Taiwan needs a more complete system of party politics, not the abandonment of party politics. An effective system of party politics will naturally evolve toward a rotation of political power, and a breaking away from the political monopoly of any one party.
Liu Shih-chung is deputy director of the DPP's International Affairs Department.
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