the first ever rotation of ruling parties in Taiwan history has pushed Taiwan into a new phase -- one in which the island reinforces its democracy with substantive competition between political parties.
However, some politicians appear quite unable to recover from the frustration of defeat. They lack the magnanimity to help the new administration complete the transfer of power. Recently, we have seen disagreements between the DPP transition team and the Executive Yuan over the procedure for the transfer of power. The incidents seem to hint at potential unpredictability over future policy implementation by the new administration.
The DPP alleges that ministries under the Executive Yuan resist briefing and updating the new cabinet members on the affairs of their ministries-to-be. The Executive Yuan defends itself by citing the lack of precedence for such briefings and updates. Then there has been the talk about a series of personnel promotions within the Executive Yuan, which led the DPP transition team to call for a personnel freeze.
Irrespective of who is right or wrong in these incidents, once a standoff emerges during the transition period, gaps in the administration of policies will inevitably result because the new government will be unable to get a firm grip on the situation immediately. This will have a negative impact on the new administration.
Has there truly been a miscommunication during the transfer process? Perhaps, the parties involved simply selectively released information to the public. It is hard for outsiders to know the truth. However, we can certainly learn from experience of other countries on related issues.
Richard Neustadt, an American scholar known for his studies of the US presidential system, once gave some very wise suggestions to John F. Kennedy, then the newly elected president of the US, on the topic of power transfer.
Neustadt submitted several proposals on the transfer process between the new administration and the incumbent Eisenhower government. He proposed that the president-elect and the future secretary of state ought to have all information on the government and data upon which budgets were made, as well progress reports on various pieces of legislation. New and old heads of all departments should engage in briefing and discussions without any reservations. In view of the domestic and external situations at the time, Kennedy truly needed to get a firm grip on international events and domestic economic development.
However, other transitions of power in the US have not been as smooth. Republican candidate Ronald Reagan's 1980 defeat of Democrat Jimmy Carter, as well as George Bush's defeat by Bill Clinton in 1992 are examples of troublesome transfers.
After Clinton moved into the White House, his staff discovered that important documents had been removed from the files by their predecessors. As a result, the adjustment period of the new administration was extended. This shows that even in advanced countries such as the US, the rotation of ruling parties will often lead to roadblocks in the transfer of power. However, it is noteworthy that the prior rotations of ruling parties in the US rarely ever took place against a backdrop of national crisis.
The South Korea experience offers another example of the importance of a smooth power transfer to a new administration. Under the ravaging effects of the Asian financial crisis, Kim Dae Jung won the 1997 South Korean presidential election. His victory led to the first-ever rotation of ruling parties in South Korea. Kim was able to participate in the decision-making process of major policies as the newly elected leader, as South Korea was besieged by both domestic turmoil and foreign crisis at the time. In fact, he was able to submit economic reform measures before he took office.
Nevertheless, the resistance and hinderance the Kim Dae Jung government faced from the intelligence and national security units were greater than anticipated, as a result of a boycott by the power elite of the former totalitarian regime. Not only was it difficult to obtain confidential information, certain key government units, in fact, deliberately released information to other countries before completely deleting the data from their files. This was done so that the new administration would have no way of obtaining the information.
Kim's government was eventually able to retrieve the missing information from the US Central Intelligence Agency.
Therefore, to prevent the old administration from refusing to fully cooperate with the new administration on certain confidential subject matters on the grounds of national security, the South Korean experience demonstrates that we must seek lawful channels to compel cooperation from the old administration.
The transfer of power in Taiwan may have a different time-frame and space in comparison with those of other countries. However, greater challenges are entailed by this transfer. Not only does Taiwan face threats from China, but the organization of the new cabinet has become a complicated power struggle. If the new administration is being forced to waste too much time and efforts on power struggles and, as a result, is delayed in getting its policies underway, the ultimate victims will be the people.
Currently, the staff in charge of the transfer in both the new and old administrations are working on temporary measures to carry forward the transfer. In any event, the core of the problem is still psychological in nature. In view of the need to "maintain political stability," and "shorten the adjustment period of the new administration," the incumbent administration should leave behind inter-party rivalries and grudges to ensure the smooth transfer of power with even more sincerity and magnanimity.
Liu Shih-chung is deputy director of the DPP's department of international affairs.
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