After his own numbing defeat, and with his party out of power for the first time in 50 years, one can understand why Lien Chan
Nonetheless, Lien's clear intimation yesterday that the KMT should become active in cross-strait relations must be one of the most inappropriate trial balloons imaginable, even in the full airspace over Taiwan. Lest we thought he didn't mean it, KMT spokesman Jason Hu
But audiences could hardly fail to note the resonance with the idea of "party-to-party talks," which was raised by Deng Xiaoping
The purpose was to provide a way to open talks on unification while sidestepping "that thorny sovereignty issue." It also made intuitive sense to people who had not yet grasped the fact that the civil war between the KMT and the CCP for control of "China" had ended in 1949.
Fortunately, the KMT-led government here -- both under Chiang Ching-kuo
The reason why is simple: the sovereignty of Taiwan, of course, was not invented by Lee in his "special state to state" announcement, but is a fact that derives from the existence of the Constitution, and it is exercised by the legally constituted organs of state power. Since parties are not granted specific authority in the Constitution, they themselves have no direct role to play in any matters of the state, especially those which touch upon fundamental issues of sovereignty.
If the party-to-party idea was a non-starter 10 years ago, it must be even more so now, when the KMT's support, even though it does barely maintain its legislative majority, is at an all-time low (nor does any other party look likely to take over the dominant-party mantle any time soon). That Lien seems to think that this is a valid way for him to find a useful role in the new political environment can only be seen as a sign of desperation.
What Lien ought to be doing, if he wants to be politically relevant, is to crack the whip on KMT reform to get the party in fighting trim to defend its majority in next year's legislative elections. That process must include developing a policy platform that is sufficiently distinct from that of the DPP, and consistently working in the legislature and elsewhere to promote it.
Instead, Lien seems to be looking for a quick fix, anything that can keep him in the headlines. He would do well to reconsider, lest he suffer the fate of the last party to engage in "exchanges" with China -- the New Party.
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