DPP targeted by friends and foes

The Pachang Creek (八掌溪) incident raised further doubts about whether minorities groups enjoy more protection under DPP rule. Or maybe the event exposed the fact that these groups might end up being sacrificed under the party's impotent stewardship. This section of voters has begun to feel impelled to part company with the "bourgeoisified" DPP.

Lastly, the positions of reformers and liberals has also undergone a transformation. Even though the Bian-Tang system paraded the banner of clean, collective government, a storm of debate has hovered over the political appointment of Taiwan Television's (TTV, 台視) chairman.

An obvious positional split has occurred between liberal intellectuals and A-bian's government. In terms of financial policy, such as the National Pension Plan (國民年金), government intervention in the stock market and housing loans, several liberal intellectuals think that the new government has engineered more chaos than the previous government did. The spirit of "less intervention, more local autonomy" -- traditionally supported by liberals -- seems even less evident under the new administration, causing them to entertain doubts about the DPP's reformist views.

To sum up, since the DPP won the election, the people of Taiwan have gradually adjusted their response to the new government's style of rule, finding the DPP as a new target of opposition. It's no wonder that the voices of the DPP's local branches and local people are clamoring to be heard. What they are facing is not only a crisis concerning one man's political career -- but an unprecedented new challenge that involves the entire DPP.

Lin Duan is an associate professor of sociology at National Taiwan University. Translated by Scudder Smith