The DPP owes Taiwan an apology

On March 18, the Taiwanese people chose the DPP as Taiwan's new ruling party by electing Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as president. The old government system proved difficult to improve in a short time, which made it very difficult for the DPP, with the old and inefficient system left over by the old regime, to deal with the significant challenges ahead.

Indeed, the price for taking office was too high for the DPP. The ruling party, as a minority party, has now followed the KMT's old path and has unreasonably and recklessly tried to promote whatever it desires in its post-victory arrogance and misjudgment of current circumstances. Some DPP officials have claimed that they were just "reforming" Taiwan. Shouldn't the reform, based on existing foundations, be carried out gently and gradually in order to minimize the price we might have to pay during the reform process?

Ironically, the DPP has chosen to break completely from its traditions in order to prove the legitimacy of its new power, to the extent it is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. In my opinion, we DPP members seem to have too much of an obsession with power and are too little inclined to reflect on ourselves.

The DPP government's anti-nuclear stance has led to the current fight between the ruling and opposition parties. Although government officials insist that it is the KMT's crass behavior in passing the budget for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) that is at fault, the rotation of political parties should never be reduced to a political struggle on the level of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Isn't the ruling party making the same mistakes that it has long railed against in the past? The DPP, whilst claiming to protect democracy, is setting the worst example by halting the nuclear plant project at will.

Despite the fact that the anti-nuclear stance is central to the ruling party's philosophy, I believe the DPP should immediately stop avoiding discussion over the controversial plant issue. In fact, what the DPP is so afraid to discuss is exactly the key issue of the dispute: what are the government's industrial policies, having halted the nuclear plant? What are the DPP's plans for Taiwan's national development?

On Nov. 4 Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) announced the government's ambitious economic goal -- the "Taiwan Double" -- doubling per-capita GDP. Chen also stressed that the government would turn Taiwan into a "green Silicon Island" in 10 years. Following Chen's promise, however, I also heard Cisco Systems' (思科) general manager, Chen Yung-hsiang's (陳永祥) concerns that silicon waste is actually more difficult to process than nuclear waste.

If Taiwan wants to continue its leading role in the semiconductor manufacturing field for the next three years, at least 40 semiconductor factories must be built. What is the government's position on the crucial balance between economic development and environmental protection anyway, as it sets about turning Taiwan into a "green Silicon Island?"

The KMT's over-emphasis on economic development over the past 50 years has caused many problems. In addition, Taiwan's advantages as an export-oriented economy are now seriously threatened by China's speedy economic growth. Taiwan is now turning from a developing country into a developed country, and its economic growth is slowing down gradually. The change from high-economic growth to a low-economic growth country -- rather than the unrealistic slogan of a "Taiwan Double" -- is perhaps the primary issue we need to deal with. How could it be possible for the government to double per-capita GDP while economic growth is slowing down?