Print

Mail

wiki links

Looking for the new middle way

Since President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) announced his intention of establishing a coalition government after the year-end legislative election, Taiwan's political landscape has undergone a change.

Former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) talk about the possibility of a stable legislative majority comprised of DPP and some 35 non-DPP lawmakers -- in the event that DPP manages to garner at least 85 seats in the Legislative Yuan -- has also fanned the flames of the already-tense relationship between the Chen administration and the opposition alliance.

The alliance gained strength after KMT Chairman Lien Chan(連戰) met with People First Party chief James Soong (宋楚瑜) and agreed the two parties would cooperate with each other in certain electoral districts.

This political maneuvering has ignited a new round of debates about the year-end legislative election. The media has already begun portraying the election as a war between the "Lien-Soong system (連宋體制) and the Bian-Lee system (扁李體制)."

The political wrangling demonstrates the potential of a split domestically over ethnic disputes and Taiwan's future status and introduces tremendous uncertainties to the nation's democracy.

Facing such possible national polarization, it is Chen's duty to call for a search of a "New Middle Way" (新中間路線) to avoid extremism. Chen argues that since he was sworn in under the ROC national flag he must abide by the ROC Constitution. As the president of the ROC, it is Chen's responsibility to defend national sovereignty, dignity and security in accordance with the Constitution. In this regard, Chen must fulfill his role as the president of all the people by introducing pragmatic ways to deal with cross-strait relations, as well as by appealing to the public and the opposition to do the right thing.

While Chen has adopted a soft, subtle approach in handling cross-strait relations, Beijing has failed to responded to his good-will gestures. Despite criticisms from some independence die-hards and the DPP that he is too appeasing, Chen still insists on standing by his ideals although he is willing to face reality pragmatically. Chen has also said that he is willing to make compromises as long as they don't sacrifice Taiwan's fundamental interests and principles.

Nevertheless, after a shaky performance during his first year in office, Chen has admitted that he faces enormous difficulties in forging a national consensus on the development of cross-strait relations, since pro-independence and pro-unification groups remain firmly divided. Chen's statements reflect not only the independence-unification dichotomy in Taiwan but also his attempt to bridge such a division.

If he wants to move forward, Chen must avoid being branded or held hostage by the extremists and ideologues in his own party. He must transcend party boundaries and appeal to the middle.

In politics, the most lethal injuries are often the result of back-stabbing. For this reason, the opposition rarely causes as much angst as does someone from one's own camp. An elected president who seeks to reach beyond his party and appeal to the swing voter invites assault from his own ranks. The sharpest partisan disagreements do not come between political parties, but between the special interest groups affiliated with the parties.

Facing both domestic and international constraints, Chen must display a strong will to give top priority to the majority interest of this country. That is the center from which leaders must lead.

Chen must keep in mind that leadership is a dynamic tension between where a politician thinks his country must go and where his voters want it to go. Bold initiatives that leave the voters behind are not acts of leadership but of self-indulgent arrogance. The key is not to abjure change but to seek it with political wisdom. The controversy over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) displays the lack of such a wisdom on the part of the Chen administration.

An even worse outcome results when timid, tepid, meek governance leaves the initiatives up to the opposition. This reduces a political leader to a gambler who must depend on good timing and dumb luck to take him where he wants to go.

Chen's government has learned a great lesson through the opposition's boycotts and its own mistakes.

The art of leadership is to maintain sufficient forward momentum to control events and steer public policy without losing public support. An idealistic leader will not hesitate to do something that is unpopular. But a smart idealist will carefully measure public opinion before he does so and will develop a strategy to persuade the electorate. At times, a leader can use a popular position to counter an unpopular one.

The tenets of the Taiwanese new middle way, as distinguished from the European experience, entailed a greater need to generate domestic consensus in the arenas of ethnic reconciliation, independence-unification debates, the normalization of cross-strait relations and the institutionalization of economic order.

Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
This story has been viewed 1883 times.