SECURING POLITICAL POWER and stability have emerged as the top priorities in the more than a year since the Chen Shui-bian (
To that end, President Chen held the Economic Development Advisory Conference to assemble the nation's elite for a discussion on the development of Taiwan and to try to overcome bureaucratic inertia.
The people of Taiwan are disgusted by political bickering. They blame the ruling party for its lack of ability and despise the opposition parties for unreasonable behavior.
The lack of positive political interaction between opposition and ruling parties has seen people's assets depreciate and deprived people of the right to work. The year-end legislative, mayoral, and county commissioner elections are approaching.
The top campaign issues will certainly be the "one China" and "Taiwan first" principles, as well as apportioning blame for the current political chaos.
Being aware of the intensity of popular discontent, the parties feel pessimistic about the election.
President Chen played his Economic Development Advisory Conference card, so that all parties, opposition and ruling alike, could put forward ideas to show what they have to offer.
No single party will be able to win a legislative majority. The opportunity to head the Cabinet has therefore become the center of more political struggles.
In the past year, the fact that President Chen's government was a minority government resulted in political instability and attacks by the opposition parties, paralyzing the government.
The Chen administration's announcement to halt the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, its refusal to accept the "one China" principle, and its insistence on following the presidential system of government has provoked an all out boycott by opposition lawmakers.
As a result, policy implementation has become virtually impossible.
The KMT currently holds a majority of the seats in the Legislative Yuan. The KMT has also managed momentarily to put aside the hatred between it and the PFP and the New Party and the three parties have reunited under the "one China" principle to counter President Chen's refusal to accept that principle.
The "Pan-blue alliance" between the three opposition parties intends to win more than a majority of the seats in the Legislative Yuan and then have a showdown with President Chen to regain the right to form a Cabinet and lead the country. If the Pan-blue camp wins a legislative majority, its plan will work. President Chen will essentially become a lame-duck president with his hands tied. An even more ferocious political struggle will break out to destroy Taiwan's political democracy, possibly triggering an attack on Taiwan by China.
Although PFP Chairman James Soong (
They have opted to fight their respective wars alone in the election. It is still the intention of the Pan-blue camp to cooperate under the "one China" ideology to force President Chen to accept the "one China" principle and counter his policy and leadership policies.
The PFP does not have a clear "one China" party platform yet. This is the result of Soong's campaign strategy to deliberately cosy up to "localized" candidates and voters. Soong is playing a two-handed game. As KMT heavyweights have already openly cautioned Soong and the PFP to refrain from recruiting members from the New Party, the only individuals left for the PFP to recruit are KMT lawmakers and members of the "localized" camp.
The KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
It will be impossible for the KMT to maintain a legislative majority after the year-end election. The only way for the KMT to enjoy a legislative majority will be by teaming up with the PFP and New Party.
At the same time, Lien has also changed his campaign strategy. He has now adopted the strategy of "taking as much credit as possible" to win over pro-localization voters, and to fight for the right to form a coalition government. This is the only way he may be able to have a chance of defeating Chen in the next presidential election. The Pan-blue camp will therefore only become increasingly united. It may even integrate into one party, as KMT lawmaker Ting Shou-chung (
As a result, former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee has sought to help candidates from the "localized" camp get elected in the year-end election by encouraging Huang Chu-wen (
In addition, after the election, those KMT and independent lawmakers who belong to the localized camp could join the TSU and work with the ruling party to form a majority alliance in the Legislative Yuan and establish a majority government. This way, Taiwan may attain political stability and a secure presidential system, so that a president elected by the people will be able to do his work. In the end, Taiwan's political spectrum will be divided between two camps -- the Pan-blue and Pan-green camps.
Political democracy is synonymous with party politics. In the past 50 years, the KMT claimed to to represent all the people. It was only after defeat in China that the KMT took refuge in Taiwan where it established the government of the Republic of China. The KMT turned Taiwan into "Taiwan Province," and claimed sovereignty over the whole of China. Through autocracy, the KMT effectively controlled Taiwan, and forcibly made Taiwanese the citizens of the ROC. Taiwanese refer to this group of refugees from China as "mainlanders."
During the era of KMT rule, the mainlanders were the political elite. Taiwanese did not become the new political mainstream until after Lee Teng-hui became the first popularly elected president.
The mainlanders believe in the "one China" ideology, while the Taiwanese identify with the "Taiwan first" ideology.
During the Lee Teng-hui era, Lee strongly promoted democratization and localization by the KMT government, inviting harsh criticism from those who believed in the "one China" ideology.
Since Lee was forced to resign as KMT chairman, the KMT has been working at discarding all of his policies, including "Taiwan first" and "localization."
Since the nation's transfer of power, the KMT has been ill-adapted to the role of opposition party.
Under the "one China" ideology, KMT lawmakers, scholars, retired generals, and former government officials are servants of China, making the KMT a sort of Chinese embassy in Taiwan or, at least, a vast, pro-unification propaganda machine.
The KMT's tasks include carrying orders from China to President Chen.
The KMT has absolutely no respect for Chen, whom it refuses to accept as the president of the ROC. Those with allegiances in China ask China not to engage in dialogue with the Chen administration. The KMT is also paralyzing the government with their legislative majority.
Seeing the pressures, as well as the external threats and internal problems, facing Chen and the DPP government during Taiwan's democratization process, former president Lee Teng-hui has decided to put everything aside to save Taiwan's future. Lee intends to help to ease the internal problems with the help of broad popular support, and by awakening Taiwanese to the political crisis and danger currently facing Taiwan.
Lee hopes to assist Chen in organizing a majority government with the help of the TSU, so that the Chen administration will be fully able to take over the reins of the country and attain political stability. This way, President Chen will have the power to uphold Taiwan's sovereignty, and lead Taiwan away from China's oppression.
Taiwan's popular and political structure must change and the parties must reorganize so that the ruling party is backed by popular will.
This is the strategy underpinning Lee's leadership of the TSU.
The KMT's campaign strategy is to change its image by taking the credit for the success of the Economic Development Advisory Conference (EDAC), as well as convening a conference for negotiation between the parties to supervise and implement the decisions reached in the EDAC.
The KMT needs to do this, because its conduct in playing the role of Chinese embassy in Taiwan, and disrupting Taiwan politics, is despised by people who believe in the "Taiwan First" ideology.
Persisting with its belief of the KMT era that "this country cannot go on without the KMT," the party has decided to accuse the DPP administration of destroying the economy.
In the first stage of the "Pan-blue" integration, PFP Vice-Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (
The year-end legislative election is very significant in terms of stabilizing Taiwan's political situation. The structure of Taiwan's party system has become ideology-based.
In other words, the battle is between the "Taiwan first" and "one China" camps.
China is interfering in the year-end legislative election. Should the Pan-blue camp remain the biggest opposition force in Taiwan, it will assume the right to form the Cabinet. More political chaos will ensue, possibly destroying democracy in Taiwan.
Lee Chang-kuei is the president of the Taipei Times and a professor emeritus of National Taiwan University.
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