In Taiwan's representative politics, one of the subjects that receives much criticism is the contamination of the political process by politicians who have obtained their position through vote-buying.
The roots of vote-buying can be found in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) long hold on power and its system for distributing the spoils of government. In the martial-law era, popular elections for local councils and local government leaders were allowed as a means of palliating the desire for popular participation in government and also as a way of bringing in new blood.
The KMT used a two-pronged policy of maintaining authoritarian control while at the same time undermining the character of those who wished to participate in the electoral process. In the past, in contrast to administrative leaders, shameless elected representatives could generally obtain office through vote-buying. But at the same time, their position was completely subordinate to the wishes of the government, which created a very unusual "accomplice structure" in politics.
After martial law was lifted, more legislative positions were open to popular elections, but when legislators created problems for the government, it was largely as a display of boldness and did not spring from any sense of righteousness.
Politicians see popular elections as a way of winning both riches and power. Although they obtain office through bribery, they also see the receipt of bribes as part of the job. Many legislative positions, and even administrative positions, have become the property of families or factions, who are harming the nation's political development. Taiwan's political problems stem from this focus on money and power, which has been created by the vote-buying culture. Even if this lust for money and power is fulfilled, popular elections remain simply a way for a small number of politicians to obtain power, and is of no use in resolving any of the aberrant developments of electoral democracy or the after-effects of rule by a colonial-style regime.
Let us take the Kaohsiung City Council as an example. Although a number of councilors have lost their positions because they've been found guilty of bribery, and by-elections were held to fill these positions, many of the families implicated in the vote-buying scandal were still able to participate. These families have now got a taste for what is possible and act as if there is no one there to see their crimes, being totally indifferent to shame. That electoral culture can develop into a state like this is truly ironic. It is a misuse of democracy, and reveals the severity of colonialism's after-effects on Taiwan.
Taiwan is walking out of the shadow of colonialism and rebuilding itself. Taiwanese society should think deeply about the pathology of vote-buying and voters should reject candidates who are tainted with the crime of vote-buying. People of Kaohsiung, open your eyes and prevent democratic government from being sullied!
Lee Min-yung is a poet and president of the Taiwan Peace Foundation.
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in late February. During their various meetings with Taiwan’s leaders, this delegation never missed an opportunity to emphasize the strength of their cross-party consensus on issues relating to Taiwan and China. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Their instruction upon taking the reins of the committee was to preserve China issues as a last bastion of bipartisanship in an otherwise deeply divided Washington. They have largely upheld their pledge. But in doing so, they have performed the
It is well known that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ambition is to rejuvenate the Chinese nation by unification of Taiwan, either peacefully or by force. The peaceful option has virtually gone out of the window with the last presidential elections in Taiwan. Taiwanese, especially the youth, are resolved not to be part of China. With time, this resolve has grown politically stronger. It leaves China with reunification by force as the default option. Everyone tells me how and when mighty China would invade and overpower tiny Taiwan. However, I have rarely been told that Taiwan could be defended to
It should have been Maestro’s night. It is hard to envision a film more Oscar-friendly than Bradley Cooper’s exploration of the life and loves of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. It was a prestige biopic, a longtime route to acting trophies and more (see Darkest Hour, Lincoln, and Milk). The film was a music biopic, a subgenre with an even richer history of award-winning films such as Ray, Walk the Line and Bohemian Rhapsody. What is more, it was the passion project of cowriter, producer, director and actor Bradley Cooper. That is the kind of multitasking -for-his-art overachievement that Oscar
Chinese villages are being built in the disputed zone between Bhutan and China. Last month, Chinese settlers, holding photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), moved into their new homes on land that was not Xi’s to give. These residents are part of the Chinese government’s resettlement program, relocating Tibetan families into the territory China claims. China shares land borders with 15 countries and sea borders with eight, and is involved in many disputes. Land disputes include the ones with Bhutan (Doklam plateau), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin) and Nepal (near Dolakha and Solukhumbu districts). Maritime disputes in the South China