Reform path shouldn't be divisive

A few days ago, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) launched a signature drive in support of "self-examination and rejuvenating the party," which was well received by most DPP members.

Lee that his statement indicates that the DPP should insist on defending its core values by ensuring clean politics, striving to put Taiwan first and taking care of minorities.

He also advocated the DPP take immediate action to quickly set at rest all unconfirmed rumors by conducting investigations, clarifying responsibilities, dealing with any illegal acquisition of profits by politicians and related matters.

Lee urged that the DPP touch upon issues pertaining to social justice that could re-ignite the public's political enthusiasm, such as instituting a minimum tax system. Given all of the above, the DPP could then become an organic administrative group.

Lee's echoes statements by the recent "New DPP Movement," initiated by two young DPP members -- Taipei County commissioner candidate Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) and former legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康).

Both movements are the result of soul-searching by DPP members, which reflects the government's growing administrative crisis.

The DPP seems to have been confronted with unprecedented difficulties since it came to power. At the international level, there is China, who has tightened its "united front" tactics against Taiwan. On the domestic front, there is the pan-blue camp, which has consistently obstructed the government's bills and often opposed the government simply for the sake of opposition, crippling the DPP's administrative efforts.

Members the government have also been implicated in scandal sparked by a riot by Thai workers employed by the Kao-hsiung Rapid Transit Corp. This scandal has seriously tarnished the DPP's image as a clean party and overshadowed its reformist spirit. The pro-unification media has seized upon this incident to attack the government.

In the face of such embarrassment, the DPP must immediately come up with a way to revive itself and prepare for the year-end elections. So no matter whether it is Luo and Tuan's "New DPP Movement" or Lee's campaign for reform, DPP members are eager to rekindle the party's founding spirit and passion.

But, it is also likely that these internal reform movements will be denounced by other DPP members. Suspicions have already been raised within the party because of the divisive views between the old and new DPP forces and this could create considerable dissent.

The ability to examine and criticize itself has always been one of the DPP's virtues. It is through taking a good hard look at itself that the party has been able to overcome so many challenges over the years, becoming stronger with every setback, enabling it to take power only 13 years after it was established.

To put it another way, self-examination and self-critique have been a major motivating force driving the development of the DPP; it has become part of the party's culture.

Calls reform by a younger generation of party members might be regarded as seeking to establish a "new" DPP, but we might just as well call it a return to the core values of the party. The controversy over the new DPP movement is due to fears that the old will be discarded in favor of the new and the party's original political culture will be obliterated.

But these calls for reform are motivated by a deep love of the party and a sense of sorrow that the DPP has thus far failed to be all it can be. They are not about grasping at power.

By the flag of a "new" DPP, these reformists are simply showing their disappointment in the government's poor record. However, they have become the victims of a smear campaign by the pan-blue camp and the pan-blue media.

If we look at the recent scandals, we can see that they are all individual cases, which may call into question the character of specific party members, not the party itself. They are not due to systemic changes or a shift in political culture within the party.

The pan-blue camp is kicking up a fuss about these scandals in an effort to paint the DPP as corrupt and tarnish its appeal to voters.

The core values the DPP has long upheld remain unchanged. Therefore, to eradicate the government's failings, the competence of law enforcement and judicial officials must be enhanced, the rule of law must be given priority and black sheep in the party must be punished. This is more important than pushing ahead with the so-called "new DPP movement."

DPP Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said recently that the party's notable characteristic is that it is always willing to review and reform itself. He said the party will not abandon this intrinsic quality.

As long as the party is able to do this, it should be regarded as a democratic and progressive party. So all it needs to do to improve its image and to regain public's confidence is to bravely overhaul itself and eliminate its shortcomings and failings.

The success of the government's reforms are not about making a distinction between an "old" and a "new" party, but whether the party has the determination to push through with reform.

Any to draw a line between the new and old or between the progressive and the conservative within the party will only lead to pointless bickering.

Translated by Lin Ya-ti, Ian Bartholomew and Daniel Cheng