While the pan-greens may be suffering at the moment due to the constant and unreasonable blocking of bills they propose in the opposition-dominated legislature, they should refrain from becoming frustrated, step back and take a broader view of the political situation.
The pan-blue camp may have maintained its majority in the most recent legislative elections, but the past five legislative polls show an undeniable trend. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has slowly increased its seats over the last four elections; from 41 in 1995, to 70 in 1998, to 87 in 2001, finally reaching 89 seats last year. Despite the disappointment of last year, when the greens had hoped to obtain a majority, they should not lose sight of the fact that they occupy the best long-term position.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) may have celebrated a victory last year, but they purposely overlooked the fact that all the gains they made were at the expense of the staunchly pro-China People First Party, and despite the misguided campaign strategy of the president, the DPP still managed to increase its seats. Pan-green legislators need to believe that this was just a temporary setback and that the current China-centric behavior of the pan-blues will likely cause an increase in pro-Taiwan sentiment.
Why else would KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) be making attempts to create a KMT-Taiwan discourse? Looking at some facts should help to soothe pan-green frustrations. After all, dyed-in-the-wool KMT support is diminishing as the young soldiers who decamped in Taiwan almost 60 years ago are reaching the ends of their lives. This leaves the younger, savvier generation who were born in Taiwan, and who are smart enough to see through the KMT's recent attempts to keep itself relevant, as represented by its rapprochement with China. They, unlike the older generation, are not driven by nostalgic sentiment for the "motherland," and many are very aware of how people across the Strait live under the dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party.
Despite the problems with Taiwan's political system, who in their right mind would prefer to live under a system where criticism of the government can land you a lengthy prison sentence? Young people in Taiwan are aware of the many things they would have to sacrifice were Taiwan and China ever to unify.
All this weighs in the favor of the pro-Taiwan camp, and they should not forget it. Right now, the pan-blues may be taking advantage of their legislative majority and behaving like a child left alone in a sweet shop, but have they really thought about the future implications of their present lawmaking actions?
The two most recent examples of their short-sighted lawmaking are the cross-strait peace advancement bill and the National Communications Commission. These two partisan bills aim to put the party with a legislative majority in control of cross-strait negotiations and the newly-created media watchdog.
And while this may suit their immediate needs as they pander to China and seek protection for pan-blue media groups, what about the future? In two years there will be another round of elections, and if the pan-greens obtain a majority, then they would be able to take control of these committees.
The biggest irony of all would be if Ma manages to win back the presidency for the KMT in 2008 and then gets saddled with a pan-green dominated legislature in December 2008. The pan-blues need to consider the ramifications of their partisan lawmaking and think about how this will affect their support, especially among middle-of-the-road voters. The recent decision to postpone discussion of the cross-strait peace bill until after next month's legislative elections may be the first sign that this is happening.
Richard Hazeldine is a Taipei-based writer.
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