From what we have seen of the campaigning for the Dec. 3 local government elections so far, it seems it has been little more than a string of dirty tactics. Previously, the most controversial issue was which party stood for Taiwan and which for China. In this election the focus has been on mud-slinging: The process was started by the pan-blues, but the pan-greens soon got in on the act, getting down to the same level. The Taiwan-China debate has moved on to which party is the most corrupt, and it is this that the electorate is taking most into consideration.
Pan-blue legislators have ganged up with sympathizers within the media (especially at TVBS) and the prosecutorial system and stepped into the fray armed with the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal, accusing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of corruption.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said it all when he announced that "The DPP, after five years in government, is even more corrupt than the KMT." Of course, in saying this, he is also admitting that the KMT is corrupt.
Let's examine the claim that the DPP is corrupt. Ever since the DPP came to power in 2000, the pan-blues have launched wave after wave of attacks on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), using the influence on the media they acquired during the days of the party-state system. They finally struck gold with the KRTC scandal.
Now that it looks like former deputy secretary-general to the Presidential Office Chen Che-nan (
To be honest, this is exactly what the pan-blues have been looking for in their relentless attacks on Chen Shui-bian. The DPP has been knocked reeling, and is finding it difficult to parry the blows. Nevertheless, it is possible that the pan-blues have gone too far, especially in their attempts to implicate Chao Yu-chu (
Some DPP members took a false step in proposing the "new DPP movement," for although the party should remain committed to reform, the process should not be driven by bait set by the opposition.
If the DPP is to turn things around and drag itself back out of the mud in this fracas, it will have to go on the offensive, and start revealing instances of corruption within the KMT.
The most obvious are the 18 percent preferential interest rate for retired public servants, military personnel and teachers; Taichung Mayor Jason Hu's (
Probably one-quarter of the KMT's nominees at city and county level have been accused of some form of corruption. It is interesting to contemplate how its strategy may prove ineffectual, or even backfire, because the KMT's "sacred mission" to reveal corruption in government may only serve to draw attention to its own less than perfect track record on this score.
Since the pan-blues don't understand themselves and don't understand others, this policy is likely to backfire, and they will only succeed in digging their own grave.
Chin Heng-wei is editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Paul Cooper and Ian Bartholomew
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