The term "civil society" has been bandied about a lot in recent weeks in relation to the campaign to oust President Chen Shui-bian (
However, like most political commentary in Taiwan, the truth is often buried, or sidelined, by the personalities involved and their political agendas. Both sides are guilty of this. In the midst of this muckraking, obstinance and sheer bloody-mindedness, the truth of civil society is lost.
What is meant by "civil society"?
The term was popularized during the late 1980s and early 1990s against the backdrop of a disintegrating Soviet Union and the collapse of authoritarian regimes across Eastern Europe. In many respects, it was a woolly way of explaining the sudden resurgence of bottom-up political action that swept the region, and evolved out of a liberal-democratic capitalist thesis that put the middle-classes at the heart of struggles against authoritarian states.
While civil society was not considered to be the exclusive preserve of the middle-classes, they tended to dominate the myriad of social organizations such as sports clubs, business associations, environmental groups and organized labor that comprised it. This is the essence of civil society. It is not in itself political. Taiwanese politicians please take note.
So how does a motley collection of apolitical groups enter the political arena?
Generally, civil society becomes politicized, and rebels, when its civil space has been eroded -- usually by illiberal regulations and authoritarian dictates. However, such a civil rebellion is not inevitable.
First, groups must have a pre-existing sense of them-selves, their social rights and roles. Alternatively, an existing authoritarian regime that had previously crushed all civil movements could relax its hold on society allowing space in which new civil groupings could emerge. These are important distinctions that define the boundaries of any conflict between society and state or between different civil factions.
Given all this, how should we consider the recent unrest in Taiwan? Is it a truly civil action? Are the actors genuine representatives of social groups? Is there a real possibility of it escalating into a nationwide grass-roots movement? How relevant is Taiwan's own democratization moment to the current situation?
Taiwan's current political situation is colored by the remnants of the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime. The country, to use a metaphor, has a hangover and needs to completely rid itself of the toxins that dampen the mood of the nation and affect the very behavior of its people.
That said, the withdrawal of the state into a more prescribed role has been widely praised. The military has distanced itself and reaffirmed its focus on external threats. Elections at all levels have started to embed the notion that political competition is not a zero-sum game.
Unfortunately, not only does this seem to be restricted to the political realm, but even here groups, mostly with ties to the older KMT regime, have had problems accepting this idea.
Together, these elements have led to an explosion in the number of civil groups throughout Taiwan. But these have generally been absent from the rallies and commentary.
There has been some civil involvement like the request from a group of lawyers and another from a group of academics asking Chen to step down, but mostly the situation is politically driven. The appearance of politicos, and the usual pan-blue suspects in particular, further delegitimize it as a civil phenomenon.
The anti-Chen movement has clear limitations. Taiwan is still a relatively young democratic society. While procedurally it has the trappings of a liberal democracy, it is still a democracy with "Chinese characteristics."
Which brings me to my final point about what civil society is.
For a nation to have a civil society it must be civil. This is not a play on words. When the people are generally peaceful, readily obey reasonable laws and tend to compromise, positive relationships flourish.
The alternative is bad civil society, where social interactions are dominated by extremism, unreasonableness and an unwillingness to compromise. An uncivil society is prone to spasms and conflict.
Taiwan has elements of both. It is young and untested. The real danger of the last several years and the current protests is that a bad civil society will emerge.
Taiwanese citizens are therefore faced with a choice, not over their leaders, who are mostly products of their environment, but over their society. Which is it to be? Civil or uncivil?
Ben Adams is a political analyst from New Zealand now based in Taipei.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations