The results of the special municipality elections in November will have significant implications for the future of Taiwan, and recent events have given much cause for concern.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has already announced its candidates, and in the process left Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) and Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) out in the cold. Perhaps feeling snubbed, the two men announced they werer considering running as independents. Sensing blood, the pro-China media and pan-blue camp have had a field day, trying to exploit internal divisions within the DPP for their own electoral benefit.
On Monday last week, the Southern Taiwan Society (STS) decided to hold a press conference at which it called on both Hsu and Yang to clarify what they intended to do during the campaign. To avoid embarrassment or any unwanted surprises, the authors of this open letter accompanied the former and current chairmen of the STS, Cheng Cheng-iok (鄭正煜) and Han Ming-jung (韓明榮), to discuss the matter with Yang.
The county commissioner had a lot to say for himself and made clear that he would need time to talk to his supporters because his decision was bound to disappoint them. In the end, however, he said he would do what the people of Taiwan expected of him and not stand.
For our part, we were keen to emphasize just how strategically important Kaohsiung and Tainan are, being two major cities in the south.
We conceded that Yang had legitimate reasons to feel disappointed at failing to secure the party nomination, but impressed on him the need to see the bigger picture. We pointed out how important it was for a pro-localization party to be in power in Kaohsiung and encouraged him to play his part in seeing this come about.
We hope that those who received party nominations will treat their erstwhile opponents with the respect they deserve and recognize both their achievements and sacrifices while in office. We also hope that they will find it within themselves to reconcile with those who were not nominated with an appropriate degree of humility.
Only by securing the heartfelt support of those who lost in the party primaries can DPP candidates really focus their attention on their campaigns. We also call on the party center to understand the concerns of the losers’ supporters and to do everything possible to promote unity. Only then can we expect to do well in November and lay the foundation for the presidential elections in 2012.
This situation brings to mind the challenge faced by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) when he was trying to secure the support of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in his bid to be nominated its presidential candidate. At first, his nomination was obstructed, but he took the advice of Tsai Hung-wen (蔡鴻文), who reminded him of the importance of tolerance and inclusion. Lee visited each of the eight party leaders standing between him and the nomination and asked them, with due humility, for their support. In the end, he secured the nomination and became president, and went on to oversee a peaceful revolution.
One should not forget the latent strength to be found in humility.
Chang Yeh-shen is chairman of the Taiwan Hakka Society. Tsay Ting-kuei is a convener for the Taiwan Referendum Alliance. Chang Ming-yu is an executive member of the alliance. Wu Li-hui is director of the Union of Taiwanese Teachers.
TRANSLATED BY PAUL COOPER
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