Sun, Nov 23, 2014 page8

• EDITORIAL: Lien apology shows people’s power

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  Former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) on Friday night apologized for using the word “bastard” when he stumped for his son Sean Lien (連勝文) — who is running for Taipei mayor — at a rally on Sunday, saying it had been too strong a word and had stirred feelings of unrest in society, for which he “felt sorry.” He added that he did not use it to describe anyone in particular, in a bid to clarify that he had not called his son’s main rival, independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), a bastard.

  As a matter of fact, Lien Chan actually did refer to Ko as a “bastard.” What he said at the rally was: “He calls himself a commoner and us the privileged few. What a bastard. Let those surnamed Ko all be taken to the cleaners.”

  The remarks, which have aroused the emotions of pro-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters, appeared to have backfired, incurring severe criticism from prominent commentators, including Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), a hardline pan-blue camp figure, and Shih Ming-te (施明德), whom Lien Chan once said he held in high esteem over the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman’s failed attempts to persuade then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration to form a coalition Cabinet with the KMT after the DPP failed to secure a majority in the 2001 legislative election, which eventually led to Shih’s withdrawal from the party he had co-founded.

  Lien Chan’s apology was addressed not to Ko, but rather to people disappointed in him, was designed to mitigate damage caused to Sean Lien’s election prospects and did not equate to an admission of fault in calling Ko a bastard. The apology also fell short of expressing his regret over characterizing Ko as a descendant of a man who served the Japanese colonial government, which aimed to incite ethnic tensions the way the previous KMT regime did when it took over Taiwan from Japanese colonial control in 1945.

  Despite the sophistry in the apology, the move still means something in the sense that people are put forward as masters of the country when there is an election.

  Sean Lien seemed to get that point when he said recently that his background did not make his election any easier and that he has been going from person to person seeking support like any other candidate. He said he did not think that running in the election was as easy as falling off a log, although some of his seniors did.

  The way the KMT has waged its campaign in the election for Taipei mayor by playing on blue-versus-green tension stands in stark contrast to Ko’s main appeal of being a political novice who can break the mold of blue-green confrontation, which has paralyzed so much progress in Taiwan for a long time. As Jaw said in his criticism of Lien Chan, the KMT’s contention that the Republic of China would become “extinct” if Sean Lien loses to Ko has dominated the nation’s elections for the past two decades since Jaw ran for Taipei mayor in 1994.

  Over the past few months, Ko has led Sean Lien by a stable margin in polls. In a city where pan-blue supporters have long outnumbered pan-green supporters, it is interesting to look into why Ko has become a phenomenon, even though it is widely known that he, while not affiliated with any political party, leans toward the pan-green camp in his political outlook.

  The question over whether partisan politics is a temporary phenomenon or an insurmountable barrier will be answered on election day.
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