Voters demand change
The nine-in-one elections are over and the results matched most of the pre-election polls that showed that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would be defeated, remarkably, in Taipei and Greater Taichung. The result was even worse: They also lost in Keelung, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu City, Changhua County, Chiayi, Kinmen and Penghu. The KMT was trounced.
KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) said on election eve that the Republic of China could not afford such a loss, with the endorsement of the KMT elites — President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) and first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青). However, the result was cruel: The KMT lost. The Liens’ Taiwan-China comprador dream lies shattered.
After the showdown, Sean Lien told his supporters: “We will meet again another day.”
However, the Liens have been struck from the political arena from now on and so from their role in China.
As expected, independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was elected by a huge margin. Ko beat the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate in primary polling and won the nomination for the non-KMT camp, then kept his promises and insisted on running a high-class campaign, with no campaign banners, no sweeping the streets with a fleet of cars and trucks and keeping his campaign funds transparent throughout the entire campaign. He had no party assets to budget, no party members to mobilize, but received donations from supporters and gathered crowds of volunteers. Ko has really established a high-standard election campaign model for Taiwan.
Ko demonstrated to the world he has run a very non-traditional campaign in Taiwan, after introducing Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation to Taiwan in his previous career as a physician. He said there is wall dividing residents from different ethnic backgrounds, different generations and the rich and poor. Shall we continue to build such walls with hate or tear them down with love?
After his election, Ko thanked the great people of Taipei for their strong will and belief that conscience is the foundation of politics. Voters believed in their power to build a better city, and change in Taipei became a reality.
Ko said winning the election only marked the beginning of his responsibilities.
Yes, there is much work awaiting all the newly elected officials. What are voters expecting? The voters have raised their voices to urge their leaders to address the problems we are facing: party infighting, partisian conflict between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, the yawning gap between rich and poor, unequal distribution of social resources, unfair judicial judgements, the survival of local industries, over-reliance on the Chinese market, food safety and corruption.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) resigned after the KMT’s rout. He stepped down as a scapegoat for Ma, who is the person who should really bear responsibility for the loss. Unfortunately, Ma told the public that the KMT would not be so easily defeated. He seemed unaware of how the KMT lost this election battle. The KMT was kicked out of China in 1949 for the same reason: it lost popular support. Now, Ma and his government widely open the door to China without defending Taiwan’s interests. People suffer much poorer living conditions than before.
Well, what we have learned from this election? Social movement are in continuous development. From the death of army corporal Hong Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), the Sunflower movement and food safety scandals, Taiwan has accumulated momentum demanding change from the government; Ko smartly jumped into the campaign and stuck to his vision and promises; the young voters successfully used the power of social media, while the KMT played its same sad, old tune. Combine all these factors and that tells us why the independents and DPP could lead the rich and powerful KMT by such a large margin.
These elections were an act of will for, and belief in, change. Taiwanese have just cast their votes to make a choice for their future. Hopefully, next time they can cast their votes to identify their identity, nationality and sovereignty.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
Absentee voting needed
On the same day that voters turned out for the nine-in-one elections in Taiwan, there was also a state election in Victoria, Australia. I followed both elections with interest and voted in my home state of Victoria.
Voters in both Victoria and Taiwan can be pleased about the way the elections were conducted and have a high degree of confidence in the integrity of the results.
One major difference between the two elections is that in Victoria, almost 30 percent of voters cast their votes via pre-poll or postal vote.
Victoria voters also had the option of casting an absentee vote, ie, voting in a district other than the one they were registered in on election day.
However, in Taiwan, many people are denied the opportunity to vote because they cannot attend the polling booth near their registered residence on election day.
This leads to significant disenfranchisement of military and emergency services personnel, as well as university students, shift workers and other people living away from their registered residence.
Rather than informal arrangements, such as a student association organising buses for students to travel home (“University students, military members take steps to vote,” Nov. 19, page 2), the Central Election Commission needs to implement pre-poll and absentee voting to ensure all Taiwanese have the opportunity to vote.
These measures could be given trial runs at by-elections before being adopted for nationwide elections.
David Reid
Victoria, Australia
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