Following President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inauguration on May 20, many Taiwanese have been hoping for a new style of politics to emerge. They have had enough of former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) presidency, during which the progress of democratization and “Taiwanization” was obstructed.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has entered a new era since Tsai won the presidency and the party won its first legislative majority. It has entered a new phase of control over both the executive and legislative branches of government.
With complete control comes complete accountability. However, with this new political landscape in Taiwan, which still goes by the name of the Republic of China (ROC), it should be noted that neither Premier Lin Chuan (林全) — nor some other the Cabinet members — are in the DPP. Many government agencies, from the ministries of national defense and foreign affairs to the Mainland Affairs Council, are headed by members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
From the perspective of political accountability, such appointments fly in the face of the principle of “party politics.” What, in terms of Taiwan’s political transformation, does this mean for the concept of a transfer of power? The formation of a grand coalition government might be sensible if Taiwan is to become a new state, but has that time come yet?
Does Taiwan have no room for one-party rule by the DPP? Established in 1986, the party has been around for about 30 years. If the “dangwai” (黨外, outside the KMT) era is included, it has operated for longer than that. Is it a problem of the party, or does it stem from the fact that Taiwan has yet to become a “normal” country?
During former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) presidency, a few “dangwai” activists served in the then-Cabinet as a cosmetic measure, but also as an expression of goodwill. During former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) first term in office, Chen initially appointed the KMT’s former minister of national defense Tang Fei (唐飛) as his premier, hoping to borrow something of the general’s political clout. The appointment revealed a sense of insecurity during the nation’s first transfer of power.
Ma did appoint some former DPP members, but only after they defected to the KMT. One could hardly say the Ma administration embraced other parties. He even saw to it that Chen and some of his Cabinet members were charged with corruption.
Responding to the KMT’s warnings about the DPP’s monopoly on power when her momentum surged during the presidential campaign, Tsai said that her government would not be a DPP government, even though the DPP would be accountable for it.
As a non-DPP member, Lin is the chief executive officer of a DPP think tank chaired by Tsai and had worked hard to campaign for her. In the face of the challenge of Taiwan’s economic revitalization, the former minister of finance is certainly the best choice to form the new Cabinet. The appointment of some independent, non-party-affiliated Cabinet members also met the public’s expectations. That said, many of them lack the willpower and passion to pursue the nation’s normalization.
Even after three transfers of power, the DPP is still haunted by the KMT’s half-century monopoly on power. It will take more than direct presidential elections, thorough implementation of transitional justice and disposition of the KMT’s inappropriately obtained assets for this nation to become a normal country.
The political parties in Taiwan should implement genuine party politics through fair and just elections. Perhaps this will be a new path to real reform.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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