President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) won the presidential election with massive public support, but only three months after taking office her approval ratings have plummeted. Although she still has many supporters who defend her vigorously on the Internet and in the media, and although opinion polls cannot be the only yardstick against which to run a nation, it is undeniable that her policies over the past three months have not won the hearts and minds of the public.
It would be wrong to say that disaster is afoot because Tsai is not fit for her position, but unless Tsai and her administration are able to humbly face problems and adjust their policymaking — rather than following in the footsteps of the previous administration by using the government apparatus to advance its election campaigns, turning social problems into political issues and trying to fend off social movements by inviting activists to join the government and patting them on the back — public discontent can be expected to increase.
Moreover, the public will not necessarily vote for a candidate just because they are a member of their preferred political party. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) no longer looks like a shoo-in for the 2018 local elections.
It is the worst of times and it is also the best of times. Anyone who wants to contest the elections should make their preparations as soon as possible. Instead of following the tradition of using vote captains to find sponsors, they should draw up a step-by-step blueprint for the betterment of agricultural cities and counties rather than chanting empty slogans.
They should create a fresh image to show how much they care for these places in order to win a majority of public support, especially from younger voters, and show how they want to help agricultural cities and counties, such as Chiayi, Yunlin and Pingtung counties and rural Kaohsiung catch up with the main cities.
According to the latest poll conducted by Taiwan Indicators Survey research, Tsai, who had a 90 percent support rating in Kaohsiung and Tainan, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Chiayi counties, now has a disapproval rating of more than 30 percent in those same areas.
Of course, the nation’s economy has not significantly recovered; peoples lives have still not taken a turn for the better and most wages have stagnated. At the same time, the cost of daily necessities continues to rise. The public is hurting.
On top of that, most government ministers are out of touch with the public, which comes as a blow to Tsai’s supporters, who had high expectations of her administration. Notably, southern Taiwan is a stronghold for the nation’s agricultural and fishery activities, on which many families’ livelihoods depend.
Some products, such as sugar-apple, pineapple, grouper, milkfish, turtle egg and Pacific saury, are being met with decreased demand and potentially falling prices, as the dispute over the so-called “1992 consensus” has led to strained cross-strait relations, which translates into an absence of the previously easy-to-access Chinese market.
Tsai promised in her election campaign that she would help farmers and fishermen find other, more profitable, foreign markets, but she has not put her promise into action. Nor has she come up with any preventive measures to combat extreme weather conditions, leaving farmers and fishermen anxious about the lack of return on the capital and labor they invested. The poll results are a reflection of these concerns.
As for Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, they have always been the major base of Taiwan’s offshore fisheries. Many people earn a living from the fishery industry.
In recent years, as the area of international waters have diminished and a more accountable fishing practice is being promoted, placing more emphasis on management than fishing, conditions have become difficult for fishermen, in particular following recent disputes surrounding Japan’s Okinotori atoll and the downgrading of Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) to a rock.
Moreover, the depletion of fishing resources continues, making fishermen’s lives very difficult.
To safeguard sovereignty and fishing rights and to keep Taiwan from being bullied by nations such as the Philippines and Vietnam, a fleet of Pingtung fishermen went to Itu Aba despite the lack of government support. It was a journey of both passion and pain.
On their safe return, the fishery authorities held them accountable for their actions. In addition to fines, they could also have their fishing vessel licenses revoked. In contrast, illegal fishing boats can operate without much intervention from law enforcement officials, which is unacceptable to most fishermen. Finding a way to strike a balance between reason, fairness and legality, while avoiding the public impression that it is making an example of these fishermen, will be a test of the Tsai administration’s wisdom.
Three months might be a short time, but it is long enough to see what the administration is capable of. The Tsai administration’s overall performance is not up to snuff. If it is not alert to warning signs and does not quickly replace malfunctioning parts to make the government apparatus fully functional, the public will suffer collectively.
Once death cross occurs in the poll results, it will be hard to reverse the trend. However, the opposition party is too anemic to exert enough influence. There is no telling how much longer the public will have to suffer, but one thing is certain: they do not have much choice but to swallow it. After all, they made their own bed.
A Taiwan that lacks a competent counterbalancing power to the ruling party might end up experiencing 20 lost years just like Japan has. The problem is, how long will Taiwan be able to endure?
Du Yu is chief executive officer of the Chen-Li Task Force for Agricultural Reform.
Translated by Ethan Zhan
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