Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) was on Sunday elected as chairwoman of the National Women’s League, beating former KMT legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛). Former chairwoman Cecilia Koo (辜嚴倬雲) was on Friday removed from her post by the Ministry of the Interior.
Two major factions have formed within the league, reflecting divided opinion between supporters of Koo and those who prioritize the interests of the group.
To make matters more complicated, the KMT’s involvement has encouraged the organization’s resistance to the government, causing its negotiations with the Ministry of the Interior and the Executive Yuan’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee to drag on. This unnecessarily prolonged process has made the issue extremely unpleasant for many.
Most of the league’s standing committee members hoped to reach a settlement with the ministry and the committee.
The nation has already reached a consensus on the issue of ill-gotten party assets and the passage of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) has provided a legal foundation for the handling of the issue. The act, passed last year, should have effectively reduced the amount of resources needed to determine how to handle ill-gotten party assets.
However, that has not been the case. Despite her advanced age, Koo has always had strong opinions about things. A good example is her response to the administrative contract offered to the league by the Ministry of the Interior and the committee last week.
The organization had reached a preliminary agreement with representatives from both the ministry and the committee after league deputy chairwoman Yeh Chin-fong (葉金鳳) and Lei attended a trilateral meeting with them. Yet, when they reported the agreement to Koo, things took a turn for the worse.
Koo sent an e-mail from the US to the league, which strongly advised against signing a contract with the government. Koo was adamant that the league should not give in and other members played along.
The league therefore failed to turn in the contract by Friday last week, the deadline set by the ministry, and Koo was subsequently removed from her position as league chairwoman.
Despite the Ministry of the Interior’s decision to sack her, Koo was still planning to continue influencing the league by promoting Pan as her successor.
However, little did she know that her influence would leave the organization with her. As soon as she lost power, democratic procedures were restored to the league’s decisionmaking body.
The election result on Sunday shows that the group favors Lei, who wants a settlement with the government, over Pan, who does not think the league should cooperate.
Does Lei’s election mean the tension between the KMT, Koo and Pan will be resolved, and that the league is ready to reach a settlement with the government? The answers will soon surface.
An important implication of all of this — one that requires the attention of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration — is that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) transitional justice policies are no longer able to keep its supporters happy.
While they did satisfy many of its supporters when the DPP had limited legislative power between 2000 and last year, since the party has taken complete control of the Presidential Office and the legislature, expectations from its supporters have changed: Most of them desire a ruling party that produces results. If that is not the case, they might grow unhappy, which would then be reflected in lower approval ratings.
When dealing with the KMT’s ill-gotten assets and affiliates, the DPP must stop being indecisive: Such decisions should be made quickly and effectively.
The best way to regain the public’s trust and support is to improve the nation’s economy and not overemphasize politics. Getting caught up in political games with the KMT and its affiliated groups will be of little help to anyone.
Tzou Jiing-wen is editor-in-chief of the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper).
Translated by Tu Yu-an
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