The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was left bruised and battered by Saturday’s local elections, losing more than half of the positions it held, including two special municipalities.
The DPP is left with only six of the nation’s 22 cities, counties and municipalities — a drastic decline in local power by any measure.
Granted, factors such as China’s meddling and rampant disinformation played roles in affecting the outcome, but the one key reason for its losses was the DPP itself.
It was the central government’s poor performance over the past two years that hurt the party’s showing on Saturday, as voters with a negative impression of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) vented their dissatisfaction.
Kaohsiung mayor-elect Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) parachuted into the city just a few months ago, beat his DPP rival Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) despite Chen’s extensive administrative experience and policy platforms because of the central government’s dismal performance record.
It was the same with Taiching, where Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) of the DPP fared poorly, not because of his own track record, but largely due to voters’ negative perceptions of his party.
While the KMT won in 15 cities and counties, including the DPP’s long-time stronghold of Kaohsiung, it did not win victory on its own merits, but because voters are unhappy with Tsai’s administration.
Tsai took office on May 20, 2016, with a pledge to reform. More than two years later, many voters’ high expectations have been met with disappointment.
Tsai boosted her reform campaign with flowery words and ornate language, but her government has failed to live up to the beautiful-sounding promises she made. All she has managed to achieve is to erode the public’s trust and make people question her competence.
No one ever said governing and implementing reforms would be easy, but in the case of Tsai’s administration, its many shortcomings have been exposed as it failed to prioritize its reforms, be responsive to the public’s needs and concerns, and quell factional nepotism, among other things.
Its labor reform policy that focused on “one fixed day off with one flexible rest day” is one example that demonstrated the government’s aforementioned failures, alongside its reforms of pensions for public-school teachers, military personnel and civil servants.
Meanwhile, the judicial reform that many have called for has been shelved, with Tsai saying her government’s plans on that front do not include assessing judges — which shows how much she has underestimated the public’s dissatisfaction with so-called “dinosaur judges.”
The Transitional Justice Commission, whose former deputy chairman resigned in September over an alleged effort to manipulate public opinion against a KMT politician, is a prime example of Tsai’s lack of judgement when it comes to political appointments.
In short, the lessons from Saturday’s elections are that: One, they demonstrated that in a democracy, the people are the masters; and two, that people do not necessarily follow the lead of those who brand themselves the people’s leaders, regardless of the rosy picture they have painted to voters.
Following the substantial changes to the nation’s political map, it is to be hoped that all political parties, particularly the DPP, have been humbly reminded that the “people are the masters.”
Politicians, especially leaders, must shelve their egoistic attitude that demands that the public “catch up” with them, rather than their needing to “walk with” the people.
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
The two major opposition parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), jointly announced on Tuesday last week that former TPP lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) would be their joint candidate for Chiayi mayor, following polling conducted earlier this month. It is the first case of blue-white (KMT-TPP) cooperation in selecting a joint candidate under an agreement signed by their chairpersons last month. KMT and TPP supporters have blamed their 2024 presidential election loss on failing to decide on a joint candidate, which ended in a dramatic breakdown with participants pointing fingers, calling polls unfair, sobbing and walking
RSS