Two marches in Kaohsiung on Saturday last week — one in support of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in the Jan. 11 presidential election, and the other demanding his recall — were testaments to the self-restraint of both sides and to the maturity of Taiwan’s democracy.
Unfortunately, they were tarnished by subsequent squabbling over which side could claim the highest turnout. The time and effort wasted on this petty fight would have been better spent — by both the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the KMT — on trying to gain the support of the electorate in more positive ways.
The KMT accused the recall march’s organizers of “cheating,” intentionally inflating numbers and placing dummies under a huge banner. Even if these accusations are proven true and the pro-Han march did attract higher numbers, the Han campaign — and the KMT itself — has no reason to feel vindicated.
This does not address the fact that a considerable number of people took to the streets to express their concerns about, and protest, Han’s performance as mayor and his “absence” from the city during the presidential campaign.
These people will not change their opinion of Han simply because more people marched in support of him than against him.
By the same standard, the DPP has no reason to rest on its laurels. Even if more people marched in protest of Han than to support him, this would do nothing to dent the pro-Han fervor of the many marchers wearing and waving the Republic of China flag.
Therefore, the DPP needs to look at how to address its own shortcomings in government, rediscover the “humble” attitude that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) promised when elected in 2016 and promote policies the electorate can get behind.
Meanwhile, the Han campaign needs to address the clear political message revealed by the move to secure his recall. If it fails to do this, this movement will just be the precursor to a whole string of others against him.
Paul Lei is a veteran media worker and a former secretary of the Control Yuan.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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