Mon, Feb 10, 2003 page3

• `Old Kang' a political war-horse

  CONSTANCY A household name in the 1970s and a leader of the democracy movement, Kang Ning-hsiang has shown the country his discipline and endurance

  • By Lin Mei-chun / STAFF REPORTER
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  At 64, Kang Ning-hsiang (康寧祥) was recently appointed to head the National Security Council (NSC). As one of the most senior opposition leaders during the martial-law era, Kang has seen a lot during his political career.

  Doyen of the opposition movement in the 1970s and early 1980s, Kang now finds himself back on the political frontline after two decades in which he was shunned by mainstream members of the DPP as the party grew and prospered.

  

  Kang Ning-hsiang, once the head of the country's opposition movement, is now National Security Council secretary-general.

  TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

  Unknown to most of the younger generation, Old Kang (老康), as he was known then -- an affectionate label reflecting his stature within the opposition movement of the time -- was a household name some 30 years ago.

  In 1975, Time magazine named Kang as Asia's rising political star. He helped to nurture the careers of many current DPP politicians and served as an inspiration to many others.

  Initially planning to stay on as a member of the Control Yuan until retirement, Kang was persuaded to serve as vice minister of national defense in June last year.

  After only half a year at the ministry, Kang had to be moved -- not because he was unfit for the job, but because he was outshining his boss, Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明).

  Under the policy of civilian control, Tang had attempted to resign twice because he seemed uneasy with Kang's company.

  Kang is the fourth secretary-general of the NSC since President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) took office, succeeding incoming Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁).

  Chiou's predecessors were the former director of the National Security Bureau, Ting Yu-chou (丁渝洲), and the late admiral Chuang Ming-yao (莊銘耀).

  Ups and downs

  The changing fortunes of Kang's career reflect the dramatic changes in Taiwan's political development, from the exciting and precarious opposition movement to the process of democratic consolidation.

  Kang earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from National Chunghsiung University in 1957. Growing up in Wanhua (萬華), one of Taipei's least developed districts, and having worked at a gas station, he was elected as a Taipei City councilor in 1969. Three years later, he was elected as a legislator, holding his seat for 10 years.

  A charismatic figure and passionate orator with a distinctly husky voice, Kang was a popular politician from the beginning. Many people were moved by his speeches and inspired by his strong sense of Taiwanese awareness to join the opposition movement.

  Hard-working and someone who lives modestly, Kang was the first tang wai (黨外), outside the party, politician to foster close ties with liberal mainland intellectuals and KMT dissident faction leaders. He also had close contact with Japanese-educated Taiwanese intellectuals.

  Partly through his experience in the legislature and partly through the influence of liberal scholars and senior politicians, Kang developed his well-known philosophy that, to gain power, "one should demonstrate one's wisdom in the legislative chamber, rather than showing one's strength on the street."

  When Taiwan was under martial law, this strategy was unpopular among his more radical young comrades.

  Kang was the first tang wai leader to focus on national budgets, government organization, national defense, cross-strait issues and international affairs.

  Push for democratization

  He was also the first to develop coordinated action between overseas Taiwanese and activists within Taiwan to push for the nation's democratization. That made him a leader of opposition movement.

  In 1982, he led You Ching (尤清), Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) and Chang Te-ming (張德銘) in a visit to the US in what became known as tang wai diplomacy. The group lobbied the US congress, demanding that the US continue to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons in exchange for the KMT government lifting martial law.

  He advocated a moderate pace of reform from within the system, and sought to extend his influence by launching a series of opposition magazines.

  Taiwan Tribune (台灣政論) was founded in 1975 with the help of late DPP chairman Huang Hsin-Chieh (黃信介). But the monthly was banned after only four issues.

  The Eighties (八十年代) was introduced four years later, with Antonio Chiang (江春男), now the NSC's deputy secretary-general, serving as its editor in chief.

  When James Soong (宋楚瑜), now PFP chairman, was in charge of the censorship of publications as the director of the Government Information Office and the head of the KMT's propaganda department, the magazines were banned, confiscated or suspended more than several dozen times. But the publications came back again and again under different titles over the course of eight years.

  Practicing what he preached, Kang did not take part in street demonstrations in the 1970s or 1980s. He was the only opposition activist who was not arrested after the Kaohsiung Incident in 1979, and for that reason, he was seen as too timid to be a revolutionary leader.

  In 1983, unhappy with his Kang's moderate stance, a younger, more radical generation of tang wai followers led by Chiou I-jen launched a series of attacks against Kang, whom they considered an appeaser. Swamped by a wave of criticism from both the elite and the rank and file of the opposition movement, he lost his legislative seat at the end of that year.

  After the defeat, he went to Columbia University as a visiting scholar, researching national defense policy, and made friends with specialists in China studies in the US and with many congressmen. Those old connections appear valuable for his job today.

  It was perhaps not surprising then that, returning to the legislature in 1986, he enjoyed better relations with many KMT figures than with most of his DPP comrades. It was perhaps also not surprising that, before long, he lost his passion for politics and started to shift his focus to the press after media restrictions were lifted in 1988.

  With support from his old colleague, Antonio Chiang, Kang founded The Capital Morning Post (首都早報) in June 1989. The money-losing paper was shut down after a year, proving financially unviable with its strong political views and emphasis on serious topics.

  The closing of the newspaper dealt a blow to Kang's career. He also faced a crisis in his personal life when he was involved with a scandal. It was the darkest period of his life.

  It was not until in 1993, when then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) nominated him to serve in the Control Yuan, that he re-emerged on the political scene. But his DPP membership was suspended in line with the principle of neutrality required of Control Yuan officials.

  In the latest turn of the political wheel of fortune, Kang is to succeed Chiou, his one-time nemesis, as head of the NSC, where he will work with Chiang for a third time.

  While his career has had its highs and lows, he has demonstrated in his personality the constancy, discipline and endurance of a political distance runner.

  Kang has kept himself in shape by maintaining a regular exercise regimen over the past 30 years. He continues to pursue his interests in national defense and international affairs and still lives in his modest apartment in Wanhua.

  The more other politicians change, the more he remains the same. That's the Old Kang.
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