The re-election of President Chen Shui-bian (
Lee Yung-chih (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"The Taiwan-centered consciousness has ripened, and China will have to come to terms with the Taiwanese people's strong will to self-determination and self-governance," Lee said, adding that Chen's re-election will ring in a new phase in cross-strait interactions, as well as a more fair and equal relationship between the two countries.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"China has to respect the result of the election. China's hostility and its zero-sum-game approach to Taiwan will have to be overhauled," Lee said.
Chen's re-election also assures the continuation of the "A-bian Era," although the Chen administration will be faced with grave challenges.
One of the biggest difficulties that limited Chen's administrative performance over the past four years was a weak and chaotic constitutional framework governing the political system. How Chen will direct the rewriting of the Constitution and whether that change will deal with Taiwan's sovereignty issue has been a major concern to international observers.
Inside the country, Chen is faced with growing demands to amend the Constitution. However, he also has to allay international concerns about the direction of the new constitution and whether the country's name and territory will be affected.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said yesterday that the party will take these concerns into consideration.
Lee said the rise of a Taiwanese identity will further push Taiwan away from China.
"A Taiwanese identity is essential for the nation's independence from China, and it prevents Taiwan from being swallowed by China," Lee said.
A Taiwan-centered subjectivity will bring a more fair and equal dimension to cross-strait interactions, and would also ensure the autonomy of Taiwan's economy and technology, Lee said.
Shieh Jhy-wey (
"It does not matter who Taiwan's next leader is -- China will have to come to grips with the Taiwan issue under international pressure. How to deal with Taiwan is not something China can decide on its own," Hsieh said yesterday.
Political commentator Pu Ta-chung (卜大中) said Chen's re-election, which gives the DPP a second mandate as ruling party, will be a positive lesson to the world's other young democracies.
Among the young democracies in Asia, Chen is the first opposition leader to win a second presidential term, defying previous doubts that a reformist DPP government would be a short-lived administration due to a domestic economic downturn.
Pu said a democratic exchange of power like the one brought about by the 2000 election is very difficult to survive in the early stages, especially when the young and inexperienced ruling party is faced with complicated national matters, such as problems with the economy.
These are the problems that Russia and its former satellite states such as Romania, Hungary and Poland faced when the Soviet regime collapsed and was replaced by democratic governments.
"Because of the lack of experience, the young democratic governments of these countries were soon faced with grave economic burdens, making the democracy a total debacle in these countries," Pu said.
"Economically the old power might be able to bring in stability, but politically it creates a setback to the democratic development," Pu said.
"It's a pity that the people in eastern Europe and Russia have lost their faith in democracy because of these problems," he said.
The importance of the DPP's second victory is that the whole world is watching whether Taiwan will be able to advance its democratization and pass through the painful process of transition. The question is whether the people of Taiwan can stand the test of time to consolidate democracy.
"Chen has to face a divided society after the election. How to mend the relations between the pan-green and pan-blue camps is a major task facing Chen's new administration," Lee said.
"We are at a crucial point in the history of our country. The country doesn't need irrational behavior and we hope the public could stay calm and rational in order to keep the society stable," DPP Secretary General Chang Chun-hsiung (
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