New Tide members push for Mainlander inclusion

Members of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) New Tide Faction yesterday suggested that acknowledging the civil status, cultural symbols and political beliefs of Mainlander, as well as allowing them to participate in the Taiwan's state-building process, would provide solutions to the problems of ethnic confrontation.

New Tide celebrated its 20th anniversary yesterday and organized a conference to discuss how to advance the state-building process and propose solutions for the ethnic conflicts between Mainlanders and native Taiwanese -- one of the most important factors at play in influencing the political stability of Taiwan.

A prominent member of the faction Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), who doubles as the deputy-director of the DPP's policy-research and coordinating committee, yesterday said that the ethnic problem in Taiwan is just a "pseudo question" insofar as it stems from confusion over national identity.

Liang argued that ethnic conflicts are simply a political issue, as these conflicts overlap with the expectations about unification or independence that Mainlanders and Taiwanese have.

To address this problem, Liang suggested that Mainlanders be allowed to participate in the nation-building process, and ensure that civil rights and freedom of the people be guaranteed.

`Civic nationalism'

"This is how the DPP has tackled the ethnic issue since its establishment -- that is, we only recognize civic nationalism, which puts all groups on an equal footing as citizens regardless of the time of people's arrival and their ancestry," Liang said.

Liang said the DPP needn't doubt its way of tackling ethnic issues.

"Mainlanders, though they have showed less willingness than Hoklos (more commonly known as Taiwanese) and Hakkas to pursue state-building, their identification with Taiwan has been increasing and this process has been peaceful -- as various opinion polls over the past years demonstrate," Liang said.

A longtime member of the faction, Lee Chien-hung (李健鴻), also a professor at Da Yeh University in Changhua County, yesterday said that the acknowledgment of the civil status, cultural symbols and political beliefs of minority groups -- namely the Mainlanders -- could enhance ethnic harmony and buttress the process of state-building in Taiwan.

As the largest and most organized faction in the DPP, the New Tide Faction's celebration yesterday drew particular attention after a recent call by other members of the DPP to dissolve the factions -- a move believed to be targeted at New Tide.

New Tide's strong teamwork and its tradition in pioneering the party's policies were believed by some to have crowded out other factions' opportunities for developing their own members' careers and ideas.

Solidarity

Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), chief convener of New Tide, yesterday said that the faction's internal solidarity might have caused dissatisfaction among certain other factions.

"We hope to improve relations with other factions to avoid being pushed out," Tuan said.

New Tide is known for its highly disciplined teamwork, as members are expected to strictly follow the teamwork concept instead of emphasizing on faction member's individual performance.