Sun, Feb 06, 2000 page8

• Editorial: A New Year's gift from China

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  In keeping with age-old Chinese tradition, the government in Beijing has selectively given out gifts in celebration of the New Year. Unsurprisingly, followers of the Falun Gong were left out; perhaps apostasy against the New Year is now to be added to the pile of criminal accusations against them.

  But two families here in Taiwan were fortunate to make the list: the captain and purser of the Shin Hwa (新華輪) were released today, after spending eight months in detention in China, accused of smuggling. This is a genuinely joyous piece of news for them.

  Since they would not have been released if the Chinese had any kind of case against them -- after all, there is no general policy of releasing smuggling suspects -- it is now apparent that the ship was arrested purely as a political punishment for President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) "two states" announcement, which preceded it by a week.

  Another group of Taiwanese people was also on the gift list: the New Party. Although the two unfortunate men were released by the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS, 海協會), they were pointedly not handed over to its counterpart organization, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會). Instead, they released them into the care of New Party legislator -- and, lest we forget, vice presidential candidate -- Elmer Feng (馮滬祥). This is a very thoughtful gift indeed, since it gives Feng an opportunity to appear on the news in the suitably New Years role of bringing families back together.

  In fact, even since at least the last Legislative Yuan elections, when it became apparent that it had no significant political role to play, the New Party seems to have made a strategic reoriention of its nature. While maintaining the outward trappings of a political party, its leaders have been concentrating more heavily on developing themselves into an alternative SEF. With their increasingly numerous contacts in Beijing, they seem to be succeeding, as today's release indicates.

  Maybe the New Party should officially change their status into a cross-strait lobby group. That would be a gift to us all.

  Lee will be a tough act to follow

  It cannot be the money that makes people queue from 9pm all night in far from ideal weather. NT$100 is not that much. That 20,000 people should wait to receive lucky hong bao from President Lee Teng-hui on the last Chinese New Year's Day that he will spend in office is about as honest a tribute to the man as we might see in these spin-controlled days.

  Yesterday's events at Sanchih should remind us that Lee has been, and still is, a widely popular president and this despite the amazing amount of grumbling there is about him. The business community grumbles about his "no haste, be patient" policy, the KMT old guard hate his Taiwan-centrism as does most of the media and many ordinary mainlander voters. Taiwan produces such a cacophony of anti-Lee noise that it is easy to forget -- and for foreign political analysts to overlook -- just how popular at the grassroots level Lee is. And this is surely because Lee has consistently understood the aspirations of ordinary Taiwanese far better than almost anybody else in Taiwan politics.

  Given that the president is 77 years old, it borders on the cruel and unusual to wish that he might remain in office, even if the Constitution allowed it. Looking at those who are vying to replace him, we cannot but help wonder who has the same mixture of guile, strength, obstinacy and vision to take his place.
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