Mon, Mar 13, 2000 page8

• KMT's history makers reform hard

  • By Antonio Chiang
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  The significance of the March 18 presidential election is twofold: on the one hand, it is the KMT's battle to defend its hold on power, and on the other hand, there is the question of whether the DPP can make history by taking power.

  Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) sounded somewhat feudal when he compared James Soong (宋楚瑜), who staged a revolt from within the KMT, to the conceited traitor Wang Mang (王莽) who usurped imperial power at the end of the Western Han dynasty.

  However, when Soong first launched the revolt, it was not so different from dynastic changes of yore. He rebelled against the KMT for no good reason -- and under ambivalent banners.

  

  The French Revolution left us a famous saying about revolutions. When Louis XVI asked his attendants, "Is someone staging a revolt," someone answered, "It's not a revolt; they are launching a revolution."

  Soong started out with a revolt, with the aim of taking over Lee's resources and the KMT's privileges. But his revolt took an abrupt turn after the Chung Hsing financial scandal when playacting became reality. Now he is perhaps staging a revolution.

  A revolution changes a political system; a revolt is an attempt to usurp power. The two are essentially different. But revolutions do not depend on lip service or slogans -- not even on white papers. A revolution needs the character, ideas, will and capability of a revolutionary. One who has never undertaken reforms before in his life cannot possibly suddenly metamorphose into a reformist, much less a revolutionary.

  Revolution in this democratic era need not be a bloody or violent affair. Rather, it is a re-allocation of resources that allow greater adjustments in policies and systems. One prerequisite for achieving this is that there must be no major conflict of interests among the revolutionaries. Those with vested interests are certainly incapable of bringing about major reforms.

  After Lee became Taiwan's first popularly elected president, there were high expectations in Taiwan society and the media that Lee would be able to use his position to push for reforms. Unfortunately, both of his legs were deeply mired in the mud of real-world interests. Taking even a single step was extremely difficult for him. For this reason, Lee does not have much to show in terms of internal reforms.

  Lien Chan's (連戰) plight in this regard is not much better than Lee's. In fact, that Lien is more inclusive and has fewer enemies makes his historical baggage even heavier.

  Soong has been praised for his diligence and seriousness, but he also carries a strikingly large bundle of historical baggage. From his complicated network, revealed by the Chung Hsing financial scandal, we can get a glimpse of how many notorious, frustrated politicians and local factions have turned out to be his loyal colleagues. Perhaps these people are his assets during the election campaign, but they will become liabilities after the election because they are the biggest obstacle to reform.

  In every era, those in power always stress stability while the opposition emphasize reform. Thus the KMT's attacks on Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Taiwan independence and the DPP targeting of the KMT's black-gold politics.

  Currently, Chen is working hard to strengthen his stance on national security, while Lien is coming up with a pile of reform pledges. Both are attempting to patch up their weak points. Unfortunately, it is too late for such strategies to work. Changing stereotyped public images is not so easy. All that remains now is vilification.

  Popular presidential elections have significantly changed Taiwan's international image. Unfortunately, the image of corruption and ultra-rightism represented by the initials "KMT" remain deeply rooted in the international community. Whether Lien or Soong win the election, Taiwan will still be unable to cast away the KMT dunce cap. It will be difficult to build a new international image for Taiwan.

  If Chen wins the election, not only will Taiwan's image change, but cross-strait relations will also undergo a major shift. But since the DPP has no historical baggage and no love-hate relationship with the communist party, Taiwan will not need to announce any statement or do anything much. Election results will be enough to highlight the reality of each side of the Taiwan Strait being a nation-state.

  Through changes in Taiwan's political environment, and through the international media, votes will speak louder than words.

  Antonio Chiang is publisher and editor in chief of the Taipei Times.
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