In what should be Mr Democracy's finest hour, it is ironic -- and not a little tragic -- that he appears to be playing only a bit part in the stage show that is Taiwan's current presidential campaign. President Lee Teng-hui
Take Vice President Lien Chan
No president, it might be argued, should be held captive to the ideals of their more inspirational predecessors. Yet Lien and his campaign team, not to mention his closest confidantes, bear so little resemblance to the denizens of Lee's inner circle that they appear to come from different worlds. In fact, to a large extent, they do -- which would explain why so many of Lee's people have been wearing their hearts on their sleeves recently by endorsing Chen.
Soong, meanwhile, is plainly anti-Lee, the vanguard of a reactionary force committed to undoing all Lee has achieved over the past decade.
Chen, on the other hand, is presenting himself as the "real" successor to Lee, and to many extents and purposes, he is. Yet what is stopping him from openly declaring, "I will follow Lee's way?"
The answer is likely to be found in an understanding of the three often contradictory roles that Lee plays: chairman of the KMT, ROC president and president of Taiwan.
As the chairman of the KMT, Lee has, for good or bad, presided over one of the most ruthlessly powerful political machines in the world. He has done much to moderate the nature of the beast, yet he is still its boss. Chen, as an opposition candidate, cannot reasonably be expected to proclaim himself the complete political heir of such a person. As KMT chairman, Lee is an unbending autocrat in the eyes of many, who has been responsible for the rampant spread of "black gold" politics in Taiwan -- though partly this is because of Lee's unwillingness to reform the party that he despises. As the ROC president, he is likewise responsible for the government's basic commitment to reunification, "one China" and all the other historical baggage that goes with it. In this, Lien is obviously the most suitable candidate to be Lee's successor.
It is only in Lee's third and obviously more important role, as Taiwan's first popularly elected leader, that Chen can find a comfort zone from which to project himself as the next in a natural line. They share the same burning passion for ridding their people of the "tragedy of being Taiwanese" (as Lee said at the first official commemoration of the 228 Incident) and they are the only true democrats among many pretenders in the current campaign. No one should be surprised if Lee is given a permanent hotline to the presidential office in the event of a Chen victory on Saturday. The DPP candidate could do no better for an advisor on the difficult paths he would have to tread.
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