Mon, Mar 12, 2001 page8

• Primaries show sullied DPP values

  • By Hong Chi-chang 洪奇昌
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  During a political party's election primaries, its best talent is selected and nominated to run for public office. Through participation in elections, parties make progress toward assuming the important duties of organizing and supervising a government. Thus, the process of nomination should be a high-threshold screening process by which the good is separated from the bad, where candidates' moral character, integrity and ability are rigorously tested. The details of this process must, moreover, be carried out with the utmost strictness and caution -- if not, there is no way to establish a "clean," effective administrative team.

  In the past, during the rule of the KMT, the "vote-buying culture" was deeply despised by the people of Taiwan. During last year's presidential election the people used their ballots firmly to reject this anti-democratic tumor that has hindered efforts to improve the quality of democracy in Taiwan.

  From the time of its formation to the present, the DPP has boasted that it is the dynamo behind democracy and progress in Taiwan. The DPP has always made a display of "clean" elections and has rejected vote-buying, frequently emphasizing this stance as an important dividing line separating it from the other political parties. Most DPP candidates were elected on the strength of their anti-vote-buying stances. One could say that the DPP has always put a great distance between itself and vote-buying. The occasional rumor was surely only an isolated case.

  However, ever since it became the ruling party, some of the ideals the DPP used to stand by have gradually become blurred. In the government, legislature and the DPP, we often witness the party's voice and stance being subjugated to a supporting role. Whether voluntarily or not, the former ideal that the "party guides the government" (以黨輔政) has become a mere slogan. Instead, the situation has changed to one where the "government leads the party" (以政領黨).

  The DPP is finding it difficult to maintain its ideals while shouldering the government's burdens. After its decision to compromise on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四) we saw the DPP's low-key involvement in the anti-nuclear march, terrified of bringing harm upon the government or legislature. We don't see, however, the DPP conducting a comprehensive review with regard to its anti-nuclear line. On many issues, the DPP leadership has been unable to either give its members hope for the future, or even maintain the enthusiasm of its supporters. The corruption in the party's primary process this year has caused DPP members' sense of honor and symbolic significance to come under ruthless attack.

  Shortly after assuming political power, the same party which grew up waving the anti-vote-buying banner quickly became the enemy it had fought for so long. This was a cruel vilification of all those who had previously joined the party full of ideals and enthusiasm. Headlines splashed across the front pages of newspapers were enough to make middle-ground voters -- who had put hope in the DPP for a long time -- experience a huge faith crisis. When, in a recent press conference, the KMT lashed out at the DPP for corrupting the election process, it wasn't some crazy accusation -- rather, it was the ridicule of a party going downhill. The DPP should seriously examine itself.

  This change isn't directly related to the party's nomination system. The nomination thresholds were raised slightly during the revision of nomination criteria at the party's national convention last year. This was done to reduce the negative influence of "nominal" (人頭) party members on the primary system. The proportion of party members' votes required for nomination has already been lowered, with more emphasis being given to regular voters' impressions of, and support for, candidates. Meanwhile, the "legislator at large" (全國不分區) system promotes the nomination of professionals and minorities and stresses political experience and partisan support among different groups within society. This emphasis is all part of a meaningfully designed system.

  Of great importance for getting all party members to vote in the primaries is the belief that the contenders are far superior to other party members in terms of character, integrity, and persistence on the party's ideology and ideals. Recent headlines, however, give the impression that the system has deteriorated into a state where a few political bigwigs use cash to keep their seats. Terms related to vote-buying, which in the past would never have been used in association with the DPP, are now being used to describe the DPP primary elections. And the party can't seem to summon the charisma and resolve necessary to face -- and prevent -- these by-products of the "legislator at large" primary system.

  In the past, many DPP members and supporters saw with their own eyes the chaos wrought by the old KMT's practice of vote-buying, and how the ensuing string of corruption undermined Taiwan's national character. Because of this, a large portion of the DPP's support base comes from the party's insistence on clean, honest government. Motivation for joining the DPP has largely been based on the same. In the past we believed that, at least on this point, the DPP was unwavering. Witnessing the recent chaos and deterioration of election practice, however, we should address certain questions to the party. For instance, "has the party allowed the ideals it previously embraced to become blurred -- or even sullied?" Further, we should ask how party members who reject the"blurring" and "sullying" of these ideals are supposed to handle the situation? After all, what can they do?

  Hong Chi-chang is a DPP legislator.

  Translated by Scudder Smith
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