After half a century of one-party rule, Taiwan's government apparatus has accumulated a great many problems that pose a challenge to any new government.
First of all, there is the befuddlement about national identity.
The old establishment identi-fied with China and was antagonistic to the notion of a Taiwanese identity. Such antagonism has translated into resistance -- in the form of boycotts and non-cooperation -- against the DPP government.
Normally, in democratic politics, politically-appointed government officials should have strong partisan sympathies while rank-and-file civil servants should be politically neutral. Long years of one-party rule, however, have left the state apparatus in the KMT's firm grip. Many government officials, both civilian and military, have long been pro-KMT. The same is true with the staffs of state-owned enterprises and schools.
Such a structure is deleterious to any transition of political power.
When Chen Shui-bian (
After coming to power on a relative majority mandate, the DPP government has sought gradual and gentle reforms. Raising the flag of a "government for all the people," the DPP government has sought to make its political appointments "politically neutral." But that does not let the DPP escape the responsibilities of a ruling party. Political appointees cannot make a difference for the government they represent if they are politically neutral.
The problem of partisan bias, however, remains very serious among lower-level officials who are predominantly pro-KMT and have therefore put up a passive resistance to the DPP leadership. They also remain very bureaucratic as a result of long years of one-party rule.
The ROC establishment was tailor-made for long-term KMT rule, under which local politicians hand-picked appointees from the ranks of lower-level civil servants and installed them in the various levels of legislative bodies. Since the DPP came to power, political appointees have become more diversified in their political affiliations, but the deeply partisan and bureaucratic civil service remains a weighty legacy -- and an obstacle to the transition of power and a challenge to the will to reform.
Lee Min-yung is a poet and president of the Taiwan Peace Foundation.
Translated by Francis Huang
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