On July 2, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) returned to Taiwan after a 10-day visit to the US. Waiting for Lee at the airport were several thousand supporters chanting, "Go! Go! President Lee," waving green flags, and holding banners hailing, "The founding father of Taiwan," and, "The father of democracy."
This warm and enthusiastic reception opened a new chapter in Taiwan's political history. Lee's plea that, "Taiwan must do even better," has resulted in reactions from the two poles of Taiwan's political spectrum: one of respect for Lee and support for an alliance between Lee and President Chen Shui-bian (
Airport receptions have become an activity loaded with political significance. Backed up by a large crowd of supporters greeting him at the airport, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
After his two visits to Taiwan's Latin American diplomatic allies, each time President Chen returned to Taiwan via the US with other government leaders, DPP party officials and supporters were waiting at the airport to greet him. KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
All of these receptions may be politically significant, but it is the reception of Lee, more than those of the others, that has become the focus of the two very different reactions.
The political significance of Lee's reception is best seen against its historical background.
The day after the airport reception of Lee, a routine meeting of the KMT's central standing committee changed its original meeting agenda. Instead, a member of the KMT central standing committee, Huang Ta-chou (
In the past, individuals such as Jaw Shaw-kung (
Among this KMT splintering, those who left were Chinese mainlanders -- people who were born in China but, as a result of the KMT's collapse in China, come to Taiwan -- who were unhappy with the KMT's nativization policy. As a result, mainlanders are no longer part of the KMT mainstream. They are only sucking the KMT's blood, that is its wealth and the perks available to KMT members. On the surface, they may still be KMT members, but in reality they support New Party and PFP candidates in elections.
Jaw's establishment of the New Party, and Soong's of the PFP were accomplished through division of the KMT. None of these moves faced social criticism or attack. Why did Huang Chu-wen's organization of a new political party meet with such a harsh response? The reason is simple: It has much to do with a battle to legitimately claim as one's own the ideals of nativization, and "Taiwan first."
The people of Taiwan fully understand that the three opposition parties all have the same ancestry. They are all political parties of mainlanders. They therefore lack a truly native core. During his term as the party's chairman, Lee restructured the KMT, transforming the party into "a Taiwanese KMT." He was severely criticized by the Chinese mainlanders in the party, however, who accused Lee of promoting Taiwan independence.
Nativization is a very sensitive and sour issue for the mainlanders. After the KMT retreated to Taiwan, it used high-handed political and educational means to transform the Taiwanese into "Chinese" in order to maintain the party's rule in Taiwan. The people, as is human nature, however, identified most easily with their own culture, and resisted political pressure to change their identity. As a result, the DPP was born in 1986 against a backdrop of strong KMT resistance.
There are four major ethnic groups in Taiwan: the Aboriginals, the Hakka, Chinese mainlanders and the Fukienese. Each has its own demands, identity, and "consciousness." Ethnic consciousness has a significant bearing upon people's party political affinities, the outcomes of legislative, mayoral and county commissioner elections, and the issue of "one China." Merging with other ethnic groups and acculturating them toward an officially approved cultural model has traditionally been a strategy used both by China's emperors and totalitarian rulers in the past such as Chiang Kai-shek (
Mainlanders in Taiwan mostly identify with China's culture because of their emotional attachment to China. That is human nature. It is also human nature, however, that makes the people of Taiwan identify with the native culture of Taiwan. These differences in ideology and ethnicity form natural boundaries for political parties in a democracy.
In view of the political chaos and social problems that have plagued Taiwan since President Chen's minority government took office more than a year ago, Huang Chu-wen has sought to organize a political party focusing on nativization. Along with the Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Societies, the new political party will help stabilize the political situation in Taiwan. If the result of the year-end legislative election can reflect the inconstant political and social organism that is the popular will, then the new legislature will indeed be reflective and representative of the popular will. When the distribution of the parties' elected lawmakers becomes compatible with the distribution of the popular will, then the new legislature will be legitimized by the support of the popular will. The year-end legislative election will be a critical turning point for the transformation of Chen's fragile minority government into a stable majority government.
The three opposition parties in Taiwan have formed an alliance. The source of votes for the New Party is the mainlander group. Given that Soong reaped 4 million votes and Lien 2.8 million in the presidential election, virtually no mainlander, KMT member or not, supported Lien. Only Taiwanese KMT members and other Taiwanese voters cast their votes for Lien. After the presidential election, the KMT has retreated from nativization. It has once again become a "Chinese" party as the result of selfish and backtracking policy-making. The comeback of mainlanders in the KMT has destroyed the "Taiwanese" KMT, the manpower and financial resources of which is being used by the mainlanders to strengthen Chinese ethnic unity and counter Taiwanese consciousness.
Huang Chu-wen's efforts to organize a new political party have triggered strong resentment from the KMT. The soon-to-be-established party's appeal to native Taiwanese culture and the popular will of the Taiwanese goes to the core of the problems in Taiwan's long distorted political structure. The New Party and PFP fully understand that mainlanders have long abandoned their faith in the KMT. They may be KMT members, but their hearts belong to the New Party and the PFP. Huang's new party will therefore cause the KMT's influence to disintegrate.
The PFP does not openly condemn Huang's efforts to establish his new party. Because mainlander support for the PFP overlaps with their support for the New Party, the PFP has to seek the support of Taiwanese voters, despite its China-oriented ideals. If the PFP openly attacks Huang's new party, therefore, it will invite the resentment of the Taiwanese. The party is therefore better off hiding behind the KMT.
The parties that support the "one China" principle include the KMT, New Party, and PFP. The DPP, on the other hand, is a "Taiwan first" party. The number of DPP seats in the Legislative Yuan must increase from the current 68 to 113 in order for Chen's government to become a majority government. This is a virtually impossible task. The arrival of the new political party will help the DPP to enjoy the support of a legislative majority, and form a majority ruling alliance. This move is not only key to the development of a clear demarcation between the native and mainlander camps, and hence to the stabilization of Taiwan, but is also a growing pain which Taiwan has no choice but to experience.
Lee Chang-kuei is the president of the Taipei Times and a professor emeritus of National Taiwan University.
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