If we aren't totally cock-a-hoop at the idea of the KMT finally being brought to book for its 50-year looting spree, it is only because the legislation has yet to be passed and in the current situation that seems unlikely. The green camp is simply not going to be able to muster the number of votes in the Legislative Yuan to get the party assets law announced last week passed; the KMT has to and will do everything it can to avoid this happening.
Since the law won't be passed -- at least not by this legislature -- political innocents might wonder what is the point of trying to push it through. The more savvy will realize that this is the perfect public relations nightmare with which the relatively weak government can beat the KMT and go on beating it until the presidential election in 2004. Think about it. The legislation will be introduced this year, it will allow open season on the KMT's looting, a matter of fact that nobody in Taiwan except Lien Chan (
In the next legislative session we can hope for exquisite details to emerge as to just how extensive this has been. After all, ex-KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (
It is worth pointing out however that the KMT's misfortunes do not mean the blue camp is down and out. The PFP can look forward to a cascade of largesse from the former kleptocracy as it tries to buy support. And this might lead to a rather interesting shift in the election arithmetic for 2004. Much has been made of the blue camp running a joint ticket and the DPP's calculations about the election mostly revolve around such an eventuality. But it might just be that the KMT is in such odium and has enriched the PFP's coffers so much that James Soong (
The DPP needs to take some notice of this. After all, the KMT lost the last presidential election because it grossly underestimated Soong's support. it would be ironic if the DPP lost power as a result of making the same miscalculation.
Our skepticism about the assets law's chances of passing is not to be confused with a lack of support for the measure. This is important for Taiwan as is the political party law announced last week which aims to finally destroy the last remnants of the one-party Leninist system the KMT imposed on Taiwan by dismantling and banning party groupings in the military, the civil service, education and the judiciary. Expect some critics to yell about an infringement of political rights -- why shouldn't an off-duty soldier take part in political activities? But also remember that for 50 years this country's military and government institutions labored under the misapprehension that they served one political party, not the people of Taiwan -- and of course it was not so long ago when promotion within these institutions was a matter of one's standing in the party, not one's professional competence.
Much has been said in Taiwan about its democratic transition. Only when these elements of the country's former totalitarian system are dismantled will that transition be complete.
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