Although the official campaign period for the Kaohsiung and Taipei city council elections is not yet underway, election banners have appeared all over the place, particularly at the intersections of major roads.
The deafening sounds of megaphones used on campaign trucks reverberate through our walls, making it difficult for people to concentrate on work and study. Invitation cards for fund-raising dinners and the openings of campaign headquarters have been distributed everywhere.
Party officials have also been busy walking in parades and attending rallies. Open bribery has become less flagrant, but rumors of bribery and vote-buying behind the scenes have been widespread.
When can we have a clean election that is free of pollution, noise, bribery and personal attacks? Only when the voters use their ballots to eliminate those candidates who pollute the environment, make a noise and bribe voters.
We need not only a clean election but also a high-quality election. An election of a high standard should start with the moral character and conduct of the candidate. Voters should carefully observe and examine the candidate's moral credentials before going to the polls.
How can candidates be expected to remain loyal to voters if they have promiscuous relationships, are unfaithful to their spouses and neglect their families? And how can they promote a clean administration for the people if they live extravagant lives, are remiss about keeping public interests separate from private interests and possess property of questionable provenance?
A candidate of a high standard would not seek to make political capital out of ethnic tension. Taking advantage of the fervor of a particular group might secure the votes of that group but conceals a powerful bomb that could endanger the nation's long-term peace and stability.
Harmony, solidarity and cooperation on the part of ethnic groups protect social stability. No one should dare to challenge such stability. To promote tension between different social groups is so unscrupulous that anyone who does so will be forever condemned by Taiwan.
Candidates of high standards do their utmost to promote harmony, solidarity and cooperation in order to protect national interests.
High-quality candidates do not deliver personal attacks on other candidates, seeking to blacken their names. Candidates should seek electoral victory only with a noble character and a solid platform. The candidate should be discreet in life and should exercise self-control.
Candidates should certainly study the work of municipal administration, seek advice from academics and experts and make plans for the short, the medium and the long term. It is quite challenging for mayors and city councilors with a four-year term to come up with a long-range plan for the municipal administration.
Politicians with foresight, however, devote much time and energy to studying the municipal government and come up with fine visions for the city's overall development. Only with such visions can the short-term and the medium-term plans be realized.
If such visions can meet the needs of the city government and gain general acceptance from the voters, the plans based on them may be passed on to the politician's successors if they cannot be accomplished in one term.
The city administration's medium-term and long-term plans are important, but the pressing issues concerning the livelihood of our people should take precedence over anything else.
All these issues must be approached with concrete measures that should be effectively carried out by responsible officials and their teams.
Who can make a clean, high-quality election possible? The answer is the voters. If the voters demand a clean election, the low-minded, unscrupulous candidates will be eliminated naturally through competition; the virtuous politicians will then get elected.
With the high-quality politicians in power, we can expect a clean city government and a city council of a high standard. Only then can we truly respect human rights, promote freedom and democracy, serve our people with devotion, faithfully defend our country and improve our society.
Voters in both Taipei and Kaohsiung are knowledgeable and well-informed, with abundant experience in life and in society. With their wisdom and their votes, they have the capability and the conditions to create a clean election of a high standard that will set a precedent for future national elections.
Paul Shan is a Roman Catholic cardinal based in Kaohsiung.
Translated by Grace Shaw
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