With charges of dirty tricks flying between the pan-green and pan-blue camps and allegations rolling out from business circles in the midst of the election campaign, the public has gradually been made aware of the relationship between politics and business. What they have seen might be just the tip of the iceberg.
Given today's campaign methods, an enormous amount of money must be spent on TV commercials, print propaganda mobilizing supporters to attend campaign rallies, broadcasting campaign activities and setting up campaign headquarters. The cost is probably much higher than each camp has admitted.
Recently exposed allegations and scandals involve hundreds of millions of NT dollars. Two scenarios are running at the same time now -- "business acquiring government" and "politics controlling business."
If this happened in the US, what would the result be? The answer is that it would not happen. This does not mean US politicians are not corrupt. It means the US' system has limited their freedom to misbehave.
US candidates must declare the political donations they have received. If they fail to do this, they are faced with lawsuits. Naturally those who break the law would have to retire from the political arena.
But in Taiwan, whether one breaks the law depends on one's own definition and whether one has to leave the political arena is one's own choice. Such a big gray area should make US politicians jealous in the extreme.
The US' Lobby Law stipulates that politicians must fill out forms after meetings with representatives of interest groups to record the time and place of the meeting and the issues discussed.
This is the only way to rein in corruption. But in Taiwan, business conglomerates have various channels through which they can meet with important government officials.
Former US vice president Al Gore was criticized for making calls from his White House office to raise funds. To be frank, the people of Taiwan are very envious of such a "scandal." Comparing that with the allegations of corruption in our presidential campaign, it is clear that, although our referendum laws are more "democratic" than those in the US, our democracy still has a long way to go.
Emile Sheng is an associate professor of political science at Soochow University.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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