Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Because the KMT suppressed Taiwan's democratic development during its decades of rule, localization is a particularly difficult topic for the party. It certainly takes courage for Ma to address the issue publicly.
Ma's remarks showed that he has a good understanding of Chiang. He outlined Chiang's international perspective, his promotion of environmental protection and women's rights and contributions to democracy. He also discussed what he himself has done to show his respect for Chiang. Ma's speech resembled a detached academic analysis as he worked to link himself to Chiang in the same way that he has tried to link himself to Taiwan.
Hsieh did not talk so much about Chiang, but was emotional about the injustices done to him. He questioned why the KMT had not put Chiang in history textbooks when it was in power. Weren't Chiang's family, his son-in-law and many members of the Taiwan People's Party arrested and executed, or sent into exile?
While both Hsieh and Ma refused to use ethnicity or geographical origin in defining "localized," their differences were most evident when it came to the terms "foreign regime" versus "local."
Ma chose to distinguish the two using legitimacy, saying that the term "foreign regime" is "terminology from the last century." The key question, he said, was not whether a government is foreign or not, but whether it has legitimacy. Ma said that if a government is a colonialist power, is not elected or is corrupt, it lacks legitimacy. While this stance did not deny one of the weak points of the old KMT government -- its lack of democracy -- it did attack President Chen Shui-bian's (
Hsieh said that only those who rule a country without legitimacy would appeal to ethnic ties. He said many issues have nothing to do with place of origin or being foreign but have do with the relationship between the government and its citizens. Hsieh's support for Taiwan and forming a common Taiwanese body not only ring true in terms of democracy, but also delve into issues of individual and group feelings. Hsieh seems to understand localization on a much broader level than Ma.
Ma worked hard on his address, but Hsieh's speech was better. Although Ma's explanations were coherent, he and the KMT have always advocated eventual unification with China, and lack a true feeling of Taiwanese identity. They lack the strength to truly inspire voters and convince them that the party is working to make Taiwanese masters of their own country. This is the greatest threat to Ma in his bid for the presidency.
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