Mon, Dec 10, 2007 page8

• DPP and KMT trapped by the past

  • By Chen Mao-hsiung 陳茂雄
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  The bill proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to investigate crimes committed during the 228 Incident and the White Terror era has once again led to conflict between the pan-blue and pan-green camps. Issues like this always follow the same line: the DPP attacks while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) defends itself.

  For instance, both the referendum on reclaiming the KMT's stolen assets and the referendum on seeking UN membership are DPP electoral tactics.

  Although the KMT retaliated by proposing an anti-corruption referendum and a referendum on re-entering the UN, it can been seen from the confrontation between the two parties over voting procedures that the intent of the KMT is only to boycott the referendums. This indicates that its proposed referendum is merely a smokescreen.

  Looking at the conflict between the two parties, the DPP doesn't act as if it is in power, but rather in opposition, while the opposition party doesn't act like the opposition, but behaves as if it is still in power.

  A distinguishing feature of an opposition party is its lack of governmental resources, making the deployment of organizational strategies more difficult. But it has the advantage of bearing no political burdens, so it's easier for the opposition to attack the weaknesses of the ruling party.

  As the opposition party does not shoulder the responsibility of governing, it doesn't have to spend time on governing strategies. Instead, the opposition should focus on the employment of electoral tactics and determining which issues concern voters the most.

  On the other hand, as the ruling party controls governmental resources, it can easily develop connections with the public; yet, because of the burden of being in power, it also has to place importance on its long-term political strategies.

  After becoming the opposition party, the KMT lost governmental resources, but it did not undergo transformation and still uses connections as its major campaign strategy.

  Connections can be useful in local elections, but they are not as influential on a national scale. The KMT should have found some issues that can relate to the public, but unfortunately, it acts as if it were still in power, failing not only to raise issues of public concern, but still tarred with the legacy of the old KMT regime.

  The 228 Incident and cases from the White Terror era still serve as "ballot-attracting machines" for the DPP. The DDP only has to bring these issues up ahead of an election and the ballots will automatically rush in.

  If the KMT could eliminate the vestiges of the old KMT era, it would have a wide range of possibilities. Unfortunately, the KMT appears to prefer to hold onto the past, leaving it a walking target for criticism. The presidential election is going to be very difficult for that party.

  The DPP has been in power for almost eight years and controls governmental resources. It should be easy for it to develop its human resources and make plans for long-term governance. This means it should have some ideas for a long-term strategy -- but the DPP looks no further than the next election. It is not making an effort for the country, the pan-green camp, nor the party as a whole.

  Some people have criticized it, saying that for the DPP every day is an election day, and it has yet to enter the ruling stage.

  The DPP's development of its human resources has been very limited. In the political world, such a party usually quickly returns to opposition. But the DPP was lucky enough to run into a stupid opponent -- a KMT that clings to its past, making it a perfect target for DPP potshots. Come election time, the DPP will just continue to rely on ideology and win a lot of votes.

  In the time of the dangwai(outside the party) movement, a dangwai politician had only to hold a lecture and people would flock to listen. Audience members would then pass the information they had learned to others, and this had a strong influence on election campaigns.

  After the government was democratized, much more information became easily available. Because of this, the people could get their information directly from the media and weren't interested in lectures anymore.

  Yet every election, the DPP still follows its dangwai era habits, with a focus on lectures, even though few show up to listen. So they the party has to mobilize its members to drum up an audience -- which doesn't help with election campaigns.

  The DPP seems to be as equally trapped by its opposition party past as the KMT is with its history.

  Chen Mao-hsiung is an electrical engineering professor at National Sun Yat-sen University and head of the Association for the Promotion of Taiwan's Security.

  Translated by Ted Yang and Anna Stiggelbout
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