For the past few weeks I have been been watching the scenes of the student protest movement unfold on my television, filled with a sense of frustration and helplessness. My frustration comes not only from the unreasonable conduct of the governing party, it is also born of the opposition party’s inability to respond to the situation.
The same party that led Taiwan onto the path of democratic reform now seems hobbled and rudderless. My fear is that, as it stands, it is ill-equipped to deal with the challenges that Taiwan will face in the future.
There are those who, like me, have never been involved in a mass movement before, but feel there are many things that adults, and in particular the opposition, can still do.
For example, the students’ courage and resolve has obliged the governing party to return the cross-strait service trade pact to a clause-by-clause review and to vote on it.
However, as everyone who cares about the pact — thanks to the students — is aware, this gesture by the governing party does not really constitute a genuine compromise. The party enjoys a majority in the legislature, and so the agreement is likely to pass the review unchanged. Unless they conduct a thorough and substantive review of each and every line of the service trade agreement, and do not simply take it to the vote, it will be impossible to root out or amend the clauses that contain the details — where, don’t forget, the devil resides — about which everyone is so concerned.
Hardly any of the political affairs shows on television have addressed the issue of how to proceed with the review, or how to set a bottom line — with, for example, a referendum — before the agreement is put to a show of hands. Neither have they subjected this issue to a clear and comprehensive discussion.
While it would have been welcome for TV shows to discuss the issue, it is absolutely incumbent upon the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — as the main opposition and the last line of defense in the legislative review — and its legislators to address it. All we saw, however, were DPP figures posted at the Legislative Yuan like so many guardian deities protecting the student protesters. Their show of rudderless solidarity hardly inspired confidence.
With the proposal “legislate first, review later,” the first order of importance is given to national security — regarding potential data breaches involving finance and all that entails; official government data; information regarding engineering at the national level; personal data such as medical records and any other information that exists in the public domain. Clearly, we must implement a rigorous oversight mechanism and maintain our bottom line when it comes to national security. We cannot, as Ma would have us do, first implement a law and then, several years down the line, revisit and revise it.
For these regulations governing oversight for cross-strait agreements, the DPP must not only be clear where it stands, it must also explain its stance to the people of the nation who are concerned about the issue.
The challenge for the DPP now is that the student movement has created an unprecedented amount of room for public discourse. Never before have there been so many people engaged in public debate and rarely before has so much information been passed around, or read, as with this issue.
What exactly is the DPP nowadays anyway? Is it a party that will safeguard Taiwan’s values and democracy, or is it just an election machine, lying around and hoping to reap the fruits of green electoral support? It is not enough for the party leadership to harp on about how back in the day it proposed a bill on monitoring cross-strait negotiations that was blocked by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) 108 times. This attitude falls far short of expectations, and betrays a complete lack of understanding of what is happening now.
There have been many ways in which DPP conduct during these student demonstrations has been troubling. In it’s handling of the matter and reaction to the pressure and ministrations of the ruling party (for example, the international press conferences and the announcements it has made) the opposition party has shown precious little authority or ability to react to developments. They have not called anything resembling a press conference.
Compared with the students, who have been organized, nimble and focused, the opposition have been found terribly wanting.
Perhaps the DPP is most concerned about the KMT branding it as the force orchestrating the protests behind the scenes, but when the very values the students are trying to protect coincide so well with the ideals the party purports to hold, the party should, regardless of whether the occupiers are rejecting the involvement of political parties, still have brought to bear its own policies and powers, demonstrating that it would undertake to proceed with the important task of reviewing the pact and legislating regulations governing the oversight of cross-strait agreements.
If the DPP really wanted to protect the students, this would have been a practical way to have done so, and if it wants to get back into power, this would have been the perfect opportunity for it to demonstrate its credentials and ability.
A capable governing party and opposition are essential for a healthy, robust society. The success of the Sunflower movement reflects the failings of both the government and the opposition. When it comes to Taiwan’s future, this is the most worrying and disconcerting aspect of the whole affair.
Lin Chang-shou is a member of the Academia Sinica and a professor in the Department of Mathematics at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Paul Cooper
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully
As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, cutting power to more than 170,000 homes and water supply to more than 400,000 homes, and leading to more than 600 injuries and four deaths. Due to the typhoon, schools and offices across the nation were ordered to close for two to four days, stirring up familiar controversies over whether local governments’ decisions to call typhoon days were appropriate. The typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) at noon on Thursday, but it weakened into a tropical depression early on Friday, and its structure
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
RSS