After more than 100 days in opposition, one would expect an experienced party like the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to be able to act as a constructive and critical opposition party promoting issues of great importance for Taiwan’s future. However, instead of sobermindedness, the KMT has used the time to criticize progressive policies and events that it does not like — and that is a lot.
Not wanting to lose its ill-gotten assets, the KMT has accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of interfering in its fundraising. It also claims that the DPP’s policies are endangering Taiwan, saying they are based on leftist socialist ideas that will transform Taiwan into a new Cuba.
Overseas, the KMT is also saying that cross-strait relations are doomed, because President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) does not accept the so-called “1992 consensus,” referring to a supposed agreement between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
A reality check reveals that the KMT is clinging to the past and accusing the DPP government of arrogance for not understanding and appreciating the KMT’s greatness and past achievements. The KMT lost China and it is now going to lose Taiwan. It would be better for the KMT to realize this and move ahead with policies that are Taiwan-focused.
If people look into the details, they will better understand why it is hard to believe that the KMT will become wiser.
Recently, the KMT discussed the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例). One of the goals is to ensure that the KMT returns questionably obtained assets to the public. Instead of looking forward to a normalization of Taiwan’s politics, the KMT said that the act disregards its contributions to Taiwan.
KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) even suggested that Taiwan owes the KMT and not the other way around.
Accusing the DPP of being a leftist party is out of proportion. The DPP is hardly a leftist socialist party, because of conflicts in the labor market. Strikes are very normal in democratic nations and are used to improve labor rights. Moreover, it is not a leftist socialist idea to cut to the number of national holidays for overworked Taiwanese as the DPP has suggested. Stagnant wages and poor working condition are partly the KMT’s fault.
Instead of throwing mud at the DPP, the KMT should promote policies to upgrade the Taiwanese labor market and unleash Taiwanese creativity and innovation.
Finally, the KMT continues to promote the “1992 consensus” as the savior of the nation’s economy and its relationship with China. Beijing’s reaction to Tsai has been relatively modest. Retrospectively, the KMT’s obsession with the “1992 consensus” has not given Taiwan more real international space, but rather contributed to the KMT’s downfall through the Sunflower movement and Taiwanese’s negative reaction to an economic integration with China, which they fear would lead to more social inequality.
The first 100 days in government can impact the performance over the entire election period, but so can the first 100 days in opposition. The question of when the KMT will become a wise and relevant party remains unanswered after the first 100 days in opposition.
Political dialogue and cooperation among parties are not a strong competence of Taiwanese politicians, but the opposition has the chance to make that change to the benefit of Taiwan.
Michael Danielsen is the chairman of Taiwan Corner, an independent member-based association.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry