As someone from Kaohsiung, I generally approve of former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu’s (陳菊) performance during her time as mayor of Kaohsiung.
In polls about the performance of past mayors and county commissioners, Chen often comes out on top. However, it is necessary to realize that there is a wave of anti-Chen sentiment in which she is seen as evil.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which occupied the legislature twice to try to block Chen’s appointment as president of the Control Yuan; Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is often openly critical; or even former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who turned the city from green to blue in 2018, have all tried to ride the anti-Chen wave.
Why has this pro-democracy fighter and five-star mayor become the target of so much criticism?
The key is that the imbalance stems from the two-party politics Taiwan has experienced in recent years. The pan-green and pan-blue camps are polar opposites, but they continue to weigh on the public’s minds, and even on the minds of smaller parties and novices who see themselves as a third force: By styling themselves as a third force, they acknowledge the respective clout of the two camps.
There is a vast gap between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the KMT. The KMT has come very close to proclaiming their loyalty to Red China in a way that shows how out of touch they are with mainstream Taiwan.
The party is full of “bad elements,” and pretentious people such as KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and others stand out.
Due to this situation, Chen and other DPP members who might appear to be slightly controversial are treated as traitors, despite the party enjoying great momentum thanks to the government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and its reaction to China’s push for unification, and although it is replete with talented people.
This went so far that the controversy over the relocation of a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Kaohsiung toward the end of Chen’s mayorship appeared to be a matter of Chen betraying herself.
From the attempts to recall then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2006 up until the rise of Han, the view that Chen Shui-bian, Chen Chu and others had “betrayed” the democratic ideals of the dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) movement was common.
According to this view, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Han were unburdened, and that helped the KMT recover.
To avoid this kind of chaos, Taiwan must develop into a regular two-party or multi-party democracy. Apart from bringing down the KMT, this requires a relatively “normal” alternative party that can take up a position opposite the DPP.
This does not have to be the Taiwan People’s Party, New Power Party or other existing forces, but such a party must have talented people to match the DPP. The two parties must then be able to compete and debate policy, but they must do so without ending up in a situation in which one party runs off and sides with the enemy.
These suggestions are not aimed at the DPP, but at every Taiwanese.
Jimway Chang holds a master’s degree from National Tsing Hua University’s Institute of History.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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