The time has arrived for Taiwan to have a second “silent revolution,” Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) told the party’s conference yesterday afternoon at the National Taiwan Sport University in Taoyuan.
The first “silent revolution” was the democratization process in the early 1990s initiated by then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
The conference in the school’s gymnasium was attended by 5,141 TPP members.
Photo: CNA
In his opening remarks, Ko talked about political reform under Lee and the need for reform today.
“Lee’s greatest contribution was setting Taiwan on an irreversible path to democratization, without which we would not be meeting today to discuss Taiwan’s future,” Ko said.
“Direct presidential elections were held and a Taiwanese consciousness was established, but today political power goes unchecked and the major parties vie for power,” he said. A “second silent revolution is needed for social inclusion [in politics] and the realization of national governance.”
The TPP could hopefully be a “model” party in the legislature, engaging with legislators from other parties rather than confronting them, he said.
Social inclusion could be achieved through communication with the public, Ko said, citing the Taipei-Shanghai twin-city summit, which he said was of benefit to Taiwanese businesspeople and students in China, despite being “smeared as a pro-China” activity.
The central government must “create flexible international space” and must not let ideology prevent it from communicating with China, he said.
The TPP would continue to act as a check on budget spending, promote constitutional reform and fight for issues such as housing justice and amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法), he said.
The party needed to elect a public liaison official, and would hold smaller member meetings in every county and municipality, he added.
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