While some people around the world were concerned about whether China would react in a military way to the peace referendum on March 20, most overlooked the fact that Taiwan would also be holding a peaceful presidential election -- and a referendum on the future of Asian democracy.
To look on the bright -- and constructive -- side, if the election and referendum proceed in a smooth and orderly way, without sparking significant cross-strait tensions, Taiwan could be in the vanguard of building a new Asian democracy. This notion of "new Asian democracy," characterized by people's power to achieve a deepening of democracy through institutionalized mechanisms, will have unprecedented effects on major nations in the region.
Asia has become a focus of democracy theorists' attention in recent years because of its democratic consolidation. Both South Korea and Taiwan accomplished the first peaceful transfers of political power in their history. Hong Kong residents, after experimenting with China's formula of "one country, two systems" for some years, took to the streets in protest of Beijing's infringing on their human rights.
The Asian community captured worldwide attention for its potential to internalize democratic principles in people's daily lives.
Good news does not last long. In three global waves of democratization, many countries -- including some in Asia -- have completed transfers of political power but are either still mired in trouble, or old authoritarian conservative political forces have made a comeback because the people could not put up with the pain of reforms.
Cronyism still plays a role in some Southeast Asia democracies, which led to the resignation of presidents in the Philippines and Indonesia. Former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung's term was marred by his involvement with bribery for peace negotiations with the North. Kim's successor, Roh Moo-hyun, has been having a hard time dealing with domestic forces and was impeached by parliament yesterday.
Overall, Asian democracy seemed to have lost its historical momentum at the turn of the new century.
But the political landscape in Asia will be shaped by a new round of elections this year, which will open another gateway for building Asian democracy. Taiwan's election will be followed by congressional elections in Malaysia and South Korea, and presidential elections in the Philippines and Indonesia this summer. Taiwan will have legislative elections before the end of this year. Thailand may have parliamentary elections early next year.
If President Chen Shui-bian (
Since Chen's challenger -- Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Moreover, Chen's referendum will bring about further democratization in Asian countries.
Indonesia and South Korea have both expressed interest in introducing referendums to solve policy and political disputes. Hence, Taiwan's implementation of the referendum mechanism could help establish an example for its Asian allies.
What distinguishes Taiwan from China is this nation's embrace of and adherence to democracy. A "peaceful framework for cross-strait stability and interaction," embedded in the second referendum question, will demonstrate Taiwan's desire to solve cross-strait differences through democratic means.
In this regard, the peace referendum should be valued by the entire Asian community.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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