In Taiwan's representative politics, one of the subjects that receives much criticism is the contamination of the political process by politicians who have obtained their position through vote-buying.
The roots of vote-buying can be found in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) long hold on power and its system for distributing the spoils of government. In the martial-law era, popular elections for local councils and local government leaders were allowed as a means of palliating the desire for popular participation in government and also as a way of bringing in new blood.
The KMT used a two-pronged policy of maintaining authoritarian control while at the same time undermining the character of those who wished to participate in the electoral process. In the past, in contrast to administrative leaders, shameless elected representatives could generally obtain office through vote-buying. But at the same time, their position was completely subordinate to the wishes of the government, which created a very unusual "accomplice structure" in politics.
After martial law was lifted, more legislative positions were open to popular elections, but when legislators created problems for the government, it was largely as a display of boldness and did not spring from any sense of righteousness.
Politicians see popular elections as a way of winning both riches and power. Although they obtain office through bribery, they also see the receipt of bribes as part of the job. Many legislative positions, and even administrative positions, have become the property of families or factions, who are harming the nation's political development. Taiwan's political problems stem from this focus on money and power, which has been created by the vote-buying culture. Even if this lust for money and power is fulfilled, popular elections remain simply a way for a small number of politicians to obtain power, and is of no use in resolving any of the aberrant developments of electoral democracy or the after-effects of rule by a colonial-style regime.
Let us take the Kaohsiung City Council as an example. Although a number of councilors have lost their positions because they've been found guilty of bribery, and by-elections were held to fill these positions, many of the families implicated in the vote-buying scandal were still able to participate. These families have now got a taste for what is possible and act as if there is no one there to see their crimes, being totally indifferent to shame. That electoral culture can develop into a state like this is truly ironic. It is a misuse of democracy, and reveals the severity of colonialism's after-effects on Taiwan.
Taiwan is walking out of the shadow of colonialism and rebuilding itself. Taiwanese society should think deeply about the pathology of vote-buying and voters should reject candidates who are tainted with the crime of vote-buying. People of Kaohsiung, open your eyes and prevent democratic government from being sullied!
Lee Min-yung is a poet and president of the Taiwan Peace Foundation.
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not