The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) chairmanship election race is heating up. It is good to note that the general tone of the campaign is high, with the candidates vying for votes by explaining their ideals and opinions, and that so far there have been no vote-buying scandals. This is in complete contrast to the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) recent chairmanship election, where attacks on opponents claiming that they were engaged in black gold politics, proponents of Taiwan independence or followers of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) were rife. These ruthless election tactics led to internal problems that still remain unsolved.
The peaceful nature of the DPP chairmanship election race does not, however, mean that party members are indifferent or that there is no controversy -- the election does, after all, concern the future of the party and should at least serve to restore its fortunes. The three candidates have vastly different qualities: one being an experienced veteran of the Taiwan independence movement, another a co-founder of the party who has a wealth of experience in government and party affairs, and the third, a new face who has long worked at the party's grassroots level. We will have to wait and see what kind of leader DPP members will choose.
A consensus exists, however, on the three main issues affecting the DPP's future direction -- sovereignty, reforms and clean government.
Apart from not weakening the status of Taiwan's sovereignty, the sovereignty issue also means protecting Taiwan's mainstream values. This involves dealing with the cross-strait relationship in a firm manner while using both caution and skill. Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) and former Presidential Office secretary-general Yu Shyi-kun are both tough, and based on her grassroots credentials, it appears that former Changhua County commissioner Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) is no pushover. When Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) became party chairman, he immediately brought in Tung Li-wen (董立文) from the dangwai (outside the party) era and gave him the important post of director of the party's Department of Chinese Affairs in a show of his understanding of the party's weaknesses.
Regarding reform, this basically means party-based structural reform. One of the main reasons behind the DPP's failure over the past few years has been that the party has not yet made the transformation from an opposition party into a governing party. As a result of this, it has neglected to improve its ability to govern and instead remained an election machine. It has also neglected to tackle the corruption that inevitably follows upon the accession to power. Reform does not mean severing all ties with the past; some elements must remain in place together with new creative elements. Nor does it imply a complete separation of party and government officials -- rather, there must be both cooperation and separation, both assistance and supervision.
And finally, clean government. Apart from distancing itself from corruption and scandals, this should also mean steering clear of fame or benefits, being prepared to make sacrifices, trusting people, and meeting with grassroots party members and people in general. Only by maintaining close contact with its grassroots will the DPP be able to cast off the shackles the KMT has used to restrict Taiwan over the past 50 years.
In addition, it is hoped that the new DPP chairperson will be tolerant and adopt a comprehensive approach that rises above personal quarrels. This is the only way to unite a party that is currently involved in factional disputes. The new chairperson will be taking over the helm at a difficult juncture, and will have a long, hard road ahead.
Paul Lin is a New York-based political commentator.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
RSS