The sit-in organized by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) calling on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to stand down has resulted in another wave of social cleavage and partisan wrestling.
Shih has cast a political shadow over Chen's already-fragile leadership, especially in light of the pan-blue camp's attempt to recall the president.
Chen's failure to uphold higher moral standards and enforce stricter discipline among his family and staff has disappointed a lot of DPP supporters. However, Shih's claim to "seek revolutionary means to oust Chen" is inappropriate in a democratic system.
Taiwan's imperfect democratic institutions provide legitimate channels for the public to recall or impeach a president. But the Constitution also serves as an important safety mechanism for maintaining political stability when movements to oust officials are launched.
The public is smart enough to settle for a president's declining popularity and loss of influence before an election. The public is also confident enough in its country to respect constitutional rules and avoid unconstitutional measures in bringing about a change in government.
In this regard, the public has sent a clear message to political leaders that political stability and economic order are what concern them the most. Conflict between the governing and opposition parties should be brought to an end.
We should take seriously the public's craving for stability and respect judicial procedures in unveiling the truth. If evidence shows that Chen was personally responsible for illegal activity, he should bear the political and moral responsibility and resign.
Yet Chen's resignation would not solve any of the structural problems with government. Indeed, it could trigger an even more severe political crisis. The pan-blue alliance would obstruct Chen's successor and exploit the transfer of power.
Can Taiwan afford a prolonged crisis lasting until 2008? Can Shih guarantee -- as he has claimed -- that the ruling and opposition parties will engage in a rational dialogue if Chen resigns?
As a country struggling to deepen its democracy, Taiwan yearns for more discipline, institutionalization and order in all phases of its national life.
Upset with endless finger-pointing, a sense of political unrest and instability, the manipulation of ethnicity and a the DPP's apparent trend toward political decay and corruption, voters are looking for national reconciliation, a strong leadership that can enhance an institutionalized system of politics, a truly independent judiciary and relatively clean politics.
The experiences of the "third-wave democracies" of Asia, Africa and Latin America illustrate the essential need for political authority in a changing society to develop disciplined and effective institutions that can cope with rapid social change and prevent cronyism. If Taiwanese society suffers a decline in the political order and loses trust in the constitutional system, the result will be an undermining of political leadership and an erosion of government legitimacy.
The nature and structure of political institutions determine whether democratic progress can be made and whether cronyism and corruption can be rooted out.
Taiwan has been fortunate to avoid disorder such as military coups, violent protests and the resurrection of authoritarian regimes. Still, the tendency toward corrupt politics under DPP rule reminds us of the path that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) walked in the past.
The question that we face is whether Taiwan will follow this path to political decay or whether we have the determination to strengthen our institutions.
Liu Kuan-teh is a Taipei-based political commentator.
US$18.278 billion is a simple dollar figure; one that’s illustrative of the first Trump administration’s defense commitment to Taiwan. But what does Donald Trump care for money? During President Trump’s first term, the US defense department approved gross sales of “defense articles and services” to Taiwan of over US$18 billion. In September, the US-Taiwan Business Council compared Trump’s figure to the other four presidential administrations since 1993: President Clinton approved a total of US$8.702 billion from 1993 through 2000. President George W. Bush approved US$15.614 billion in eight years. This total would have been significantly greater had Taiwan’s Kuomintang-controlled Legislative Yuan been cooperative. During
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in recent days was the focus of the media due to his role in arranging a Chinese “student” group to visit Taiwan. While his team defends the visit as friendly, civilized and apolitical, the general impression is that it was a political stunt orchestrated as part of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda, as its members were mainly young communists or university graduates who speak of a future of a unified country. While Ma lived in Taiwan almost his entire life — except during his early childhood in Hong Kong and student years in the US —
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on Monday unilaterally passed a preliminary review of proposed amendments to the Public Officers Election and Recall Act (公職人員選罷法) in just one minute, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, government officials and the media were locked out. The hasty and discourteous move — the doors of the Internal Administration Committee chamber were locked and sealed with plastic wrap before the preliminary review meeting began — was a great setback for Taiwan’s democracy. Without any legislative discussion or public witnesses, KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), the committee’s convener, began the meeting at 9am and announced passage of the
In response to a failure to understand the “good intentions” behind the use of the term “motherland,” a professor from China’s Fudan University recklessly claimed that Taiwan used to be a colony, so all it needs is a “good beating.” Such logic is risible. The Central Plains people in China were once colonized by the Mongolians, the Manchus and other foreign peoples — does that mean they also deserve a “good beating?” According to the professor, having been ruled by the Cheng Dynasty — named after its founder, Ming-loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功, also known as Koxinga) — as the Kingdom of Tungning,
RSS