President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has assumed the post of chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in a move that gives him total control over the new party-state. In the meantime, the party is drawing up regulations targeting outspoken KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾).
The party’s legislators-at-large are to be regularly evaluated on their attendance records and their public statements by the KMT’s Evaluation and Disciplinary Committee. A legislator-at-large who loses his or her party membership automatically loses his or her legislative seat. The KMT has resorted to every conceivable means to gag its legislators. In response, Lo was quoted as saying: “Someone told me that government officials would be thrilled and live an easier life if they got me kicked out of the legislature.”
Indeed, if every KMT legislator as brave as Lo, willing to criticize the government’s mistakes, were eliminated from the legislature, life would be much easier for Ma administration officials and Ma in particular. Since the KMT occupies three-quarters of the legislature, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has limited clout on the legislative floor. If the KMT manages to bring its own legislators to heel, there will only be one voice in Taiwan, since Ma as president and party chairman would control everything. Better still, Ma would not only have complete control over the country, he would also be able to shirk his responsibilities.
Once Ma becomes that powerful, the public will be in even deeper distress. Taiwan’s unemployment rate has now exceeded 6 percent and workers’ wages are at the same level as 13 years ago, but Ma is still aggressively pushing for the relaxation of restrictions on cross-strait exchanges and is rushing to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China to create a “one-China” market and achieve his goal of “eventual unification.” It is clear that Ma does not care about aggravating the suffering of the public.
Worse, his attempt to gag KMT legislators-at-large is being accompanied by a refusal to let the public have its say on the ECFA issue.
Why has it come to this?
In last year’s elections, the KMT won total control over the legislature. After that, the public were deceived by Ma’s honey-coated words about his loyalty to the country during the presidential campaign. As a result, Ma took control over the country in cooperation with the covetous Chinese. Taiwanese democracy, freedom and human rights have since regressed and the country’s economy and sovereignty are gradually being tied to China. If we continue to allow Ma to throw his weight around, 23 million Taiwanese will be sold out at a rock-bottom price.
To avoid such a disaster, we can no longer appease and tolerate this traitorous government. In Taiwan, sovereignty rests with the people and government heads and public representatives are all elected by the public. Through this democratic system, we place checks and balances on the government.
The year-end mayoral, county commissioner and councilor elections may not bring about a transfer of power, but if we get rid of vote-buying practices and vote captains and instead focus on Taiwan’s future by electing able candidates, we would still be able to put some restraint on Ma’s willful rule as both president and KMT chairman. Under a grassroots attack, Ma’s halo would lose its luster and the KMT’s attempt to pass a “Lo Shu-lei regulation” would face a bigger challenge. Maybe then the legislature could properly oversee the government.
Ma’s failure to properly respond to last year’s global financial crisis, which hurt ordinary Taiwanese, and his inept handling of the Typhoon Morakot disaster should be a warning to us all. As Ma gradually pushes Taiwan into a “one China” economy, Taiwanese workers will lose their jobs and their salaries. The only option left for the next generation will be to work as foreign labor in China.
We must learn from these painful lessons, and the year-end elections is where we must start by giving serious consideration to what candidate or party we should vote for to stop Taiwan from being sold out.
After all, the people are the real masters of Taiwan.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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