Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has made a remarkable journey: Three years ago, after the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) defeat in both the legislative and presidential elections, she had the unenviable task of trying to get the party out of the doldrums. Today, after winning the primary to become the DPP’s presidential candidate, Tsai has already made history as the nation’s first female presidential candidate.
Next year, she has an excellent chance of beating the incumbent, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Her popularity has soared after winning the DPP presidential primary on April 27. Many opinion polls show that she is neck and neck with Ma. Some polls even show her edging ahead.
What are the reasons for this amazing turnaround?
For one, it is Tsai herself.
She has been low-key and unassuming, but at the same time has shown steely persistence in working the DPP back into the position of a viable opposition party. She has intelligently and systematically solved problems, and moved the DPP into a position where it can get broad support from the populace. She has been able to regain the trust and support of the party that was lost in the tumultuous days at the end of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration.
Since becoming chairperson of the DPP, Tsai has brought many changes to the party. She proved that her soft, moderate approach was more effective with floating voters. She has broadened the power base of the DPP by attracting young voters.
She has also lifted political debate to a higher level with her soft-spoken style, and her rational and analytical approach to issues. Her leadership style is in stark contrast to that of Ma. Tsai has the ability to connect and reach out to grassroots supporters, while Ma is aloof and has never been able to shed his elitist image.
Ma himself also helped bring about a turnaround in the fortunes of the DPP. He came to office by touting an image of competence and experience, but this image suffered severely when his government seemed incapable of reacting adequately to Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, while a series of subsequent blunders further undermined the credibility of his administration.
However, Ma suffered his most significant loss of credibility through his most touted achievement: his China policy.
During the 2008 election campaign he had championed his close association with Taiwan and its future. He went down south for several “home-stays” and generally emphasized how he “belonged” to Taiwan.
However, after his inauguration, he started to travel a diametrically opposite course: that of enhancing relations with China. One agreement after another was penned, culminating in the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which was presented as a panacea that would lift the nation out of its economic malaise.
While all this happened, a significant erosion took place on a number of fronts. Ma’s policies undermined Taiwan’s sovereignty, its democracy and its judicial system. Time and again, Ma focused narrowly on relations with China at the expense of basic freedoms.
Each time, Tsai was there to remind Ma — and the public — that Taiwan needs to stay true to the principles of freedom and democracy, that economic growth should not take place at the expense of workers, that relations with China are no substitute for Taiwan’s own space.
The road ahead will not be easy, as the entrenched KMT party machine will do whatever it can to twist the rules of the game and tilt the playing field so that it can retain power, but Taiwanese want change they can believe in.
Tsai is giving them a vision of the road ahead.
Chen Mei-chin is a commentator based in Washington.
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
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS