The Sunflower movement may have set the stage for major political change in Taiwan, but it is still too early to predict its impact, a US academic says.
There is “simmering discontent” in Taiwan, but the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) could still cling to power in the next election, said Don Rodgers, a professor of political science at Austin College in Texas.
Cross-strait relations are only part of the problem and the bigger issues concern government transparency and responsiveness to the interests and desires of the voters, he said in an address to a conference on the Sunflower movement and Taiwan’s “new political landscape.”
Domestic issues such as property rights, nuclear power, the education system and wealth distribution must be dealt with, Rodgers said at the conference in Washington last week.
Taiwan’s government is not working well, but neither of the two main political parties — the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — are respected by a majority of voters, he said.
“There is a sense that party leaders are more concerned about internal dynamics than they are about the voters and listening to the people they are supposed to represent,” Rodgers said.
He said the KMT’s strengths were seen as cross-strait and economic policy, while its weaknesses were ineffectual governance and corruption.
The DPP’s strengths were its Taiwan-centric stance and its traditional support for democracy, farmers and ordinary workers. Its weaknesses were factional infighting, a lack of policy direction and a shortage of skilled politicians.
The big question now was whether, in the aftermath of the Sunflower movement demonstrations, the two parties would change, Rodgers said.
The movement had provided a “fairly large shock” to Taiwan’s political system, but it was still not clear if it was big enough to wake up voters and cause them to feel anxiety and stress about what was going on.
“We have high voter turnout in Taiwan, but we don’t necessarily have attentive voters who pay close attention to the issues,” Rodgers said. “One might assume that the DPP has got it made going into the 2014 and 2016 elections, but that is not the case.”
“A lot of the protesters are unhappy with the KMT, but they are not necessarily going to cast their vote for the DPP,” he said.
The DPP had to demonstrate more unity, a clear policy stance, and a focus on economic and social justice issues, and reconnect with its grassroots supporters with better organization and outreach, he said.
“On its China policy, the DPP needs to emphasize that it is going to work with China, but that it is also going to be transparent and cautious,” he said.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese were “fed-up” with the institutions that were supposed to represent them, University of Richmond political scientist Vincent Wang told the conference.
He agreed with Rodgers that neither the DPP nor the KMT were doing a good job and that both put “party rancor” above national interests.
The Sunflower movement had remained remarkably independent and kept its distance from both parties, he said.
China had continued its “unwavering approach” to unify with Taiwan and the Sunflower movement had not changed its fundamental attitude, Wang said.
No matter who came to power in the 2016 presidential election — the KMT or the DPP — they would face a China that was continuing to rise in power and becoming increasingly sophisticated.
“The challenge is going to be greater,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RSS