Sun, Aug 21, 2016 page3

• INTERVIEW: Taiwan’s democracy on the right path: Carl Gershman

  Saying President Tsai Ing-wen’s apology to the nation’s Aborigines and the transitional justice debate are evidence of the further consolidation of Taiwan’s democracy, National Endowment for Democracy president Carl Gershman, in a joint interview with Abraham Gerber of the ‘Taipei Times’ and Su Fang-ho of its sister newspaper the ‘Liberty Times,’ elaborated on how Taiwan can promote democracy, despite its diplomatic isolation

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  Ten years ago you gave a speech referring to Taiwan as a “maturing democracy.” What is your assessment of Taiwan’s democratic consolidation today?

  Carl Gershman: Transition has continued steadily, despite all the difficulties that Taiwan has had over the years. This transition has been affirmed by the recent transition from one party to another, and the fact that it has full legitimacy in this society.

  What the president [Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文] said in her inaugural address about reaching out to and apologizing to the indigenous community here and raising the issue of integrating this marginalized community into the mainstream of society is a perfect example of what I mean by the continuing progress of democracy.

  As democracies progress, the majority culture has to be much more sensitive to the rights and needs of minorities.

  Are you familiar with the recent national political debate over transitional justice?

  Gershman: This is an example of a society having to deal with new issues, which come up as the consciousness deepens about democracy and rights — there will be elements in society that will raise these types of perfectly legitimate issues. And then the question is how to find a proper balance that deals with these issues in a way that is accountable, transparent and fair — but also allows the society to move forward.

  So you would view the fact that the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) assets have become a matter of political debate as a sign of the stabilization of Taiwan’s democracy?

  Gershman: Yes. Dealing with the transition from an authoritarian, one-party system to a more open and competitive party system is the fundamental first step in the transition process, but as you go forward, there will be other issues which will be raised, and I imagine that you’ll continue to see that.

  One major change in Taiwan’s democracy has been the rise of social movements. Does a high prevalence of social movements reflect a dysfunction in Taiwan’s political system insomuch as these voices are not being reflected through standard political channels?

  Gershman: No, the challenge for a democratic society is how to absorb these social protests and still maintain a fundamental unity. While it’s possible that some of these protests can be divisive, that’s part of democracy, and you’ve got to try to balance it out and find a kind of balance between the need for unity and consensus and the need for diversity and to hear from minority groups. Democracy is a learning process. I don’t think people can really grow and develop as citizens without the ability to address their own problems. They’re not just waiting for the government to act — they have to be actors themselves.

  Given Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation, what role can Taiwan play in promoting democracy in Asia?

  Gershman: A phrase in the president’s inaugural address that interested me the most was when she spoke of Taiwan becoming a model citizen in global civil society. That was interesting to me, because it suggests a way of circumventing the issue of diplomatic isolation and state-to-state relations, instead seeking direct relations between societies — people-to-people relations, relations among groups in civil society — and there I think Taiwan has a great strength because of its strong civil society organizations.

  China has this year arrested more than 300 lawyers and legal activists, forcing some of them to appear in televised confessions where they admitted to crimes such as endangering China’s national security. Do you feel the actions of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) make it more difficult to promote democracy for your organization or the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy?

  Gershman: China certainly will try to do everything they can to frustrate what we do, but this doesn’t stop the work.

  The really fundamental question here is what is happening in China? Why is the Xi Jinping administration repressing lawyers and repressing independent media and repressing NGOs? And that really gets to the heart of what’s happening in China today — as China’s economic growth has slowed, China is reaching a crisis moment. A lot of the pillars of Chinese autocracy are being threatened by the current economic crisis and the crisis of economic reform.

  China is reaching a point today where it can either turn toward a more rule-of-law, democratic solution to the problems that it faces or it can tighten up, try to circle the wagons, increase repression and increase appeal to nationalism which would also then strain its relations with other countries — and it is behaving in a much more assertive and in a way, nationalistic way and in a more repressive way.

  And so I think it’s important for people to recognize that it’s a dangerous moment, precisely because the regime feels insecure.

  Now what does that mean for a country like Taiwan? I think it means you have to hold the course — you just have to continue to do the right thing.

  Taiwan has to continue to strengthen its democracy. Taiwan has to continue to reach out. Taiwan has to continue to offer an alternative model for Confucian society that is democratic, which I think has great appeal in China and it shows that there is an alternative to this concentration of state power in the hands of a centralized bureaucracy. And hopefully through the actions of the US and other democratic countries, we can maintain a balance of power and stable international order that will allow these forces to play out.

  In a speech 10 years ago, you quoted a friend in China who said that a clear message of “no democracy, no unification” would be a great encouragement and inspiration to pro-democrats within China. Do you feel it is important for Taiwan to leave open the possibility of a peaceful unification with a democratic China to encourage the democratization process or avoid becoming a target of Chinese nationalist aggression in what you have termed “this dangerous moment”?

  Gershman: I think what’s important is to begin to think about what relations would look like in the future if there were a democratic opening in China.

  You have the possibility of some kind of confederal relationship, which fully respects Taiwan’s autonomy and in a way is independence. There can be different parts of this larger entity, which some people call greater China, different ways the parts would relate to the center and to each other.

  That might not be a discussion that will take place here in Taiwan, because it’s a very sensitive issue, but we’ve started looking at that question because we think it’s important for policy specialists and academics to begin to discuss this and encourage that kind of a discussion in China itself, so that there is an alternative to the narrative of the regime that the only option is to have complete power in the center.

  I understand this could be a very sensitive question here, because it could be misunderstood that you’re not talking about reunification in the old sense. You’re talking about some kind of a relationship, but it would have to be a relationship with a different kind of China — it can’t be a relationship with a China ruled by a kind of autocratic, centralized communist party structure.
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