Right from the very outset of this election campaign season, it has seemed that young voters have been largely supporting Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). They believe that supporting a candidate outside the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) could contribute toward ending the constant blue-green division.
The young electorate seldom watch political talk shows; instead, they make use of social media platforms including Line and TikTok to obtain information.
Blue-green division is an easy and relatively acceptable interpretation to voters. However, it de-emphasizes the efforts that the ruling party had made during the COVID-19 pandemic and ignores the suppression of Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party.
The simplification of issues is attractive to young people, but it also encourages wrong judgements on what is actually happening. That is a drag on the progress of Taiwan’s democracy.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that if a piece of fake news gets 14,000 views, a clarification merely attracts 700 views, showing that fake news has a disproportionately larger impact than the facts do.
There have been several cases in point over the past few years. Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠), director-general of the Osaka branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, committed suicide after he was falsely accused of misconduct. The person behind the Lin Bay Hao You (Lin Bay 好油) Facebook page claimed to have received death threats for criticizing the ruling DPP. Despite subsequent revelations that the allegations were unfounded, the fallout led to the resignation of the then-minister of agriculture.
DPP presidential candidate Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) family house was said to be an illegal structure. Lai has been attacked by the false accusation that the residence, as well as neighboring houses, are illegal even after he pledged to donate it to charity.
Young people easily characterize political controversies as the blue-green division, but the government should take more careful action to deal with the complicated situation in Taiwan.
Parties are expected to think rationally and to end constant fights.
The process of interpartisan competition and Taiwan’s progress on democracy will ultimately be reflected in the electoral results, demonstrating the wisdom of the electorate.
Jane Ywe-hwan is an associate professor in National Pingtung University’s Department of Applied Japanese.
Translated by Hsieh Yi-ching
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