Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) decided not to attend the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) national convention, but some people are spreading rumors that Tsai is unhappy with the party or claiming that her faction within the DPP is somehow dissatisfied. However, such hearsay lacks the elevated maturity, let alone spirit of freedom, found in a democracy. Truth be told, her not attending is a hallmark of a mature democracy.
Just like the presidents of the US and other mature democracies, the moment retiring presidents leave office, they cease to stand in the limelight and tend to keep their opinions on political issues to themselves. It is only when a sitting president needs help that a former president might be invited to step forward and provide advice. This is a custom that our country ought to establish following our transition to democracy, and Tsai has established an effective model worth following.
The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, coauthored by Harvard Kennedy School of Economics chair Nancy Gibbs and Time magazine vice editor-in-chief Michael Duffy, is a series of expert discussions on the lives of US presidents after leaving office. In the book, Gibbs and Duffy talk about the personal relationship between political rivals and former US presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. After Bush finished his term in the Oval Office, he became an important unofficial consultant for Clinton. This is an important function for retired presidents — serving as low-key, knowledgeable and experienced advisers, rather than jostling for power behind the scenes.
Democratic countries only need one chief executive. This not only stabilizes a country, but also allows its sitting president to coolly carry out governance without meddling from former presidents.
That being said, after Taiwan’s first democratic election in 1996, there have been numerous instances of outgoing or pastured presidents interfering in government policy, trying to steal the spotlight from political parties or giving their two cents on internal party matters. After former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) left office, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) quickly banished him from the party over a reform schism. Due to the litigation issues of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), it was difficult for him to ever effectively wield any more power within the DPP after he left office.
By contrast, after leaving office, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT on multiple occasions led the charge or chimed in on party reforms, despite not being the party chair. A few days before the January presidential election, he even said in an interview that Taiwanese “should believe [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平).” His comments severely damaged the KMT’s electoral prospects.
If Tsai is perfectly capable of letting go and respecting President William Lai’s (賴清德) policy and party affairs decisions as both president and DPP chairman, and not putting forth new government policies or political arrangements, then other retired presidents in future should also be able to stand to the side and wait to be called on for help, thus creating a precedent for former Taiwanese presidents.
This could also be the starting point of a new chapter of a Taiwanese version of the “presidents’ club.” This would be a major, significant step in our nation’s democratization as we deepen our democracy. It could also allow our nation to grow into a more stable and robust, mature democracy.
Michael Lin holds a master’s degree from the National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of National Development.
Translated by Tim Smith
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