Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) involvement in the Core Pacific City case remains ambiguous. Although he continues to shirk responsibility while using claims of “political persecution” to deflect concerns about profiteering and corruption, his latest spin is contradicted by his earlier statements. His strategy is reminiscent of typical Chinese-style blame-shifting and manipulation, which undermines the public’s confidence and trust in the independence and fairness of the judicial system.
However, the damage that Ko has done to Taiwanese society throughout the past decade is greater than simply causing social division and polarization. He and his party have warped the notions of integrity, rationality, pragmatism, science, reform and third-way politics that they so love to tout. Third parties can certainly have a positive impact on Taiwan’s democratic development, if they are guided by the interests of Taiwanese and the nation and if they take a genuinely pragmatic approach to solving issues and improving the situation. However, the TPP is doing the exact opposite — it has undermined the public’s confidence and visions of future political reform.
By turning itself into a cult of personality and relying on populism, opportunistic strategies and online propaganda, the TPP attracted a significant number of young supporters known as “little grasses (小草).” This youth movement has become anti-intellectual and extremist, even as it praises itself for neutrality and rationality.
In contrast, the 2019-2020 anti-extradition law movement in Hong Kong was driven by a similarly dissatisfied younger generation who were concerned about housing prices and a lack of upward mobility. However, unlike the TPP, this movement actually became a leading force in the efforts to protect democracy and freedom. The largest difference between the two might stem from Hong Kong’s unique educational system.
In 2009, Hong Kong introduced liberal studies — a subject that teaches critical thinking — as a mandatory course in the high school curriculum. At the time, this caused widespread complaints from students and teachers. Its original intention was to encourage students to think flexibly and break away from teaching styles that crammed information, while encouraging students to pay attention to different issues. A majority of test questions had no standard solution: There was no correct or incorrect answer.
Not only did this succeed at its original goal, it inspired Hong Kong’s anti-extradition law protests, which later led Hong Kong’s puppet government to see “liberal studies” as something that must be abolished. This might be precisely the type of educational program that Taiwan needs right now.
The TPP’s rise can be attributed to the little grasses movement not bothering with the details. Their superficial understanding of a democratic society, along with a lack of critical thinking and dialectical ability, led them to blindly follow charismatic speakers with impressive backgrounds, like Ko and TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌). Despite the warning signs, the little grass movement remains undeterred. The TPP phenomenon should be a wake-up call that forces Taiwan to realize that every citizen has a responsibility to society. Social progress must be promoted through reflection and dialogue among all groups of people. Voting is only one of the public’s civic responsibilities. People cannot just hope that someone would fall out of the sky and solve all of their problems, as that would just give rise to another Ko, or perhaps someone even worse.
Hong Tsun-ming is a policy specialist in the Taiwan Statebuilding Party.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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