Taiwan Today

The Democratic Progressive Party needs to reconsider its mainland China policy if it hopes to take the 2012 presidential election, according to former DPP Chairman Hsu Hsin-liang Dec. 8. In Hsu’s analysis, the support bases for the ruling Kuomintang and the opposition DPP remained unchanged after the Dec. 5 elections for city mayors and county magistrates. “If the DPP makes no progress in dealing with Beijing, it will never be able to win the hearts of those worrying about Taiwan’s economy,” Hsu said. Following the recent elections, President Ma Ying-jeou promised to first report to the Legislative Yuan on the contents of an economic cooperation framework agreement with the mainland, and submit the ECFA for review after it is signed. Hsu saw this as a sign of leaning toward the conservative side because of the KMT’s setback in the elections. “The DPP will miss a good opportunity for party reform if it can not compete with Ma’s government on its mainland policy,” he noted. Hsu argued a political party needs to convince supporters that its ideology is correct. He added that the DPP could do well on cross-strait issues but needs to take a leading role for its followers. “The biggest dilemma the opposition party faces now is its inability to capture more than 40 percent of votes in elections,” Hsu observed, adding that the key lies in its mainland policy. In this context, he called for DPP members to recognize the fact that mainland China is a rising global power. “The DPP will lose more votes if it insists on taking a conservative China policy.” Hsu pointed out that Taiwan outshines the mainland in terms of democracy, the rule of law and culture, but “it does the society no good to indulge in self-admiration.” He advised the DPP not to oppose the ECFA just for the sake of opposing. Instead, “Taiwan should utilize its edge to become the pivot for the mainland’s economic development, to the mutual advantage of both sides,” he added. “Taiwan has already missed many chances and could go bankrupt if the mainland refused to import products from Taiwan,” Hsu said. “The DPP has to be ready to cope with dire situations like that should they occur.” Voters concerned about economic issues are crucial to breaking through the current political landscape dominated by the KMT, he noted. Hsu has invited people from various sectors of society to set up an electronic paper devoted to cross-strait issues, in an effort to make the DPP rethink its current stance. (LC-THN)