Li Ao, born in 1935, received his bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University's Department of History in 1959. He has authored numerous books, essays, and historical research papers and is also the outspoken host of two cable TV talk shows. Li Ao was regarded as politically suspect for many years. He was imprisoned between 1972 and 1976, and again from 1981 to 1982. He talked to the Free China Review on January 30, in his study at home.
FCR: Concerning domestic affairs, what do you consider to be the most serious problem Taiwan faces? And how would you solve it?
Li Ao: Black-and-gold [gangster-and-corruption] politics is the most serious problem. Black-and-gold exists in every country, of course. Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo managed to keep them out of the government's highest decision -making levels, but when they died the rule was broken, and now it's part of everyday decision-making. When gangsters become political figures exercising control over the budget of the country's judicial system, for example, it's difficult for the average person to believe in justice.
The solution is simple: All meetings between government officials and those with "black" or "gold" backgrounds have to be open. They should be videotaped, and the tapes should be broadcast. The minister of finance, for example, would not be able to meet a legislator-member of the Finance Committee in private. There is a Chinese saying: "People in high positions don't have personal friends." Gangsterdom and bribery won't be able to survive if everything is open to the public. This is the most fundamental and effective solution to the black-and-gold problem, but first we need to put it into law.
What is your mainland policy?
Ever since the nationalist government moved to Taiwan fifty years ago, there have been two key planks to its mainland policy: the Communists are evil, but we should not be afraid of them. The first concept "mis-estimated" the Chinese Communists, while the second underestimated them. Mainland China has changed a lot since then, but many people here believe in those old concepts to this day.
Currently, Taiwan is hanging tough and is sending a message to the international community that we don't accept the mainland's "one country, two systems" concept. A tough attitude toward the mainland isn't wrong, but it needs to be backed up by strength, which we know Taiwan doesn't have.
My policy is that we should go with the "one country, two systems" concept and sit down to talk. By doing this, we'll be sending the world a completely different message: we are open to negotiations, and it is the mainland that doesn't agree with our terms. What terms? For example, we can insist that the Chinese foreign minister has to be a Taiwanese. Or take Taiwan's joining the United Nations, which we know is not likely to happen, especially after the "special state-to-state relationship" [ROC President] Lee Teng-hui brought up. That forced more than one hundred countries, including the USA, to reiterate their refusals to recognize Taiwan as a country. But joining the UN is possible, if only we sit down to talk with the mainland and insist that the Chinese ambassador to the UN should be a Taiwanese too. We can achieve a lot more through cross-strait dialogue.
The mainland says Taiwan can maintain its current [political] system for fifty years. Within that time scale, given our economic power, we can pretty much "take over" the mainland in the same way the Jews "took over" the United States.
Why should people cast their votes for you, rather than another candidate?
Because I'm the only one who dares to speak the truth--and the truth is that Taiwan's most serious problem in the future will be its economy. At present, we have a poor government but rich people. When the people also become poor, it will be the end for Taiwan. To avoid this, we need to use the mainland as a hinterland for Taiwan's economic development, which in turn means we need to establish close relations with the mainland.
But not a lot of people appreciate this truth. My chance of winning is slim unless people completely change their mindsets. Currently, they still don't have a mature attitude to things like our mainland policy, Taiwan independence, or Taiwan's bureaucratic system. So in this election I can only play the role of a prophet instead of a winner.
Then why did you run in the first place?
Because I have attained the status of a saint! That is, I know I'm not going to win but I still go for it. This is a great opportunity to let people hear my ideas and see how I expose Taiwan's dark side. I'm very good at that. Take the diagram I drew up recently, illustrating the relationship between Lee Teng-hui and James Soong. Soong says they once had a very close relationship, but Lee is now calling him a thief and a liar. In my diagram I set out all the nice things Lee said in the old days about how outstanding and excellent Soong was. That diagram of mine makes it perfectly clear who was lying about that particular relationship.
People in Taiwan like to label everything in black and white: Taiwanese and mainlanders, men and women, good and bad, rich and poor. But I say there are only two kinds of people: the smart and the stupid. I'm trying to get people to see that we should be smart Taiwanese who know what we can achieve and, perhaps even more important, what is beyond our grasp.
What would be your first priority if you were elected?
In the past eleven years, the ROC Constitution has been amended five times. This is not what you do to a country's most fundamental law. If I'm elected, the first thing I'd do would be to reinstate the original version, which never had a chance to be implemented properly. Based on that original Constitution, Taiwan could be retracked to a proper cabinet system.