Taiwan Today

Political parties are influenced by a broad array
of macro-trends in Taiwan's continuing process of
democratization, and not all of them are positive.

FCR: What major forces have shaped Taiwan's multiparty environment?

Steve Bih-rong Liu(劉必榮): The late President Chiang Ching-kuo did two especially important things in his final years: he allowed people to visit their relatives in mainland China [beginning in November 1987], and he announced the lifting of martial law [July 1987], which stimulated the blossoming of a pluralistic society and a multiparty political environment. It took guts to make those decisions, and they had massive impact on Taiwan.

President Lee Teng-hui's determination to continue pushing democratization also contributed substantially to the improvement in our political environment. Formerly, there was no separation between the ruling party and the government. The Central Standing Committee of the Kuomintang [KMT] was the key policymaking body, and it was not subject to public supervision. But Lee tried to reform this arrangement by shifting Taiwan's political power center from the ruling party to the government. Lee has pursued this goal since taking office, and the task is a tough one because the KMT has long been a Leninist-style revolutionary party.

What resources did President Lee rely on in order to fulfill such a difficult mission? Here is the paradox. In the ruling party, he had to play the role of strongman, just as his predecessors did, in order to carry out his goal of ridding the party of its dictatorial power. If Lee hadn't acted like that, he couldn't have reformed the legislature by retiring its long-time KMT members [who had been frozen in office for decades]. This is why Lee said the government must be democratized first, then the party.

But some young KMT members were not happy with Lee as an authoritarian party chairman and left the party to found the New Party [NP]. At the same time, the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] began to thrive in the increasingly democratic political environment.

How was President Lee able to remain strong enough to push reforms?

As a backlash emerged in the central government against the reforms, Lee sought support from local factions and their leaders. To reward them for their support, Lee nominated them for locally elected offices, helping them to become township heads or civil leaders by using party resources. This established a symbiotic relationship between the central and local governments. In fact, long before Lee became president, this sort of relationship between the two levels of government already existed, with local factions playing a subordinate role. But as the central government began courting favors with local factions, their power ineluctably started rising, to the extent that it is now equal to that of the central government.

Do local factions pose a threat to the KMT and to the political system?

Local factions are notorious for involvement in "black and gold" [underworld and money] politics. As factions became stronger, they began to blackmail the KMT in one way or another, and thus polluted the political environment. But after President Lee's political status was consolidated, he refused to be threatened by local factions. He saw that if Taiwan's politics were to be improved, the power of local factions must be broken. Thus, in the eyes of local factions, Lee is ungrateful because of his changed attitude. As a result, many of them have switched their support to the DPP or to independents.

Local factions are difficult to eliminate, because they are made up of selfish people without political ideals who are ready to unite with any party. For them, local and personal interests are more important than party spirit and discipline.

According to a tacit agreement between the KMT and DPP during the constitutional reform early last year, elections for town and township chiefs will soon be abolished. This would be an effective way to dismantle local factions, which normally expand their power by the domination of local elections. But here the KMT will be trapped on the horns of a dilemma. If President Lee tries to destroy the structure of local factions completely, the KMT risks losing its power base.

The KMT has to cure a terribly ill person without harming any vital organs. This is a difficult problem that Ma Ying-jeou and Liao Cheng-hao, the former and the incumbent ministers of justice, have faced. To what degree were they expected to crack down on organized crime and vote buying? Ma seemed unsure about how far to go, and it now seems as though Liao is doing a more complete job. Anyway, if the KMT insists on changing the rules of the political game that have been followed for years on the local level, factions surely will not be able to stomach such an about-face.

The KMT is obviously in a difficult situation: at the same time it is undergoing reforms, it also faces the threat of collapse after cutting links with local factions and having the DPP take its place as the ruling party. Nevertheless, I think that President Lee is a serious political reformer and that Taiwan is on the road to major transformation.

But as this takes place, we are experiencing more social disorder. This is inevitable. In the early days, when Taiwan wasn't a democracy, everything went relatively smoothly under the KMT's single-party power. But as its power weakens, the ruling party is being challenged by local factions and opposition parties. Because of more public criticism of government leaders, it's easy to feel as though Taiwan society is more chaotic than before. But this is just another step in Taiwan's democratization and we shouldn't be unduly concerned about it.

How does indigenization [increasing the number of locally born Taiwanese entering the government] affect Taiwan's politics?

Indigenization was started by the late President Chiang Ching-kuo. It actually went side by side with democratization. Chiang realized that if the KMT wanted to take root and live long in Taiwan, he had to recruit more native Taiwanese for the government, otherwise the ruling party would be seen as an external party that lacked integration with most of the island's population [native Taiwanese, including Hakka people, account for more than 80 percent of the population.].

President Lee has pushed indigenization further, because he feels the pressure from the DPP. The result is that conservatives think he is going too fast with indigenization, while progressives think he is going too slowly. Every reformer invites criticism, and Lee is no exception. As the KMT tries to satisfy the demand for more indigenization, it must also stick to the ideal of China's reunification. The result is that Lee is very likely to follow a middle-of-the-road policy in terms of cross-strait affairs.

I think Lee is perhaps hoping for an eventual China confederation; that is, each member, such as Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, can be economically independent, while certain coordinated policies with mainland China govern them all. Such a conception is being discussed in academic circles. In my opinion, this solution to the cross-strait problem can be achieved at the smallest cost.

What impact does the international political climate have on Taiwan's political development?

After the Cold War, major ideological barriers between many countries disappeared. Accordingly, Taiwan feels freer than ever to make friends in the international community. At the same time, people here have become more confident during the process of democratization and economic development, and they now seek a clearer identity. The demand for Taiwan independence has therefore surfaced.

On the other hand, since the Cold War, the maintenance of world order has depended more on international organizations. Because of this, mainland China has become much more important to the United Nations. Political clout aside, the mainland's power is also fueled by its growing economic power and nationalism, which took the place of communist ideology after the Cold War. Given these circumstances, Taiwan's leadership must seek a balance in responding to its citizens and to the feelings of its bullying neighbor. It is like walking a tightrope.

Where does the DPP stand on the idea of a confederation?

The DPP gives priority to "Taiwan as the Eastern Switzerland." That is, Taiwan must seek a status as an independent, neutral country. But this seems impossible for an island influenced by superpowers like the PRC, Japan, and the United States.

What interparty developments can be expected this year?

At first, the KMT worked along with the DPP in order to promote Taiwan's democratization. But as the KMT's power wanes, which is evident from the results of last November's local elections, it is more likely to cooperate with the NP in order to compete with the DPP. I think the NP would be willing to unite with a KMT that is free from corruption and also holds a firmer attitude against Taiwan independence. But even though the NP may build a more cooperative relationship with the KMT, the two parties are unlikely to merge.

At present, the DPP is still facing obstacles on its way to controlling the central government, even though it trounced the KMT last November. For one thing, the DPP is suffering from a shortage of talent, especially after the local elections, because so much of its top talent is now filling posts as mayors and county chiefs. In contrast, the KMT has many experienced people it can run for office. Just look at the party members it has appointed to Cabinet positions: the list is always impressive. Nevertheless, the KMT must adjust.

Now that the DPP is so strong at the local-government level, it will surely bargain with the KMT-led central government concerning the distribution of finances and personnel resources. The Legislative Yuan will most likely be the primary venue for wrestling between parties. Direct conflict between the Executive Yuan and the local governments is also inevitable, now that the provincial government is going to be downsized. The KMT should have a comprehensive plan to deal with the challenges posed by local government demands.

                                                                       --interview by Oscar Chung