KMT’S problems on June 25, 2004

The KMT must ditch Lien, merger plan

If the KMT is to have a future, it has to get rid of its failed leader and its "one China" dogma and reinvent itself as a Taiwanese party

By Lee Chang-kuei

In 2004, Taiwan's political democracy has undergone some most trying tests. Taiwan's narrow and winding road to democracy has had much to do with a political system established by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over a time span of 30 years after World War II. On the eve of the presidential election on March 20, President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu were almost assassinated in Tainan City, highlighting the closeness of this past presidential race, the complexity of the underlying political struggles, the fragility of Taiwan's political and government systems, and the ethnic and "one China" issues embedded in Taiwan's political infrastructure. The Chen-Lu ticket won the election with a narrow margin of 0.228%. Thereafter, Taiwan's political democracy and society became trapped in a serious political storm that lingered on in the sky of the nation's capital Taipei. The Presidential Office, the Legislative Yuan, the KMT, the People First Party (PFP) and the general public all became part of the storm, which eventually turned into a political tornado that rampaged through Taipei for over 70 days. As a result, Taipei fell into an unprecedented state of confusion and depression.

lack of respect for law and order

After the defeat of KMT Chairman Lien Chan and PFP Chairman James Soong , without a shred of real evidence of foul play by Chen and Lu, the two launched demonstrations calling for the so-called "truth" behind the assassination attempt on Chen. They also filed lawsuits to declare the election results void. This was followed by yet another campaign to demean the Executive Yuan -- referring to it as part of an "unlawful government." All these indicate that the KMT and PFP are political parties with absolutely no regard for the law and self-discipline. Their conduct has turned post-election politics into a tasteless farce, further revealing how fragile is the foundation of Taiwan's political and constitutional system, how meaningless party politics can be, and how much they themselves disrespect law and order. The melodrama also has shown up the political character of Lien, who is despised by many for inciting the general public to the point of attacking the Presidential Office.

Lien and Soong joined forces to run for the presidency. They were determined to win at all costs. In front of 500,000 people attending a campaign rally they held in front of the Presidential Office, Lien hypocritically laid face down and flat on the ground to kiss the earth as a gesture to show his love for Taiwan. This gesture was intended to deceive the one million people who participated in the Feb. 28 Hand-in-Hand Rally into believing that he had abandoned the "one China" principle. At the same time, Lien and Soong did not forget to make personal attacks against Chen and Lu, fabricating stories to build an image of incompetence, deceit, and corruption for Chen. They were determined to end Chen's political career. Of course they did not forget to promise political favors to special interest groups. For example, they promised to cab drivers that once they were elected business license taxes and fuel taxes for cabs would no longer be levied. To retired workers, they promised an 18 percent interest rate on their retirement pensions. To civil servants, they promised an annual salary of NT$1 million. Moreover, those in power within the KMT openly placed large sums in bets with underground casinos that Lien and Soong would win the election, hoping to turn the tide of the election by influencing the large number of voters who participate in such underground gambling games.

In the March 20 election, the Chen-Lu ticket won 6,471,970 votes (50.11%), while the Lien-Soong 6,442,452 (48.89%). In addition, there were around 300,000 invalid ballots. Lien and Soong immediate declared that the election was illegal, stating that the large number of ballots declared invalid were evidence of foul play by the ruling party. They filed lawsuits with the High Court, after which the pan-blue camp and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) respectively appointed hundreds of attorneys to participate in the re-count of the votes. So far, there does not appear to be any deliberate tampering with the ballots, only some inadvertent misplacement of ballots has been discovered. As for the unusually high number of invalid ballots, this was caused by the newly adopted stricter criteria of validity, introduced to frustrate vote buying. After the re-count, the attorneys from both sides conceded that of the invalid ballots, 240,000 (almost 80 percent) were intended for Chen and Lu, while 60,000 (20 percent) were intended for Lien and Soong. Realizing that the result of the recount was unfavorable to them, Lien and Soong began to shift their focus on a campaign to demand that "there is no president without the truth."

merger plan

Chen and Lu were sworn into office on May 20. Around the same time, Lien declared a plan for a merger between the KMT and the PFP. Soong immediately responded to Lien's declaration, asking the KMT to purge politicians who belonged to the localized camp from the party, to smooth his way to taking over the KMT, something the localized faction bitterly opposed. The new post-election chaos now comes from the internal bickering of the pan-blues. The KMT's lawmakers and the younger generation of party officials reacted with hostility, asking Lien and Soong to get over their wounded pride concerning the election defeat. They believe a KMT-PFP merger and the lingering hatred will only have a negative impact on the year-end legislative election and lead to the ultimate collapse of the KMT. KMT lawmakers of the localized camp openly accused Lien of being unable to leave behind the negative sentiments engendered by his second election defeat, stating that the pending merger between KMT and PFP will only push KMT into a dead-end. They also believe that the "one China" path of the KMT has no market and no selling point, and that the merger is a self-destructive move. Voices within the party loudly demanded "opposing Soong and no supporting Lien." They asked Lien to resign from the party chairman post and oppose Soong's return to the KMT for a power succession.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou believes that Lien's unilateral declaration of the KMT-PFP merger was entirely undemocratic. He openly opposed the idea and considered the declaration of the merger a decoy to shift attention from the issue of accountability for the election defeat. Indeed, after the election, the images of Lien and Soong have been seriously damaged in the eyes of most voters. Some psychiatrists have even diagnosed that Lien is exhibiting signs of dementia.

In the past 50 years, the KMT gradually transformed from a totalitarian party into a seemingly rational and ethnically harmonious party that embraced the "one China" path. The vindictive conduct of Lien and Soong after their election defeat appeared to have retrogressed the KMT into its old totalitarian self, turning it into a Chinese unification propaganda mouthpiece. James Chen, a senior KMT lawmaker, has said with candor that if Lien does not step down, the KMT is in a hopeless position. It was actually the intention of Chen, through this statement, to make the point that the merger will turn the KMT into a clone of the PFP, turning it back into the totalitarian party monopolized by Mainlanders that it used to be. If that happens, Taiwan's two-party politics will be based on a division between native Taiwanese and Mainlanders.

Indeed, the KMT has a chance for reform only if Lien goes, thereby freeing the party from its historical and ethnic baggage and allowing it to re-invent itself. Four vice chairmen of the KMT have expressed this view. Ma was the first one to indicate that the KMT-PFP merger should not replace party reform. The KMT has a chance for survival only if reforms are made. The current structure of the KMT is of little interest to the Mainlander group. They cannot identify with the localized path previously pursued by former KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui when he was in power. The New Party is a Mainlander political party split from the KMT during the early days of Lee's efforts to localize the KMT. Soong was expelled from the KMT by Lee for running in the 2000 presidential election without the party's nomination. After his expulsion, some KMT lawmakers joined the PFP founded by Soong. In the 2000 legislative election, the PFP immediately garnered 42 seats. In terms of the nearly 3 million voters supporting the New Party and the PFP, around 90 percent were ethnic Mainlanders. Around 90 percent of the voters who voted for the KMT's incumbent lawmakers were native Taiwanese. The KMT had been transformed from a totalitarian party into a national and ethnically harmonious democratic party that gives top priority to the interests of Taiwan. That was why Soong's reaction to Lien's declaration about a KMT-PFP merger has been to demand a purge of some members of the party.

There is hope for the KMT only if it engages in reform. This is the consensus reached within the KMT after the presidential election. What kind of reforms are needed? Most importantly the abandonment of the "one China" dogma and black gold, as well as the return of the party's looted assets. Lien and Soong were able to join forces and run for the presidency and vice presidency entirely because the KMT had enough money and capital to try to buy their way into the Presidential Office. Vote-buying has corrupted the quality of Taiwan's political democracy. Both Lee Teng-hui and the senior KMT members of the localized camp hope that the KMT will undergo reform, becoming a rational party that promotes ethnic harmony and embraces the Taiwan-first path. Only if Ma and Wang Jin-pyng take charge of the reform of the KMT, turning it into a party with a clear direction and path, returning ill-gotten party assets, and abandoning black gold, can the KMT enjoy a re-birth. This way, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) will continue to support Wang for the speakership of the Legislative Yuan after the year- end legislative election.

Reform of the KMT has begun. Party Vice Chairman Vincent Siew has been hosting a series of meetings on reforming the party. He has indicated that the party should accept its election defeat on March 20 and has expressed that view that the party should identify itself as a "localized party" with a "Taiwanese consciousness" platform. He frankly said that "from the `special state to state' discourse proposed by the then-president Lee Teng-hui in 1999, to the Feb. 28 Hand-in-Hand Rally this year, all these indicate that in the hearts of the Taiwanese, Taiwan's autonomy and sovereignty have long become a confirmed fact."

Siew's words were intended to give Lien and Soong a wake-up call to accept Chen Shui-bian as the 11th president of the Republic of China (ROC) and to encourage the KMT to identify with Taiwan, rather than China. This is because Taiwanese consciousness has become deep-rooted. The people of Taiwan now control their own destiny and future. Taiwanese no longer wants to be at the mercy of China, meaning that Taiwan no longer wants to be a mere chess piece manipulated by other countries. In view of this, Beijing seeks to localize the cross-strait relationship under the "one China" principle, so that Taiwan would only have the appearance of an independent country but remain incapable of participating in the international community as one.

starting ref0rm

Facing the current chaos in the KMT, Vincent Siew made a decision to reform the KMT's path, reiterating, "the ROC independently exists on the territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu." The KMT must adopt a localized path, and root itself among the general public. Facing criticism from the DPP for being a "Mainlander's political party" on a long-term basis, the KMT must seek to win moderate voters by leaving behind its "China consciousness."

Legislator Chen interpreted Taiwanese consciousness and sovereignty from the perspective of history. He pointed out that the high-handed and oppressive rule of the Mainlanders in the past has made the native Taiwanese resent Mainlanders, as well as stimulated the growth of the support for Taiwan's independence. Taiwanese voters do not accept the "one China" path. This is substantively reflected in the fact that although Chen Shui-bian only garnered the votes of 14 percent of Mainlander voters in this past election, yet he was able to garnered more than 50% of all votes cast. James Chen warned the KMT headquarters that the "one China" path has no market. There is hope only if the KMT leaves behind the dogma of unification and commits itself to maintaining the status quo of the ROC, and keeping an equal distance from the US, Japan and China.

Around 10 senior KMT lawmakers have already indicated that they won't run in the legislative election because they do not care to run under the KMT banner as long as Lien remains its leader. Even Wang Jin-pyng does not have the courage to run for an individual district seat and is instead running for an unelected at-large seat. Lien must retire if the KMT is to have a chance of survival. There is a future for the party only if Wang and Ma take over the party and push through reform.

Lee Chang-kuei is the president of the Taipei Times