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The Liberty Times
Editorial: Much work remains to be done
The presidential election results are in, and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) won
the re-election he wished for. Since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won a
majority of the legislative seats, Taiwan will be continue to be governed by Ma
and the KMT for another four years. The voters have made a collective decision,
and politicians and political parties will have to humbly consider public
opinion as they debate their gains and losses, victories and defeats.
Ma received a majority of the vote, but despite the advantages offered by
China’s help and the mobilization of the state apparatus, his proportion of the
vote dropped by 6.85 percentage points from 7.66 million votes or 58.45 percent
of the vote in 2008. In other words, he lost more than 760,000 votes despite the
fact that the number of eligible voters increased.
The reason for this decline was not that “After three years in power, you’re
bound to irritate someone,” as Ma said. The reason was because during the past
four years, many policies have failed to live up to the public’s expectations
and even aroused dissatisfaction and provoked questions. As Ma celebrates his
re-election, he must therefore also never forget that almost half of Taiwanese
are concerned about his policies and the direction in which he is leading
Taiwan.
More concretely, during Ma’s term, the economic situation has brought suffering
to the public and national sovereignty has taken a hit: These are two main
reasons for his loss of votes. Economically speaking, his love for China and big
business has caused unemployment to rise, and farmers and blue collar and office
workers have not shared in any economic progress, as their salaries have dropped
while housing prices are skyrocketing. The number of working poor has increased
sharply and the wealth gap has widened.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) piggy bank campaign during the election
was just one expression of grassroots feeling. By pinning its hopes on China,
the government is causing investment, consumption and employment to flow to
China, resulting in a worsening economic dynamic and less fair sharing of the
results.
The loss of national sovereignty is abundantly clear. During the election, the
government may have used the so-called “1992 consensus” and the Republic of
China to stress that there is “one China” and that each side of the Taiwan
Strait has its own interpretation of what that China is, but at any meeting
where someone from China is present, it shrinks back of its own free will.
Internationally, Taiwan has even been denigrated to the status of a Chinese
province.
Ma is deceiving himself and the public that the economic policies China is using
to trap Taiwan are a sign of improving cross-strait ties and a “peace dividend.”
This is clearly difficult for the public to accept: The Taiwan Solidarity Union,
whose mission it is to prevent rapid unification, was the third-largest
beneficiary of the party vote, while the New Party, which is promoting quick
unification, went up in smoke.
The clear drop in Ma’s vote also highlights discrepancies in decision-making and
staff appointments. Within the party and the government, Ma and his campaign
manager, King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), have been criticized for working behind closed
doors. In society at large, they extend privileges to Ma’s supporters, something
that has often has drawn criticism. The president must be concerned with
universal interests and respond to domestic and external challenges to the
country.
Being elected by a majority is good for Ma and his party, but national problems
and tests will follow close on the heels of victory. Economically, the greatest
public concern is employment and consumer and housing prices. The wealth gap is
also increasing and international economic turmoil is continuing.
Ma and his government will not be able to as they please, on the assumption that
the Taiwanese economy will stop falling and rebound during the first quarter of
the year. Instead, the government must propose an effective long-term economic
strategy.
The China challenge is even more immediate and unambiguous. China has helped Ma
win two elections. Among many measures, this help has included cooperating
during the recent campaign and helping Ma consolidate his grip on power in
recent years. Now that Ma has been re-elected, China will ask for payback and
pressure him to conclude a peace accord. Entering into political talks is surely
just around the corner. In particular, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and
other top Chinese leaders are about to step down, and they are strongly
motivated by the desire to leave a legacy.
Ma’s two challengers, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and People First Party
Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), should both be complimented. They fought to the
bitter end, questioned the incumbent and gave voice to the public’s concerns. In
doing so, they added to the vitality of the nation’s democracy. They should also
be praised for their conduct after voters had made their choice. The opposition
parties, representing 48.4 percent of public opinion, have no reason to be
unhappy or downcast: The end of the election only means that the monitoring of
the new government begins.
From a systemic perspective, the presidential election made it clear that
Taiwan’s democracy is not yet mature. Vote buying remains rampant and requires a
thorough judicial investigation. In terms of campaign spending, the KMT’s
uniquely huge party assets continue to be an obstacle to fair party competition.
In terms of intervention by external forces, China has been repeatedly
successful, and now that they have tasted blood, they are likely to aggressively
try to control Taiwanese politics.
In the wake of the elections, we must work actively to put an end to these
bizarre phenomena if we want Taiwan to become a normal democracy.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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