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DPP not ‘anti-China’
or ‘anti-Chinese’: Tsai Ing-wen
PRO-DEMOCRACY: The former DPP leader, in a
teleconference with Wang Dan, said the party did not like authoritarianism and
that transparency was a key to political stability
By Rich Chang and Lin Shu-hui / Staff reporters
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is neither “anti-China (反中)” nor
“anti-Chinese (反華),” but rather it does not like anything that is undemocratic,
former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said, adding that she thinks the best
way to protect Taiwan’s democracy is to consolidate its democratic system.
Tsai made the remarks during a teleconference with Chinese dissident Wang Dan
(王丹) on Friday, a transcription of which was publicized yesterday.
“Having been the [DPP’s] party chairperson for some years, I do not feel the DPP
harbors an anti-China or anti-Chinese sentiment,” Tsai said in response to
Wang’s comments that some Chinese and overseas Chinese think the DPP is
anti-China or anti-Chinese.
“Instead the party and its supporters just don’t like anything that is
undemocratic, repressive and authoritarian. People who value freedom, democracy
and human rights are all good friends of the DPP,” said Tsai, who stepped down
as DPP leader at the end of last month.
Wang, one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy
protests, suggested that the DPP should continue to send China a strong and
clear message that says “the key barrier between Taiwan and the mainland [sic]
is the issue of democracy in China.”
Doing so could help China’s democratization, as well as indirectly promote
democratic development in Taiwan, Wang added.
Tsai said Taiwan has accumulated much experience during its democratization, in
which the DPP has played an important role, and that many people have sacrificed
a lot for it. All these experiences would serve as an inspiration for people in
China who harbor a desire for democracy in their country, she said.
Tsai said the recent dismissal of former Chongqing Chinese Communist Party
secretary Bo Xilai (薄熙來) showed people the lack of transparency in Chinese
politics.
This lack of transparency may lend an appearance of stability on a superficial
level, but beneath it lies an underlying concern, Tsai said, adding that
transparency is an important element in political stability.
Tsai also said that the best way to protect Taiwan’s democracy is to consolidate
its democratic system. The DPP must maintain dialogue with the public and let
each and every Taiwanese understand that they have the responsibility to protect
the nation’s hard-won democracy, she said.
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