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DPP needs new approach in 2012
By Nathan Novak 李漢聲
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has long been criticized for playing the
“ethnicity card” during election campaigns. Saying nothing about the Chinese
Nationalist Party’s (KMT) own insistence that Taiwan is ethnically Chinese, it
is safe to say that ethnicity politics will get the DPP only so far in 2012 and
beyond. Thus, the DPP needs to develop a more robust and dynamic campaign
ideology if it is to secure the presidency in 2012.
More than that, instead of promising Taiwanese the world and leaving them
shortchanged as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has done since he claimed in his
2008 inaugural address that he would protect Taiwan, the DPP needs to stick to
this stronger and more diverse political ideology after the election.
First, Taiwan already is independent. This was a fact noted quite clearly by
former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) during his time in office. Taiwan possesses
every single characteristic a sovereign nation needs under the Westphalian
system, a system to which China itself is one of the strongest single adherents.
That Taiwan possesses de facto independence is undeniable.
Second, Taiwan is strong. That’s right: A statement that would make even the
most moderate of KMT politicians cringe needs to be a major part of the rallying
cry in the presidential campaign leading up to March 2012 and thereafter. This
idea that Taiwan is somehow weak simply because it is relatively small or
isolated is ludicrous. No one says that South Korea is a weak nation simply
because it is surrounded by economic and military powerhouses that dwarf both
its territory and population.
I will get to the “isolated” part shortly.
Third, Taiwan is competitive and developed. It was the case long before the
Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) was dreamt up and will be so for
much longer than the aforementioned agreement, a political wolf in sheep’s
clothing, has any significance. Taiwan is in a wonderful geostrategic,
geopolitical and geoeconomic position, located between the Northeast and
Southeast Asian regions and enjoying relations, albeit unofficial, with many
nations. It has always been here, and it has always enjoyed this. Indeed, this
is a major reason why so many nations are concerned about its security and
well-being.
Fourth, and connected to the third point above, Taiwan’s unofficial relations
with other nations are not because Taiwan is weak. This situation exists solely
because a bully to the immediate north and northwest twists the rules of the
game and pushes Taiwan out, not necessarily with force, but often with subtlety.
True, this enormous bully, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has had to
resort to violence on occasion, but only because it perceived itself as weak.
Its failure to prevent former president Lee from visiting the US coupled with
its own inability to thwart Lee’s re-election bid forced it to use Taiwan’s
surrounding waterways as a shooting gallery. Moreover, China seeks to weaken
Taiwan abroad — indirectly — since it knows it cannot do so directly. This
should all be evident by now.
Fifth, the PRC, contrary to being a “big brother” in a cordial and familial way
is instead a “big brother” in an Orwellian way. Constantly keeping its eye on
“little brother,” China seeks to divide Taiwan’s society by pitting “one-China”-ists
against those who actually do love their island nation — and do not merely pay
lip service to such proclamations.
The granting of the “Confucian Peace Prize” to former vice president and
turncoat (for his political double-dealings during the Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁] era)
Lien Chan (連戰) should make this point all too clear to everyone in Taiwan.
The granting of a phony peace prize to a traitor to both his country and his
party (since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is, rhetoric aside, still an
enemy of the KMT) should be evidence enough. Unless, of course, Lien’s heart and
nationality really are with the CCP and PRC, in which case he should put his
money where his mouth and heart are and get a PRC passport. That’s up to him,
though that does not matter one iota to the DPP, for it will show that it is
filled with people who are bigger than that.
Sixth, and related to points four and five, Taiwan’s unofficial status with
other nations is not because Taiwan is weak or unimportant. Instead, it has
everything to do with its Orwellian neighbor to the northwest. All of the
emphasis on Taiwan losing out not only in the China market but also in other
markets has everything to do with China and nothing to do with what Taiwan has
to offer. And other nations recognize this. It is because Taiwan has so much to
offer other nations and economies that they still agree to unofficial relations
with Taiwan. This, too, should be evident.
Seventh, this “weakness” Taiwan faces is pure farce. Taiwan does not need China.
Taiwan did not need China from 1895 to 1945. Taiwan did not need China
thereafter. The KMT needed China as a rallying cry, but let us not confuse
government with country. Taiwan and China today and for the last 20-odd years
have enjoyed economic benefits of proximity, but neither needs each other
economically.
True, Taiwan supplies an enormous amount of investment and know-how to China as
it develops. True, Taiwan benefits from low-price imports and a trade balance
with China in Taiwan’s favor. True, both benefit from the complementary aspects
of each others’ economies. But let’s face it: Taiwan could very easily invest
elsewhere. China could very easily gain investment capital from other sources.
Language and proximity issues aside, Taiwan has very few reasons to invest in or
trade solely or even heavily with China. Here again China’s political
gerrymandering and backdoor politicking have hurt Taiwan. However, this
certainly does not make Taiwan weak. It makes Taiwan much larger and more
powerful than the parameters built around it allow it to be. This should be a
source of pride, not embarrassment.
Finally (and this list of course is not exhaustive), forget about who is and who
is not “China.” “China” is just as mythical as it is real. The idea of “state”
as we know it today was not a concept Chinese thinkers used — at least not until
very late in the Qing Dynasty. Instead of making “Chinese” the enemy, attack the
foundations of the KMT — the political construct, not the party members. Decades
of corruption and incompetence weakened, and still weaken, the KMT. The
election-eve shooting should have reminded us of that quite well. Every time the
DPP attacks “the Chinese,” it misses the bigger picture: By making “the Chinese”
an issue at all, it makes “the Chinese” important. And all of this is occurring
in an environment where more and more Taiwanese are considering themselves just
that — Taiwanese.
In truth, KMT members and the party itself hug the leg of the panda in an
atmosphere of diminishing importance and waning legitimacy. The minute the panda
is out of the picture is the minute the KMT is grasping for clouds. So forget
ethnic politics. Forget “the Chinese” KMT. Make this election about Taiwan. The
DPP will be — and, therefore, will also be perceived as — far more mature and
responsible. If this happens, the advantage will lie with the DPP.
Nathan Novak studies China and the Asia-Pacific region with a
particular focus on cross-strait relations at National Sun Yat-sen University.
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