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INTERVIEW: Tsai seeks
¡¥greatest common denominator¡¦
In an interview with staff reporters Tzou Jiing-wen and Lee Hsin-fang of the
Chinese-language ¡¥Liberty Times¡¦ (the sister paper of the ¡¥Taipei Times¡¦) on
Tuesday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential
candidate Tsai Ing-wen said if she wins January¡¦s presidential election, her
government team would comprise members across parties and create a modernized
government team. This is the second part of the interview
Liberty Times: If one day you become president, how would you treat the
different political parties?
Tsai Ing-wen (½²^¤å): We all feel that this nation is the prize [to be
contested for] between political parties, but then forget that the important
goal for the competition between political parties is to build up the country
with achievements. If we take out the goal of [bringing forth achievement for] a
nation, it leaves us only with political wrangles among the parties, which is
then a drain on the nation.
[It is preferable] if the person in power, however, proposes a common national
goal, and the political parties can construct a mutual platform under this goal
toward which they can work, while leaving room for mutual competition between
the political parties, for a democratic country has to reserve space for party
competition.
Our development in the past 20 years concerning a common national goal has not
been determined, because first there was the issue of pro-independence or
pro-unification, then there was the pan-green, pan-blue division, causing some
difficulties in having a common national goal.
However, a leader has to find the greatest common denominator, and set a common
national goal on that common denominator. Under that prerequisite, everyone can
work together, while also leaving a space for political parties to compete.
It is not that there has not been anyone who wanted to find that greatest common
denominator, but in the process of finding it, there was also the possibility of
attempting to eliminate the competition among political parties, making it
unable to be sustained due to the self--preservation of the political party, or
some circumstances in which the benefits for a particular political party are
too great and causes it not to participate in the finding of the common
denominator
It is a delicate balance, and we need to find that greatest common denominator,
and yet maintain space for competition.
LT: In your mind, what currently constitutes the greatest common
denominator for Taiwan?
Tsai: I think it is the challenge globalization poses to Taiwan. It has
nothing to do with pro-independence or pro-unification, or with pan-green or
pan-blue. The current societal and economic problems facing Taiwan are its
greatest challenge.
The increasing pauperization of society, the slowly surfacing class division
issue in the wake of globalization, and anger at one¡¦s inability to improve
one¡¦s social status is actually growing deeper and deeper, so being poor in a
stratified society makes people feel very insecure.
In terms of industry and economic structure, it is because [the leader] does not
have enough guts to break the current structure. After all, the current
structure was left over from the economic and industrial thought of the 1960s to
1980s. So long as we do not break it and create a new way of thinking, it will
continue on in a bad cycle.
We must break the cycle and construct a new industrial and economic structure
that meets with the trend of globalization.
Then there is the issue of social [resource] distribution. If resources cannot
be fairly distributed through taxation, national subsidies and national
resources, then the feeling of inequality would become the greatest destroyer of
social unity and concord. These problems have nothing to do with
pro-independence or pro-unification, or with pan-green or pan-blue; they are
problems that have to be faced by everyone.
Another problem that this nation must face is the environment. The degree to
which our natural environment has been shattered is heartbreaking. There are
many more [problems] if I am to continue; our nation¡¦s finances are truly
deteriorating, and if we don¡¦t take care of it in this generation, are we going
to leave it to the next generation, the generation that can¡¦t even find a job
now?
In truth, looking from a very saddening perspective, only when Taiwan has
plunged to such a level can the greater common denominator on which everyone
could build a nation surface. From a more positive perspective, these are our
greatest common denominators, and in such a situation, it is possible to build
on those greater common denominators, but the people leading the construction of
those greater common denominators must have in-depth understanding and actually
experience it, not like the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who just follow up
on the DPP¡¦s policies.
We¡¦ve said a lot of things recently that the KMT is copying. When we called for
anti-poverty policies, the KMT followed and also called for anti-poverty
policies, saying that it too has felt the need for such policies.
The KMT [is not a political party] that comes from the [proximity] of the people
and can claim to have deep feelings [about poverty] to talk about. Maybe the KMT
is deeply -involved with corporations, but they will never give the people the
feeling that it is a political party that would feel what the people feel, even
if it was close to the people.
Whether on issues of anti--poverty, environmental protection, human rights or
renewable resources, the KMT policies are following the DPP.
From a positive angle, these constitute the greatest common denominators of
society and the KMT has no choice but to follow, but from a negative
perspective, it also means that the KMT has lost the ability to detect these
greatest common denominators and can only follow the DPP policies.
Instead, why not change the governing party, elect a party that knows how to
lead on issues that concern the welfare of the public, a party that is also more
efficient at implementing these policies?
LT: Everyone is even more curious as to how you would employ people [for
governmental posts] if you are elected president.
Tsai: A lot of people say that I am atypical. Why am I atypical? First,
because I do not have any political baggage. Secondly, being president was not
one of my dreams when I was a child, but now I want to be president. The goal of
my being president is simple: I want to face all the problems this society is
facing, I want to lead people from their current hardships. That is why I want
to be president. I do not want to be president for the sake of being president,
but at this time, I want to be president because the -nation is facing
challenges, and there must be someone to lead the nation against those
challenges.
I do not seek personal political gains, but I do have a goal: to lead this
nation against challenges, to change. In this situation, there is only one goal
for me to use anyone, and that is if he or she can meet my goal ¡X using people
from different parties and creating a modern team.
It is to be function-oriented, -mission-oriented, a team that identifies with
this value and identifies with this goal. So there would be no problem of
pan-green or pan-blue, and no issue of pro-independence or pro-unification,
placing these public issues, as well as domestic societal and economic problems
as the primary focus of the next step.
In such a situation, the parameters of what kind of people to use is very
dynamic as well as very wide.With my personal experiences, I know many people in
Taiwanese society, both in and out of government, whether professionals in the
society or elites in academia. I probably know more than most people.
How to put all these people in a functional political structure to become an
efficient team, that¡¦s my responsibility.
LT: Where would you be inclined to search for your running mate?
Tsai: It¡¦s very flexible and there aren¡¦t any possibilities that are
excluded for my running-mate. My running-mate would have to be someone who can
expand the groundwork of social support and solidify future governing. The
aforementioned standards are also applicable to choosing a running mate.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
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