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2012 ELECTIONS:
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Tsai reveals transition time plans
BLUEPRINT: As concerns are raised over what
could happen during the four-month post-election transition, Tsai has revealed
her plans for the period, should she win
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Showing signs of confidence at the prospect of winning next month’s presidential
election, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen
(蔡英文) has planned ahead for her potential presidential transition period.
Over the past two weeks, the DPP chairperson has laid out what she would do
during the four-month transition period, the longest presidential transition in
Taiwan’s history, between the election on Jan. 14 and the inauguration on May
20.
Having advocated a moderate China policy throughout her campaign based on her
“Taiwan consensus” initiative, Tsai’s plan would not see her wait until after
the inauguration to start extending olive branches to China.
“Although there are constraints on our interactions with Chinese interlocutors
during the election, we will be proactive in seeking dialogue and stabilizing
the relationship immediately following the election and throughout the
transition period,” she said in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce on
Nov. 22.
While her “Taiwan consensus” initiative has been described by some as “vague”
and China has publicly spoken out against it, Tsai still believes a consensus
among the Taiwanese is the first step to ending partisan divisions before
negotiating with Beijing.
She was also “open-minded” about engagement with China and does not rule out
visiting China, if invited, as long as no unreasonable prerequisites are
attached, Tsai told the BBC in an interview published online on Nov. 25.
However, there would be more to do during any potential transition period than
just trying to forge better relations with Beijing as Taiwan is facing numerous
domestic issues, including slow economic growth, an increasing wealth gap and an
aging society, meaning there would be no time to waste.
That explains why Tsai, if elected, plans to sit down with President Ma Ying-jeou
(馬英九), who is seeking re-election, after the polls to discuss the economic
situation, she told members of the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry in
Greater Taichung on Nov. 25.
Tsai said she would immediately launch a full-scale review of the national
budget and cut funds for expensive and meaningless programs so that public
finances could be used to help the unemployed and companies that fall victim to
the global financial crisis and the sluggish economy.
Fireworks set off to celebrate specific holidays, among other things, would be
scrapped, she said.
While many people would find it difficult to oppose Tsai’s plans, they could be
difficult to achieve since the revision of the national budget has to clear the
legislature, which the KMT currently influences by a two-thirds majority and it
is likely to continue to be the largest party after next month’s legislative
elections.
“Regardless of how many seats the DPP is going to win, we are going to do what
we think is right,” a senior aide in charge of public policy affairs for Tsai’s
campaign said.
However, some of the transition period cannot be planned for in advance.
In the past, the presidential election has been held on March 20 and the
president-elect has been sworn in on May 20. Ma’s decision to combine the
presidential and legislative elections extends the transition period to about
four months.
This period could bring about challenging issues, with academics recently
expressing concerns over whether there should be an en masse resignation of the
Cabinet, whether the military remains neutral, who the president-elect should
nominate as premier and whether the caretaker government will refrain from
making major policy changes.
Several analysts and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) have said that the
biggest concern is whether power would be transferred peacefully if Tsai wins by
a small margin, referring to a large protest that broke out after Chen won his
re-election bid by a narrow margin in 2004.
“We should view the presidential transition period as crisis management and we
cannot take a peaceful transition of power for granted,” former Presidential
Office deputy secretary-general Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.
“That is something we have no control over. We can only hope that all Taiwanese
will uphold democratic values regardless of the election results,” said the
aide, who wished to remain anonymous.
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