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EDITORIAL: Time for
the DPP to take the lead
How much is too much? Taiwanese have witnessed what appears to be a rapid
derailing of their democratic system ¡X with the government playing the role of
destroyer rather than guardian of democracy.
As the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research cut its GDP growth forecast
for this year from 3.63 percent to 2.28 percent, Taiwanese cannot possibly be
unaware that an important part of their lives has been gradually taken away.
A service trade agreement between Taiwan and China was signed last month with
neither an impact assessment report nor prior consultation with local
businesses.
Four houses in Dapu Borough (¤j®H), Miaoli County, which got in the way of the
development of a science park were demolished despite the government¡¦s pledge to
keep them standing.
Several university professors and students were detained for offenses against
public safety, although they were simply shouting slogans in protest of the Dapu
demolition near where President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) was visiting.
After army corporal Hung Chung-chiu¡¦s (¬x¥ò¥C) mysterious death, the government
ignored the public¡¦s outrage and calls to involve civilian prosecutors.
Ma and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) insist on placing controversial
policies ¡X the construction of the the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao
District (°^¼d), New Taipei City, and the service trade pact ¡X on the agenda of an
extra session and pushing them through the legislature.
Taiwanese are beginning to wonder if Taiwan is truly a shining beacon of
democracy in Asia and whether the country might revert to the police state it
was 30 years ago. They feel helpless because it seems that no democratic
mechanism or protest can change the direction the country is headed.
Advocates will continue their fight against injustice with numerous protests
across the country. However, a scenario like the one in Egypt where more than 17
million protesters ousted the national leaders, is not likely to happen in
Taiwan.
That is where the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as the largest opposition
party, comes in. Rather than the party¡¦s China policy, on which everyone seems
to have an opinion and which is regarded as vitally important for the party to
win the presidential election, what is more important for the DPP now is to be a
leader of the people and to take bold and comprehensive domestic initiatives.
For too long, the DPP has been a party that thrived on electoral campaigns.
Unfortunately, there are no major elections between the presidential election
last year and the seven-in-one elections at the end of next year. Perhaps that
explains why the party has struggled to function as a proactive opposition with
vision and well-rounded policy recommendations and has had a hard time winning
support.
Instead, the party has passively issued press releases and offered verbal
support to civic movements. Party members have tried to garner media and public
attention not by intra-party discussions, but by posting messages and rants on
their Facebook pages.
The sarcastic nicknames of ¡§statement party¡¨ and ¡§Facebook party¡¨ given to the
DPP are fair against the backdrop of people¡¦s helplessness and anger.
The DPP could organize mass protests, but it should do more, such as forcing
direct dialogue between Ma, opposition parties and society; making moves that
challenge the administration¡¦s ineffective governance; and changing the ¡§status
quo¡¨ of a dysfunctional democracy.
The party needs a stronger DPP as much as the Taiwanese people do. It is not
enough to merely ¡§stand on the same side as the public.¡¨ The DPP needs to lead
the way in safeguarding democratic values, civic rights and people¡¦s livelihoods
first, and let the public decide if it will win the 2016 election.
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