NORTHEAST ASIA PEACE AND SECURITY NETWORK ***** SPECIAL REPORT ***** December 21, 1998 The following is the second in a regular series of Taiwan Reports prepared by Dr. Chen Jie, a Research Fellow at Monash University in Australia, for distribution over NAPSNet. Today's report contains summaries of editorials regarding the recent elections in Taiwan. --------------- ELECTIONS IN TAIWAN Elections of mayoral posts of Taipei and Kaohsiung, of Legislative Yuan, and of the two cities' legislatures ended on 5 December. The campaign by various political parties dragged on for almost six months, and when it reached its climax during the last week before the polling day, the whole nation was bombarded by politicians' noises (accusations and promises, sometimes through loudspeakers) , colorful flags, decorated campaign buses, PR leaflets, and very personal TV commercials, etc. Also, at huge public rallies, party leaders (including President Lee Teng-hui himself) got dressed up as knights waving swords, ship captains, space shuttle pilots, and traditional farmers. Movie stars, pop song stars, and even serving senior public servants (such as departmental secretaries) all joined the campaign, causing enormous controversy. Elections, Taiwanese style, have the potential to become a major tourism event for the island. The results of the elections became clear late at night of the polling day (5 December): Ma Yingjiu (Kuomintang, hereafter KMT) defeated the legendary incumbent Chen Shuibian (Democratic Progressive Party, DPP) as the mayor of Taipei by a wide margin of more than 80,000 votes; Xie Changtin (DPP) defeated Wu Dunyi (KMT) as the mayor of Kaohsiung by a narrow margin of 4,500 votes; and the KMT won 123 out of a total 225 seats in the Legislative Yuan, DPP 70, and New Party (NP) 11. Overall, it was a great victory for the KMT, a setback for the DPP on its way to becoming a national ruling party, and a threat to the very existence of the NP. The following are summaries of editorials and comments in Taiwan's four major national newspapers regarding the result of the elections: China Times, United Daily News, Central Daily News, and Liberty Times. CHINA TIMES, editorial, 6 December 1998. The result of the elections has demonstrated the maturity and autonomy of Taiwanese voters. They have expressed their dislike of: opportunism, smear campaigns, resort to the sad past (by opposition parties), and any other extreme doctrine. The DPP's loss of Taipei and many seats in the Legislative Yuan means it did not pay enough attention to the voice of the people, even though it has been in opposition for 12 years. Before the elections on 5 December, the DPP had been overall performing well in various central and local elections, enjoying a bright future. Unfortunately, after its spectacular victory in last year's county elections, the DPP has not worked out a way to attract the votes from both pro-independence voters and people on the middle ground. It has become bogged down in a power struggle, and those leaders advocating a middle line for the party have been sidelined by those preaching a fundamentalist pro-independence line. The DPP's path to the position of ruling party of the whole nation has now become longer, while Taiwan's democratization process forges on. So far as the New Party is concerned, internal power bickering went on both before and throughout the elections, despite its crisis in recent years. Many veteran leaders quit the party and stood as independent candidates. The NP seems unable to progress beyond a narrow anti-Lee (Teng-hui) mentality. The bitter debacle it suffered when the result of the elections became clear should make the NP seriously rethink what it stands for and what it means to be a political party. With opinions polls suggesting that only 7 percent of the voters support the NP, and having captured just 11 out of 225 seats in the Legislative Yuan, the NP is at the risk of becoming a bubble party. As for the ruling KMT, its position as the largest party in Taiwan has become stronger as a result of the elections. It has recaptured Taipei, and the number of its seats in the Legislative Yuan overwhelms that of all other parties combined. It has firmly reestablished itself as a political party in the middle ground. Its major challenge now is to avoid further corruption from within itself and infighting before the historic presidential election in 2000. UNITED DAILY NEWS, editorial, 6 December 1998 The DPP's defeat in Taipei and the Legislative Yuan has declared that it played a counter-productive game by playing up the issue of mainlanders vs. Taiwanese, and unification vs. independence. Voters were no longer likely to be easily manipulated by a fear campaign. Though it unexpectedly captured Kaohsiung by a narrow margin of 4,500 votes, the DPP's only superstar Chen Shuibian has lost the battle in Taipei after four years as a well-rated mayor. Also, the number of Legislative Yuan seats won by the party is far below the 50 percent mark anxiously sought after. It is time for the DPP to recreate itself, otherwise it can not expect to play a meaningful role in the 2000 presidential election. This is the first time in many years that the KMT can really celebrate, while starting a new life. Yet voters' support for the KMT is no more than an expectation that the KMT may reform itself, thus the KMT should not take its victory for granted. Instead, it should make use of this victorious occasion to improve itself in both substance and style. As for the NP, the miserable number of votes it has received shows that within just five years, it has degenerated from its original image of "spokesperson of the middle class" to that of a narrow-minded and even eccentric organization, thanks to the poorly formulated, opportunistic and ill-timed strategies of some of its leaders during the elections. CENTRAL DAILY NEWS, editorial, 6 December 1998 The result of the elections is not just a victory for KMT thanks to its hard efforts, under President Lee, at political reform and economic development, it is also a historic victory of democratic politics in Taiwan. Elections yesterday proceeded in a peaceful, democratic and orderly atmosphere, fully demonstrating people 's desire for political participation and their civilized manner in doing so. All candidates, regardless of the voters' judgment, accepted the judgment in a rather gentlemanly fashion. This kind of maturity clearly indicates that our democratic system has just moved another huge step forward. Also, though the election fanfare was fearsome, particularly during the last day, yet the society quickly returned to its business-as-usual environment as soon as the voting was over. We should be really proud of this kind of high quality democratic behavior. The KMT's victory is favorable to political and economic stability, and has established a new starting point to quicken the progress of democratic reform and nation-building. The election result has meant that under the brilliant leadership of President Lee Teng-hui, the KMT has successfully transformed itself from an "old grocery shop" into a "modern supermarket." Years of reform, determination and unity have finally paid off. We believe that the KMT, now the dominant political power in Taiwan, will continue its reform in the administrative, legal, technological and spiritual fields. It will try its best to improve the nation's comprehensive competitive power, further raise people's living standard, and build Taiwan into a modern civilized country. LIBERTY TIMES, editorial, 6 December 1998 Within just three years, Taiwan has witnessed three rounds of major elections, from the presidential level to the county level. All elections were peaceful, reasonable and smooth. This means that under the collective wisdom of the Taiwanese people, democracy has worked rather well here. However, there are lessons for political parties out of the elections this time. Power breeds arrogance and bias. If a politician or political party does not follow the mainstream popular will, the consequence is election failure. Facing the coming of the 21st century, and under the fierce international competition and military threat from China, Taiwan must continue its development in democratic politics, market economy and civil society. The result of yesterday's elections once again proves that democracy unleashes people's potential and dynamism. --------------------------