Idealism will be the Death of Taiwan’s Democracy
Taiwanese pro-independence factions, with their tactics opposing President Tsai, have become the best friend of the CCP
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” –Winston Churchill
Five-time Grammy winner Janet Jackson released “Got ’Til It’s Gone” in 1997. This song is about not appreciating someone until they are no longer in our life. Perhaps Ms. Jackson could’ve been dedicating that song to those who oppose President Tsai Ing-wen — mainly Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) elders and other pro-independence factions.
Since losing in the 9-in-1 election last November, questions have been raised by DPP elders about President Tsai’s leadership. In an open letter to President Tsai, several prominent figures in the DPP, such as former Presidential Office advisors Peng Ming-Min and Wu Li-Pei, urged Tsai not to run in next year’s presidential election, citing her for allegedly failing the Taiwanese electorate. The main question that should be asked: What could’ve started this political standoff between Tsai and factions within the pan-green camp?
One could argue that these pro-independent factions are disappointed in Tsai for not pushing their ideological agenda. In Pan-Green circles, President Tsai is not considered to be an ideologue. During last year’s election cycle, Tsai was heavily criticized for not publicly endorsing a referendum which would’ve changed the Chinese Taipei Olympic team name to “Taiwan”. However, that name-changing referendum ended up being defeated 52.3 to 43.1 percent.
Pro-independent groups also accused Tsai for kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by not doing enough to safeguard Taiwanese sovereignty. Some of these groups even accused Tsai of turning the DPP into the “Taiwanese Chinese Nationalist Party” and losing the so-called “Taiwanese spirit”.
On the contrary, President Tsai has been on the front lines defending Taiwan’s national interest against the CCP. President Tsai’s resolve was evident when she strongly declined to accept the One Country Two Systems (1C2S). This false “democratic” system, where everything is controlled by the Chinese regime, has self-determination stripped away from those subjugated under the 1C2S framework.
Tsai has done extremely well on countering Dictator Xi Jinping’s ultra-Han chauvinism, revisionist, and annexation ambitions. For those who still believe Tsai has not exerted efforts safeguarding the nation, perhaps they’re too blinded by their own ideology to see that Tsai has always prioritized Taiwanese interests.
It’s also the sad fact that Tsai is a victim of misogyny. Elder male DPP figures have long been skeptical of female politicians having leadership roles in the party. Koo Hwang-Ming, a prominent DPP figure, urged Tsai to step down from office and transfer power to the Premier, so that she could be acknowledged as a “mother figure for the country”. What does Koo mean by being a “mother figure” for the country? He’s blatantly telling President Tsai to go back to Yonghe (where Tsai resided before becoming president) and leave administration duties to senior male officials until a new president is sworn in next year.
It is surprising that Koo and others are questioning President Tsai’s leadership. Have they forgotten what kind of mess the DPP was in after the Chen Administration? As the DPP Chairwoman, she became the driving force bringing the party out of political uncertainty to become the ruling party in Taiwan. Not only did her leadership win the presidency, but also led to a DDP first in its thirty year history, becoming the majority party in the Legislative Yuan.
The on-going feud between Tsai and pro-independence factions has come to a tragic point when individuals deliberately spread false information to slander the president. Dennis Peng, a well-known political talk show host for Formosan Television, on numerous occasions has spread fake news against Tsai. Peng and commentator Cao Chang-Qing, both questioned whether or not Tsai graduated from her alma mater, the London School of Economics and Political Science. The question about Tsai’s academic credentials was first mentioned during the DPP presidential primary between Tsai and former Premier Lai Ching-Te. Both Peng and Cao alleged that since there’s no public record of the dissertation (and most academic dissertations are not public), it means Tsai fabricated her academic achievements. Although the LSE congratulated Tsai on winning the presidency via their official website, there is still an unfounded conspiracy theory that Foreign Minister Joseph Wu was Tsai’s ghost writer for her dissertation. To those familiar with American politics, Taiwan’s “Thesis-gate” is strikingly similar to the Birther movement, in which then-private citizen Donald Trump alleged that then-President Barack Obama wasn’t a natural-born US citizen.
The tactics used by Peng and others to smear President Tsai are the exact methods the Chinese Communist Party uses to destabilize Taiwanese society. Misinformation campaigns are a CCP specialty. The Chinese regime works to change Taiwanese perception by actively disseminating unfounded rumors through cyber armies and content farms, anticipating that Taiwanese media report it as “credible” news. By using the same tactics that the CCP uses to destabilize Taiwan, Peng and other pro-independence individuals are in fact doing the bidding of the Communist regime.
Groups opposing Tsai are ideologically blinded by their own ambitions to push a certain agenda. They’re willing to bring down a President if they think it means their goals will be achieved. In an opinionated piece written by professor Weng (翁達瑞) for Upmedia, he explained the deep-green faction’s way of thinking in regards to Tsai Ing-wen:
“The elder Pro-independent believes Tsai Ing-wen being re-elected won’t help cultivate Taiwanese Identity, whereas her losing would awaken Taiwan Identity within younger people. Those who supported Lai Ching-Te has a justifiable reason for wanting to see President Tsai lose. They believe Taiwanese identity was at its highest during the Ma Ying-Jeou Administration. Pro-China sentiment gradually grew since Tsai Ing-wen took office. A Tsai Ing-wen re-election would only ignite pro-unification forces in Taiwan. Taiwanese Identity would only increase should there be another transition of power from the DPP to the KMT. “
“老獨男們最新的說詞，就是蔡英文的連任無助於台灣主體意識的提升。相反的，蔡英文的敗選會刺激年輕世代的覺醒，反而可提升台灣的主體意識。由於美中兩大強權的對峙，台灣並無立即的主權危機。就算國民黨贏得2020，也無法輕易出賣台灣主權。換句話說，挺賴的老獨男樂見蔡的敗選，而且有一套自圓其說的邏輯。他們認為台灣的主體意識在馬英九任內達到高點。蔡英文上任之後，親中的聲量不降反升。因此，蔡英文的連任會進一步激發統派勢力的抬頭。再一次的政黨輪替，反而有助於台灣主體意識的覺醒
Unity is critical for the pan-green coalition. Factionalism, fake news, and ideological agendas will be nail in the coffin of Taiwanese Democracy. In her first term as President, Tsai Ing-wen’s achievements are clear. U.S. Taiwan relations are at their best since the cut of diplomatic ties in 1979; She worked to implement transitional justice by setting up a committee to retrieve property stolen by the Kuomintang during the White Terror era, and she worked to legalize gay marriage, just to name a few. These milestones should be celebrated by the deep pan-green faction.
If Kuomintang Presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu were to win next year’s election, everything President Tsai has achieved would be for naught. Taiwan’s fate could be similar to Hong Kong’s should a pro-China president such as Han were to step foot into the Presidential Office.
President Tsai once said: “For Taiwanese voters, the 2020 Presidential election will represent a choice of value system and way of life, especially the sustainability of democracy and freedom.” The choices are simple: preserve a government that will continue to safeguard Taiwanese sovereignty, integrity, and democracy; or choose a path that both Han Kuo-yu and Hon Hai Precision founder Terry Gou are in favor of, Taiwan being assimilated into the Chinese economy, eventually leading to Taiwan being annexed and colonized as a Special Administration Region under the control of the CCP.
Choose wisely, deep green faction. Which side of history will you be on?
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