The President Who Instigates Democratic Civil War
The Storm Media Editorial, June 17, 2024
Lai Ching-te is likely the first elected president who has disappointed people in less than a month of taking office. His understanding of democracy is narrow, and he lacks the initiative to act on his proclaimed slogan of "uniting the country." Despite having control of the administration, he lacks the political ability to resolve the disputes between the ruling and opposition parties through the system, which has resulted in entanglement over the "parliamentary reform" bill from the legislature to the streets during this past month.
As chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai issued a "mobilization order" while claiming that it was "not a political confrontation or attack, and not about creating conflict and opposition." However, he nominated Puma Shen for legislator-at-large, who proposed monitoring the "high-risk group of the Fifth Column." Shen also made a far-fetched statement that after the parliamentary reform bill is passed, blue and white camp legislators could propose a high-speed rail from Beijing to Taipei, leading to mockery about his "mental state." He later retracted his statement, asking if it wasn’t clear that it was just an example. If Shen’s logic is acceptable, then can opposition party legislators also make such "examples"? Shen's inflammatory examples, which heightened social tensions, are themselves the reason for the chaos in Taiwan, making him the true "Fifth Column." Shen, who continuously attacks Beijing and opposition party legislators under the guise of a "cognitive warfare" expert, is actually engaging in a "propaganda war" that confuses and harms Taiwan's democracy and society, with no real effect on "opposing communism and resisting China." He has become a symbol of the mockery of Taiwan's democracy, a title bestowed upon him by Lai, making Legislator Shen’s jokes Lai’s jokes.
The DPP, a party that rose to prominence by opposing the Kuomintang's (KMT) authoritarianism, originally aimed to strengthen the powers of the legislative bodies in the provincial council and the Legislative Yuan, with the goal of truly balancing and supervising executive power. It's unfortunate that President Lai, who previously served as a National Assembly representative and a legislator, aspires to be president yet lacks a proper understanding of "democracy." Otherwise, the DPP under his leadership would not be using "opposition to expand parliamentary powers" as a rallying cry. Even after more than thirty years of democratization, Taiwan's democratic parliament still has incomplete powers, with the lack of full investigative authority being the most evident example.
President Lai encourages "public opinion" to challenge the Legislative Yuan, the highest legislative body. This is a typical example of populism. He claims it is "building a bridge for social dialogue and communication," which, if not hypocritical, is ignorant. Which statement from the DPP's rhetoric is not an attack, and a slanderous one at that? The DPP has constructed a "green bridge" for attacking the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP). How can it expect the KMT and the TPP not to build their own bridges to explain their reasons for pushing for parliamentary reform? The DPP has supporters, but does the KMT and the TPP not have supporters as well? President Lai's negligence or political incompetence has made parliamentary reform a target of a train collision in a partisan game. He sounded the rallying call less than a month after taking office. Is it too soon? Is the hostility coming too quickly?
During his time in office, even though President Lee Teng-hui enjoyed nearly 60 percent public support, he still considered the political demands of the DPP (then an opposition party). When elected president, Chen Shui-bian faced a large opposition majority and visited KMT "elders" and invited meetings with the leaders of the KMT and the People First Party (PFP), although high-level dialogues failed due to the suspension of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. When Ma Ying-jeou was president, he debated then-DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen over the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) controversy. The Sunflower Movement and former DPP Chairman Lin Yi-hsiung's subsequent hunger strike halted the cross-strait service trade agreement and shelved the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project. Perhaps the Sunflower Movement made the DPP taste victory and think it was their "path to power," but they have forgotten the shift in power today. Then-President Tsai, although not holding high-level dialogues, has used "national conferences" to beautify the façade, whether for pension reform or judicial reform. If President Lai is not pretending, then he is unaware of what it means to "unify the country" as president.
In fact, as early as four months before he took office, there were countless suggestions for him to meet with opposition leaders to respond to the new parliament where no single party holds a majority. In the end, then-President Tsai did half of this by meeting with Ko Wen-je, but Lai remained indifferent. At the time, many commentators "understood" his cautiousness and reluctance to take any actions that might upset Tsai in her final days as president. Since taking office, he has not shown any concrete ideas or actions regarding the new political landscape. The list of National Communications Council (NCC) commissioners returned by the Legislative Yuan has not been adjusted. The list of Examination Yuan members seems comprehensive, but this was already arranged during then-President Tsaien tenure with then-Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim leading the review committee, so the credit goes to Hsiao, not Lai. What Lai has done is approve the Executive Yuan's request for a legislative review of the parliamentary reform bill and then issue a "mobilization order" for street propaganda to the party's central committee, saying "we must not lose."
Whether the Executive Yuan's request for reconsideration or the subsequent constitutional interpretation request is part of the constitutional process, the former only allows legislators to agree or disagree, while the latter leaves no room for legislators to speak, requiring them to await the constitutional court's ruling. When the Legislative Yuan passed the bill in the third reading, the DPP mobilized crowds to surround the Legislative Yuan. After street propaganda for the Executive Yuan's reconsideration, the DPP still plans to surround the Legislative Yuan. When the Constitutional Court issues its ruling, will they also surround the Judicial Yuan?
Regarding the legislative reform bill, which stimulates public antagonism, the TPP proposed a televised debate, but the DPP refused. DPP whip Ker Chien-ming criticized, saying, "The battlefield for the reconsideration bill is in the Legislative Yuan, not a private court." A televised debate is the simplest and most cost-effective way to reduce social mobilization. If a televised debate on the reconsideration bill is considered a private court, what then is a televised debate during a presidential campaign?
Legislative reform was hard-won, and there are clear-headed people within the DPP. Unfortunately, President Lai is deeply entangled in Legislator Shen’s cognitive warfare and unable to extricate himself, missing the historical opportunity to deepen democracy through parliamentary reform. The tug-of-war over legislative reform, from reconsideration bills to constitutional interpretation requests, may last another year or two. Is it worth it? Is this what Lai aims to achieve in his first year as president?