by Ming-Hsien Lee
March 22 is Taiwan’s presidential election held once every four years. The victory finally is belonging to KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou, who got 60 percent of votes and 2 million votes than the other candidate, Frank Hsieh from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). KMT lost its dominant political power since DPP became the ruling party eight years ago. Now they are back and complete the second-round transition of political power. After the election, in addition to the brief reports written by Taiwan and international press about the election result, bloggers in Taiwan carry on the discussion and debate on democracy development, the performance of the two parties, and relationship between Taiwan and China. Now, let us have a look at some of their opinions:
Democracy:
How wrote a letter to his younger brother [zh]. In the letter, he described the generation differences among family members and how their experience affected their attitudes towards the two presidential candidates. After explaining the social and political context, he wish his brother can understand the coming of a new democratic era marked by the transition of political power form DDP to KMT. Jill0718 also felt that this election indicated Taiwan has reached a most civilized and democratic environment[zh] among Chinese communities. Even though the supporters’ candidate has lost, they were frustrated, they shed tears and complained in the phone on TV call-in programmes, on the second day, people were back to work and shopping as normal. MingWangX shed tears listening to Frank Hsie’s remarks[zh] on his election failure:
é¸èˆ‰æ˜¯æˆ‘個人的失敗,ä¸æ˜¯å°ç£çš„失敗,今天ä¸è¦ç‚ºæˆ‘å“泣,èšé›†æˆ‘們的力é‡ï¼Œç¹¼çºŒç†±æ„›å°ç£ã€‚
This election is my personal failure, not Taiwan’s failure. Don’t cry for me. Let’s gather our strength and continue to love Taiwan.
Annpo is very proud of Taiwan’s success[zh] in democracy:
我 超級驕傲的啊,其實。è€äººå®¶å€‘å¯ä»¥æ¯«ç„¡æ懼地談著他們的想法,å¯ä»¥è¼•é¬†åœ°é¢å°é¸èˆ‰çš„çµæžœï¼Œä¾¿å¯ä»¥æ„Ÿå—åˆ°é€™å€‹æ°‘ä¸»ç’°å¢ƒçš„æ£ å‘發展:包å«ä¸€ä½éžå°ç£å‡ºç”Ÿçš„「外çœäººã€åœ¨æ—¥æ¼¸æœ¬åœŸåŒ–çš„ç¾åœ¨é‚„是被大多數é¸ç¥¨æŽ¥å—,那麼,我們也å¯ä»¥æœŸå¾…未來å°ç£æœƒå‡ºç¾ã€Œæ–°å°ç£äººã€ã€ã€ŒåŽŸä½æ°‘ã€æˆç‚ºæˆ‘們 çš„é ˜å°Žè€…ï¼ŒåŒæ™‚我們也å¯ä»¥é–‹å§‹çœæ€ï¼šæ—群æ„è˜çœŸçš„å˜åœ¨å—Žï¼Ÿæœ‰å¿…è¦å—Žï¼Ÿæˆ‘們也å¯ä»¥é–‹å§‹æ‹’絕政客的分化ã€æ嚇與煽動。
Actually, I feel so proud. The elder generation can talk about their feelings without fear and they can face the result of the election with such a ease. I can feel that the democratic environment has been developing. This time a mainlander born outside Taiwan can be accepted by the majority who are identified with the local. In this vein, we can expect in the future, a “new Taiwanese” or “aborigine” becoming our leader. We can also start to reflect upon the existence of “ethnic consciousness”, whether such awareness is necessary. We can say no to the divide, threat and agitation created by politicians.
Subing saw the coming of media politics era[zh] in Taiwan. A touching speech or spectacular event can win more votes than substantial performance. An inappropriate speech could bring about a disastrous result. VincentChang pointed out that[zh] even though people have changed the political environment by their votes, making society from recession to improvement in the still heavily relies on people’s watch, not just media.
Political Parties:
The pictures are always different for the winners and losers after the election. Although the KMT is very happy for their victory, bloggers have more expectation on them. Chet Baker asked KMT a series of questions[zh], to know how KMT will deal with these problems that DPP had faced in the past few years as ruling party:
國民黨人終於將政權å–回來,完全執政的美夢也終於在馬英ä¹å…ˆç”Ÿçš„身上è½å¯¦ã€‚我們總算å¯ä»¥æª¢é©—,國民黨能ä¸èƒ½ï¼š
「在全çƒåŒ–的惡夢下,éæ¢è²§å¯Œå·®è·æ—¥æ¼¸æ“´å¼µçš„悲劇ã€
「在ä¸åœ‹å´›èµ·çš„事實下,åœæ¢åŽŸç‰©æ–™åƒ¹æ ¼é£†æ¼²çš„亂象ã€
「在ä¸åœ‹å¼·å¤§çš„陰影下,一方é¢æŠµç¦¦ä¸åœ‹çš„利誘與å¨è„…,一方é¢ç¶æŒå°ç£çš„主體性åŠåƒèˆ‡åœ‹éš›æ”¿æ²»äº‹å‹™çš„空間〠「如何在採èªä¸åœ‹å¸æ·çš„情æ³ä¸‹ï¼Œç¶æŒå°ç£è«¸å¤šå¤§å¸çš„競çˆåŠ›ã€
「如何抗拒三通的誘惑與壓力,åŒæ™‚åˆç¶æŒå°ç£çš„經濟實力ã€
「如何有共åŒå¸‚å ´ä¹‹å¯¦ï¼Œä½†åˆç„¡çŸ®åŒ–å°ç£ä¸»æ¬Šä¹‹ç–‘æ…®ã€
「如何讓ä¸è¯æ°‘國與ä¸è¯äººæ°‘共和國平起平å?甚至以ä¸è¯æ°‘國之å義é‡è¿”è¯åˆåœ‹ã€‚ã€
「如何在檢察官ç¨ç«‹è¿½è¨´çš„體系下,建立一個完全廉能的政府ã€éŽåŽ»å…«å¹´ï¼Œåœ‹æ°‘黨å覆攻擊民進黨這些å•é¡Œã€‚所以我在ç‰è‘—看,相信許多人也ç‰è‘—看。
Finally KMT takes the political power back. Mr. Ma has accomplished the dream of being a complete politician with ruling power. Now we can examine if KMT can:
“Eliminating the tragedy of polarization between rich and poor under the nightmare of globalization.”
“Stopping the chaos in skyrocketing prices of raw materials under the rise of China.”
“In the shadow of a strong China, resisting temptations and threats from China on the one hand, and maintaining the mainstay of Taiwan and the space for participating international political affairs on the other.”
“Maintaining the competitiveness of universities in Taiwan after admitting the academic qualification from China.”
“Resisting temptations and pressure on cross-strait direct transport, and keep Taiwan’s economic strength at the same time.”
“Letting Taiwan join the common market with China without dwarfing Taiwan’s sovereignty”
“Making the Republic of China (ROC) on an equal footing with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and even return to the United Nations in name of ROC.”
“Establishing a completely clean government by the Prosecutor-independent prosecution system.”
Over the past eight years, KMT repeatedly attacked DPP with the above set of problems. Now I wait and see, and believe that many people wait and see, too.
Subing wrote a long “open letter for President-elect Ma[zh]”, hoping he can treat Taiwan and all people living on this land well, firmly sustain Taiwan’s sovereignty, don’t be seduced by the immediate short-term economic interests and sacrifice the long-term interests, implement transitional justice and realize social justice. Portnoy hoped that[zh] the new president has the courage to reflect, the strength to resist the coercion of authority, and the heart to be more tolerant on people and things.
In the next four years, you must be happy [zh], Ginciao doubted if Taiwan’s economic problems would, as Mr. Ma said, be resolved soon after he become the president. Munch worries[zh] the victory of KMT will make those old-era-powers come back again after eight-years of hibernation.
In respond to the defeat of DDP, bloggers call for reflection and evaluation:
Tyc[zh] and SpinalCord[zh] criticized DDP for blaming others for its defeat rather than reflecting on its past. gaidhlig [zh] also agreed that DDP should have self-reflection and give up the strategy of “differentiation”, let everyone love Taiwan in their own voices.
「分別心ã€ï¼Œåªæœ‰æ‹¿æŽ‰åˆ†åˆ¥å¿ƒï¼Œæ‰èƒ½çœŸæ£çœ‹è¦‹å½¼æ¤ã€‚ä¸æ˜¯æŒºæ°‘進黨æ‰æ˜¯æŒºå°ç£ï¼Œä¸æ˜¯æŠ•æ°‘進黨æ‰æ˜¯æ„›å°ç£ã€‚å°ç£æ˜¯å¤§å®¶çš„,å¯ä»¥ç”¨å„自的價值來愛å°ç£ã€‚
“Differentiation”, only by giving up differentiation we can then see each other. Not only those vote for DDP love Taiwan, those who don’t vote for DDP also love Taiwan. Taiwan belongs to everyone, we can love Taiwan with our own value.
noorman urged DDP to say goodbye to old politics[zh] and not to use deep green as its fundamental principle. Naoshi, in DDP disappointed Taiwanese[zh], also urged DDP to reflect upon its past 8 years performance as a ruling party. He suggested that the party should have a new generation of leaders. Timo criticized[zh] that DDP has turned Taiwan into a pure symbol for getting votes, now Taiwan is getting back its blood and flesh.
DDP’s supporter phopicking evaluated the party’s defeat[zh] and urged for internal reform rather than waiting for the future possible failure of KMT:
民進黨è¦èªæ¸…楚,ç¾åœ¨å°±æ˜¯è¦ä¸€åˆ‡æ¸é›¶é–‹å§‹åŽ»æƒ³ã€‚è¦å›žåˆ°æ²’有資æºåªèƒ½å…¨çœèµ°é€é€è¾¦æ¼”講的民進黨,è¦æƒ³è¾¦æ³•é 論述,é ä½ çš„æƒ³æ³•èˆ‡è¡Œå‹•åŽ»æ„Ÿå‹•å°ç£äººçš„心。 最é‡è¦çš„是,就ä¸è¦æƒ³èªªè¦æ˜¯åœ‹æ°‘黨åšçš„爛個四年,他一定會åšçš„很爛…這種心態去æ€è€ƒã€‚ è¦æ˜¯è¦ç”¨å°ç£äººæ°‘生活的苦痛去æ›æ°‘進黨的æˆé•·ï¼Œé€™ä¸€ä¸–人撿角啦。 我們å¯ä»¥å¥½å¥½ç›£ç£é¦¬è‹±ä¹æ‰€é–‹å‡ºä¾†çš„支票有沒有兌ç¾ï¼Œå¯æ˜¯æ°‘進黨在æ€è€ƒç–略時,必需放棄馬英ä¹åŸ·æ”¿å¤±æ•—æ‰€ä»¥æœƒè®“ä½ å€‘é‡èµ·çš„這個想法。 我也希望跟我一樣支æŒç¶ è»çš„朋å‹ï¼Œåœ¨ç™¼è¨€æ™‚å¯ä»¥æ€è€ƒé€™ä¸€é»žçš„ä¸åŒã€‚
DDP has to recognized that everything has to be back into zero. We have to return to the old days when the party didn’t have any resource. Our success demands on our talks all over the province. We have to think deep about our discourse, we have to touch people’s heart by our action and thought. More importantly, we shouldn’t wait and see the poor performance of KMT in the coming 4 years…. If the only way to make DPP improve is by making people in Taiwan suffer (from the poor performance of KMT), then we shall fail… We can monitor Ma Ying-jeou and check if he has failed his promise. However, DDP has to give up the thought that the failure of Ma Ying-jeou would be the revival of DDP. I hope that friends who support green army like me can consider such difference in strategy.
Relation with China:
During the election campaign, the greatest difference between two candidates was their attitude towards China and the future relation with China. Wandeln agreed[zh] that Ma Yingjeou would bring changes to the across-strait relation, however, whether such change would increase Taiwan’s position in the international society is still unclear.
國際社會是ç¾å¯¦çš„,也是çŸè¦–的。馬英ä¹æŽ¥ å—一ä¸å„表,在å°ç£å–Šä¸è¯æ°‘國ä¸ç‰æ–¼ä¸è¯äººæ°‘共和國,但是在國際上,就是åªæœ‰ä¸€å€‹ China一個已經由將近全世界 包括è¯åˆåœ‹æ‰¿èªçš„China。沒有人有興趣çžè§£ROCå’ŒPRC有什麼ä¸ä¸€æ¨£ï¼Œé™¤äº†å°ç£å’Œã€Œåœ¨èˆ‡å°ç£è«‡åˆ¤æ™‚çš„ä¸åœ‹ã€ã€‚關起門來和強盜進行談判,會有什麼後 果?未來在國際上,æ怕也åªæœ‰ä¸åœ‹çš„「賞賜ã€ä¹‹ä¸‹ï¼Œæ‰æœ‰å¯èƒ½å¢žåŠ 生å˜çš„空間。
The international society is very realistic and short sighted. Ma Yingjeou accepted the difference expressions of one China. “The Republic of China” is not equal to “The People’s Republic of China” in Taiwan. However, in the international society , there is only one China being recognized by the whole world, including the United Nation. Nobody is interested to know what is the difference between ROC and PRC, except when Taiwan is negotiating with China. What will happen if we negotiate with the robber with a close door? In the future, I am afraid that only if China is kind enough to “give”, Taiwan can have more space in the international world.
Others:
In addition to the comments on election result, Taiwan bloggers also have other perspectives:
The election reminded Sun Qiong-Li of election songs in the past[zh], the bloggers then analyzed the background and elements of those songs.Phopicking and BillyPan want to hold a “warm” party for the netizens[zh] for the friends who support DPP so that they can comfort and cheer up each other.
BillyPan discovered that the rate of votes is very closed to the ratio google search results with the names of two candidates. He therefore concluded that google is an accurate predictor of voting result[zh].
PipperL recorded the progress of vote numbers reported by different press[zh], and discovered some interesting phenomena at different points of time. Yorkxin also performed a similar observation[zh]。
Yeanhan launched a ” nude-photos linking programme for the celebration of victory”[zh], and let netizens share their own nude photos for the celebration of victory. Katejane, who support DPP, also launched a similar programme[zh] in order to condole the defeat of DPP with nudity.
The author would like to thank GV chinese team and Oiwan for data collecting and translation.
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