In light of the recent elections of the USA and those coming up in a few days here in Taiwan, I thought I’d start my blog back up with an interesting overview of Taiwan politics.
Now I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a political junkie; however, I do find the subject of politics to be fascinating. I quite enjoy the ‘spin’ each party provides to its constituents, trying to convince huge masses of the population that, despite how their constituents may be violently divided, their political party can reach them all (read…in trying to be all things to all people, the end result is nothing to no one).
Much like any election, this is a busy and NOISY time in Taiwan. To give you some context, like the USA, Taiwan has two primary political parties, the Blue Party (KMT) and the Green Party (DPP). The Blue Party makes up about 71% of the registered voters in Taiwan and is the current party in rule. The Green Party makes up about 27% of registered voters and ruled Taiwan from 2000 to 2008. The primary difference in these parties is that the Blue Party represents a softer view on unification with China. The Green Party, on the other hand, openly opposes any unification with China and currently leads the charge for an internationally-recognized independent Taiwan.
Interestingly enough, the Blue Party is the ORIGINAL political party of Taiwan. This is Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s political party, and the one who got Taiwan on the map. While Dr. Sun Ya-Sen preached Democracy (as well as Nationalism and People’s Livelihoods), Taiwan’s political history is arguably not as democratic as I originally thought. It would appear that under Chian Kai Shek, the KMT was the ONLY ruling party until the year 2000 when the first true democratic election for the Presidency was held! (Incidentally, the KMT lost that election and didn't win it back until 2008)
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| One can't really see over ANY bridges in TPE right now as they're all full of campaign flags! |
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| Chen Shui Ban (Ex-President) is arrested for corruption |
Much like the USA, the political atmosphere in Taiwan is full of corruption, scandals, and ‘mud-slinging’ (so I hear). The DPP accuses the KMT of hiding assets and of using its influence on campaigns both in Taiwan and in China. The DPP also accuses China of assisting the KMT to win each election as the KMT's political views are softer towards relations with China. Conversely, the KMT accuses the DPP of accepting bribes. In fact, the ex-President of Taiwan (who was a member of the DPP) was sentenced to 19 years in prison for accepting more than $20million USD in bribes (land purchase scandals, etc). Regarding most of the mud-slinging; however, thankfully for me, my Chinese has not yet reached a level where I can understand the rhetoric, so it goes right past me. This is one rare time I am thankful that my language abilities are limited!
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| My personal favorite campaign... Superman (although hard to tell in this pic!) |
Campaigning here in Taiwan is definitely different than the USA. For one, there are LIFE-size posters on all the high-rises. Next, there are posters on every bus, flags on every bridge, every taxi…EVERYWHERE! Probably the most annoying thing about the political campaigning for me are the campaign cars. In order to get their message out, candidates hire people to drive with loud-speakers on top of their cars. These loud speakers blast recorded messages about the candidate. Apparently they’re afraid that people aren’t watching TV or the internet! Can you imagine it’s 9pm, you’re at home quietly reading and….a car with some Chinese political rhetoric comes droning by…ugh…it’s driving me a bit nuts. I’ll be quite happy when it’s all done.
For all of the campaigning, the thing I find the most different from the USA are the values which divide each party. Whereas the USA may claim conservative vs. progressive which one can interpret along fiscal or social lines, it’s pretty clear-cut in Taiwan from what I can see. It seems that most people here are polarized by how closely aligned Taiwan should be with China. I find it odd that it’s not moral values nor fiscal policy that are dividing people…but mostly how independent should Taiwan be, if at all? Of course, with China’s economic and military power, I find it rather strange that Taiwan is having this discussion. With Taiwan’s economy in the tank and China becoming more of a mover and a shaker…I find the whole discussion rather odd. Then again, I haven’t grown up here and perhaps am far too removed to truly understand the heart of the matter.
Times like these I’m reminded how different our cultures really are. It’s not to say that one is good at the sacrifice of the other…it is truly just that…different. Here’s to November 28…the day AFTER the elections, when I can enjoy the noise level reaching its normal decibel level (which is still a far cry higher than I’d prefer but hey, this IS city life, isn’t it?).
