Another lovely day of sun and rain here, so I took the afternoon off to go biking and blog. Using Google's translation tool, I translated this long interview in the Liberty Times with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng. Wang is Taiwanese, powerful, a political rival of President Ma, and the unofficial head of the southern legislators with their powerful connections to local patronage and faction networks. In the KMT Chairmanship election between Ma and Wang a couple of years ago, the popular vote supported Ma, while party elites supported Wang. The interview is very interesting for its media outlet (the chief Green media outlet in Taiwan), Wang's call for more legislative oversight of the talks with China, and his insistence on preserving the nation's sovereignty. As a Feiren observed when he alerted me to this, the interview is very Lee Teng-hui-ish in its feel and vocabulary. A few polished excerpts:Wang Jin-pyng: In the past month, the rapid progress of cross-strait relations has almost exceeded the progress over the last decade. The two sides can create a win-win situation, promote prosperity and development, and create a stable environment of peace. I am not only optimistic, but also recognize this is a positive and meaningful evolution.*
However, .....I must remind, there are three things that must be paid attention to. First, national sovereignty must be ensured. Second, national security must be protected, and third, the rights of the 23 million people must be protected. If we can master these three principles, then no matter what developments occur between the two sides, it will be relatively easy to build a domestic consensus. From the position of the legislature, these three principles should be the basis for carrying out the necessary oversight of the executive branch.
Especially for the first point, all development of cross-strait consultations and negotiations will inevitably involve sovereignty, and both sides of the issue are so complex, so subtle, that negotiators are often unaware of the sacrifice of sovereignty, and don't realize that it has occurred. This is a very serious matter, I have repeatedly emphasized the need to ensure that these issues are addressed from a position of sovereignty.
Further down...
Moreover, the subject of the Legislative Yuan supervision is the Mainland Affairs Council, not the Straits Exchange Foundation. The content of Legislative Yuan supervision includes: how much power should the Mainland Affairs Council grant the SEF? The scope of the topics discussed? Has [the discussion] exceeded the provisions of the law? All of these are included.
Wang cites several examples of US legislators being involved in key international talks, and talks more about legislative oversight. Further down he hits on a key point that Taiwan must build relations with the US and Japan, not simply leaning to one side, which I take to mean Ma's lean toward China.
Wang: at the time when both sides of the Strait are getting along, more attention should be paid to security, for what individual can guarantee peace? If our self-defense forces are insufficient, this is a very dangerous thing. From this perspective, we should improve relations with mainland China. Relations with the United States and Japan should be strengthened, and we should not lean to any one side. How to use the US-Japan security framework to strengthen Taiwan's security, is something that absolutely cannot be ignored.
An informative interview from a powerful man and possible future presidential candidate should Ma stumble.
*fixed translation error here. Originally it had "not" optimistic which was wrong.
[Taiwan]
Wang Jin-pyng has effectively reaffirmed what many Blue people were thinking: he is a follower of Lee Teng-hui and a covert supporter of Taiwanese independence. He has signed his political future with what he has said, and I bet he will be hit by some scandal in the future that will force him to resign.
ReplyDeleteI think the Wang faction can overpower the Lien faction because Wang's connections with the local factions and gangs, from which he can mobilize support, are far more expansive and organized than the old guard ideologues and Mainlander factions. These are the guys the KMT calls on when it needs bodies in the ballot box or on the streets..or however they choose to make policy. It is the bodies local fations can mobilize that give KMT policy the public image of popular legitimacy.
ReplyDeleteThe European integration process does not involve bringing the democratic countries to submit to the influence of the communist countries. Taiwan’s haste of leaning towards China is an unhealthy reverse-democratic process. There should be no hurry to economic integration, because when the environment permits one day, Taiwan and China can co-operate economically and socially without disrespecting each other’s borders and sovereignty.
ReplyDeleteThe key to a peaceful and sustainable East Asia rests on how to diminish the power of the 2 currently influential parties, the CCP of the PRC and the KMT of the ROC, that continue to run their countries like party-states. This is why negotiations involve the top party officials instead of the state appointed officials.
In Taiwan, a fair and clean election and the division of the electoral districts must undergo serious study to guarantee a healthy legislative body, but in China currently we can only rely on the appearance of a party leader with vision and care for its people, without these 2 conditions, there will be hard time for the people on both sides for yet another century.
Multiple-party politics like Denmark should be supported in Taiwan. Therefore, in the next round of election in Taiwan, people will judge their approval of Ma’s policy towards PRC. A healthy democracy includes multiple-party representation in the legislator; and a healthy judicial system, which Taiwan has never achieved during the 20 years of democratization, and that’s why Ma could get away from his charge.
I think the Wang faction can overpower the Lien faction because Wang's connections with the local factions and gangs, from which he can mobilize support, are far more expansive and organized than the old guard ideologues and Mainlander factions.
ReplyDeleteI think you are a little confused here. Wang and Lien are in the same camp. When Lien's term as chairman was up who want him to stay at the seat? Wang. Who nominated Wang and supported Wang for KMT chairmanship? Lien. Who never formally accepted Ma's offer of honorary chairmanship after the chairman election because he is so pissed? Lien.
Wang Jin-pyng has the support of the benshengren in the KMT, which, believe it or not, outnumber the waishengren. Ma's policies are pretty much doomed to fail later on, so he'll most likely be a presidential candidate in the future.
ReplyDelete