the tide has turned ...

China Post editorial: It's time for the opposition party to get onboard

Among all the predictable “good work” cheers from Taiwan's blue camp and “must do better” jibes from the green camp that marked the completion of President Ma Ying-jeou's first twelve months in office, perhaps the most significant achievement largely slipped beneath the radar.

This was the paradigm shift in relations with the People's Republic of China that has taken place under Ma's leadership, which has been fuelled by the will of society at large.

There are two reasons why this shift warrants the over-worked adjective “paradigm.” First, while this change can be moderated by future administrations, it cannot be easily reversed. Second, although the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has yet to officially acknowledge it, more and more individuals from the ranks of Taiwan's opposition are getting on board.

That the DPP must come up with some positive ideas on cross-strait exchanges, and do so soon, is important, not just for the party but for the whole of society. An effective and imaginative opposition is an absolute necessity for the proper functioning of democracy.

Unfortunately, for the present, the DPP is mired in a swamp of its own making, with its leaders, activists and grassroots all divided into two distinct factions. One supports their beleaguered former President Chen Shui-bian, the other seeks to close that particular chapter and move forward.

The party is even more split on the issue of cross-strait exchanges. Some, like Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu, have taken the pragmatic route to Beijing and, while there, taken the opportunity to air their political opinions. Similarly, former Vice President Lu Hsiu-lien earlier this month called on her party to behave like a responsible opposition party and embrace a more open attitude to cross-strait exchanges. Taiwan has entered a new era of cross-strait exchange and there have been big changes in domestic affairs, foreign affairs, the economy and culture, she noted. As a responsible opposition party, the DPP should not close its door to opportunities, she added.

Some, more nervous about their power bases, are sitting on the fence until DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen decides which way the wind is blowing.

For yet a third group, the words and actions of Lu, Chen and even Tsai represent a selling out of principle. Too many in the DPP, both grassroots members and their political figureheads, still act out of ideological rather than pragmatic concerns, and want nothing to do with improved cross-strait relations.

But their day is gone. Most mainstream DPP opinion is beginning to face reality.

Earlier this month a pro-independence newspaper ran an opinion piece acknowledging that Taiwan must deal with China. The real problem, it said, was the way Taiwan dealt with China. The pan-green camp, it urged, should find a roadmap that's different from President Ma's and the KMT's, implying that by virtue of being different, it would necessarily be better.

The piece argued for, among other things, practical measures that trample over Taiwanese people's individual rights. For example, it called on the DPP to disallow Taiwanese politicians from visiting China and worshiping their ancestors. This, it argued, would break China's effort to nationalize Taiwan and paint the island as a progeny of China.

This suggestion is a non-starter since, if there is one thing Taiwanese people value over their political opinions, it is their religious ones. And at the top of the religious pecking order is ancestral worship. If Taiwan wants to pay more than lip service to freedom of religious expression, then denying anyone, politician or otherwise, the right to pay his or her respects at the ancestral tomb is a clear violation of personal freedom championed by the DPP.

Similarly impractical is the suggestion to prevent its own party members who have “vested interests” in China from visiting. This smacks of the ultra-leftist belief that anyone with business interests should automatically be treated with suspicion. With China's increased clout on the world stage, it is not just Taiwanese people who have vested interests there. And bearing in mind Taiwan's historic ties, as well as geographic factors and economic necessities, this head-in-the-sand stance is simply naive.

What should be called for in ROC officials' dealings with the PRC is transparency in policymaking and pragmatic execution, prerequisites to strengthening any country's democratic system.

Despite the opposition's lack of constructive ideas, the tone is clear. The tide has turned and the ship has sailed. How long will it be until the DPP acknowledges and deals with the fact that its supporters are already onboard? Taiwan will move forward with or without the DPP.