Taiwan Desperately Needs a Green Legislative Yuan: Problem Two, Sabotage of the Country

Saturday January 05, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

When I say that the pan-blue Legislative Yuan led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) sabotages the country I do not mean that they have guerilla bands blowing up bridges. I speak metaphorically. The KMT's sabotage is of a much more subtle nature; it is a sabotage that is willing to drag the country down as it strives to regain its lost privilege. Despite the pan-blue media hype, Taiwan's problems of today stem from the Legislative Yuan and not from the President. Since the mid-nineties, the controlling power of the country has shifted from the Presidency to the Legislative Yuan, and the Legislative Yuan has always been under the control of the KMT and its pan-blue alliance.

So where is the sabotage? The sabotage lies in the fact of the KMT's priorities, its power and privilege have always been placed before the needs of Taiwan. The KMT would rather see Taiwan go down than lose its legislative privilege and thus its assets and benefits. Even the crass, bottom line motivation as to why the KMT preaches unification is because of personal profit along with a warped ideology. If they are voted out in Taiwan, ultimately they would hope they could ingratiate themselves with the controlling cabal of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Their hope would then be that by bringing Taiwan as a sacrificial lamb to the PRC they will be feted as heroes and be allowed to maintain their privilege as governors of the island. Better to be a Puyi governor appointed by the PRC than to eventually risk being a loser in a free election in a democratic state. Note the way that Lien Chan and James Soong (once long time enemies of the PRC) in a sniveling way went back to China to be feted after they lost their privileged positions on Taiwan.

Need other examples of the KMT's current sabotage? First, examine how it is has continuingly blocked the country's arms budget for three years and only finally passed it just before the session ended. Rather than see anything positive happen under Chen Shui-bian they would rather weaken the country. They further repeatedly without discussion blocked other budgets as well as that of and the appointments to the Control Yuan. In this way the anti-corruption watchdog of the country would be ineffectual.

Most recently look at the upcoming legislative elections. The KMT caused a big uproar over the fact that the Central Election Committee (CEC) ruled that they have a one-step procedure instead of a two-step procedure. The KMT wanted a two-step procedure. Many suspect this was so that they could measure how effective any bribes were concerning the referendum ballots. These ballots would be gotten in the second step. What does this mean? If the KMT would give you a bribe to oppose and negate the referendum on recovering the state assets from the KMT, the best and most observable way to know you carried out its wish is that you would not pick up a ballot in the second step. If you pick up a referendum ballot after getting a bribe, the KMT could wonder why you did so. That is, you could still vote secretly in support of the referendum after taking the bribe. The one-step process would give all ballots to each voter at the same time and the KMT would not be able to monitor the results or know who voted opposite their bribe. When faced with a direct confrontation with the CEC and legal action, the KMT finally accepted a compromise where voters would receive both legislative and referendum ballots before leaving the polling station. Now comes the sabotage.

Almost immediately after compromising on the one-step, two-step difference on voting procedures, the KMT did an about face and told its constituents not to vote at all on both of the referendums. They were telling their constituents not only to oppose the referendum which would make them give up their stolen assets but even to oppose their own referendum on rooting out corruption in the government.

This exposed the KMT's true face. Their original referendum on rooting out corruption was a smokescreen to match the green referendum on the state assets. They easily abandoned it with no compunction. Likewise all the ruckus they raised on the one-step, two-step voting procedures again was a farce; what they really were after was to try to stop voting on the referendum that they return the state assets. These are not the actions of a party that has the good of the country as its first priority; they are the actions of a party whose only aim is to keep the state assets and stay in power. Too many people in the KMT seem to still long for the good old days when they had martial law, control of the media, and a one-party state.

I do not by any means intend to say by the above that green legislators and officials are free of corruption. Many dogs have learned from the wolves and are driven by the same greed and a system and culture of favors that masks corruption. They too must be weeded out. But first the playing field must be leveled; first the state assets must be properly in the hands of the state and not one political party; first we must get rid of politicians who serve their party and not Taiwan. Yes we must get rid of all who would sabotage the state. Until this happens, Taiwan will never achieve its proper identity. For this, Taiwan needs a green Legislative Yuan. Taiwan's economy remains better than that of almost all countries in the world. The problems of Taiwan are not in the economy, the real problems of the country are not caused by the president but by its pan-blue dominated Legislative Yuan.