William Lai’s Three Steps to Success

Tuesday, October 22, by Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

The Double Ten National Day ceremonies have been concluded. President William Lai gave his first National Day address; and the dignitaries from abroad presented their congratulations. The perfunctory wining and dining has ended. And not to be outdone, the Peopele’s Republic of China (PRC) showed its displeasure with a simulated blockatde of the island.

So what next?

The future always has its uncertainties, but for Lai, three necessary steps stand out to demand his focus.

First, Lai must regain the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) need for a majority in the Legislative Yuan. He must find a way to win back the votes of the seats that the party recently lost by finding common ground for cooperation.

That path is quite well laid out. The seats were lost when a sizable number of voters grew tired of the unproductive bickering between the two major parties and sought a third voice, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).

Unfortunately, the TPP did not live up to that hope. It not only did not live up to that hope, but it is now dead in the water.

For those who follow Taiwan politics closely, the TPP was already in danger after the last election. In that election it failed to win any local legislative seats; instead it had only achieved eight legislator at large positions. And if that was not bad enough, those legislators quickly proved to be unproductive.

Instead of coming up with programs that could justify why voters sought a third party, they simply became “running dogs” of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taiwan was back in its past quagmire.

Such actions by the TPP proved to be a betrayal, especially the young. They had sought a new voice to counter the unproductive major parties. It did not happen.

Further, now that the TPP leader, Ko Wen-je, faces charges of corruption, those that hoped for change must look elsewhere. The TPP is dead in the water; it has no future. Its legislators much choose which major party they will side with for future change.

Winning their support presents a clear challenge but also a golden opportunity for the DPP to regain what it lost. It won’t be easy, but it is the needed direction and focus that Lai must take internally If he is to accomplish anything significant as president. Without a majority in the legislature. It cannot be done.

Next, Lai must look outward to Taiwan’s regional needs. Here he must seek to strengthen Taiwan’s alliances particularly with the Philippines and Japan.

Any and all regional alliances can be beneficial, but those with the Philippines and Japan are crucial. These two nations guard Taiwan’s flanks.

Across the Taiwan Strait, the PRC continues with its hegemonic ambitions; most recently in the South China Sea it has upped its efforts in harassing the Philippines.

Taiwan stands as the lynch pin between the South and East China Seas; it also stands between China’s direct route to the Pacific. That route must pass between Taiwan and the Philippines or Taiwan and Japan,

This mutual need must be obvious to all three.

The Philippines has constantly had its sovereignty challenged by the PRC in the South China Sea; It needs a supportive neighbor. And Japan needs a free Taiwan Strait so that its flow of trade goods, which pass through the South China Sea are not interrupted.

Japan has already begun promoting a type of Asian NATO to counter China, and the Philippines have most recently gone as far as to seek an alliance with South Korea.

The needs are there. A free and democratic Taiwan provides the regional stability, and Lai can easily build on this base for the safety of Taiwan.

With control of the legislature and the above regional stability, Lai can then focus on other pressing domestic challenges.

From industry, to banking to military conscription, Lai has a laundry list of challenges to choose from. Many of course are problems, not only for Taiwan but also the rest of the world.

One problem that Taiwan has long recognized is that of its aging population. This is not only a national issue; it is one that is increasingly gaining world-wide attention. In this matter, Japan, Taiwan’s immediate neighbor is even in more dire straits.

What makes aging a natural for Taiwan is that it is not an isolated issue. Its solution involves other issues like the economy. To solve the aging problem the younger workforce must be developed and strong enough to sustain a greater number at the top. This in turn, involves the matter of bringing in immigrant workers from surrounding nations.

These three steps might seem simple but they are in truth, formidable challenges. If Lai can solve them, he would be guaranteed success.