Shen Fu-hsiung's Dream of a Prosperous Taiwan

Shen Fu-hsiung's Dream of a Prosperous Taiwan
United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 21, 2007

Confronted with an increasingly ennervated Taiwan, Shen Fu-hsiung said he hoped Taiwan would experience prosperity once again. He suggested that if the Blue camp won over 60% of the legislative seats, Green camp voters should not vote for Frank Hsieh in the presidential race, in order to avoid a recurrence of political deadlock, a situation in which one party controls the Executive while another controls the Legislature.

Shen Fu-hsiung's Dream of a Prosperous Taiwan is something many on Taiwan no longer dare hope for. Taiwan's political dilemma has left many people bereft of hope for a rosy future. But his dream of prosperity is not an irrelevant fantasy. It suggests a way out of Taiwan's political deadlock. Only if this deadlock is broken, can Taiwan's economic engine be restarted.

From the perspective of political theory, Shen Fu-hsiung's hope that the power of the Executive and the Legislature will be held by the same political party, is not entirely consistent with the principle of checks and balances. His former comrades in the Democratic Progressive Party have severely criticized him for this. But from a realpolitik perspective, Shen Fu-hsiung's proposed "exception to the rule" is the result of his understanding that the system of checks and balances has been so thoroughly undermined by politicians, democracy no longer functions. His solution may appear extreme and simplistic. But it reveals this "lone wolf's" detached eye and deep concern for Taiwan's political health.

The implementation of a system of checks and balances on Taiwan, has led to some eye-opening moments. The Democratic Progressive Party championed high-minded ideals before it came to office. Its political posture reflected a reaction to the Kuomintang's attitude back then. The existence of a political opposition provided checks and balances on the ruling party, and advanced democracy. When Chen Shui-bian first took office, the composition of his cabinet and his so-called New Centrist Path, approximated attempts to share power. But within six months, it gave up any such pretense. It arrogated all power to itself, and began acting unilaterally. The Democratic Progressive Party resorted to cut-throat tactics and a scorched earth strategy. It had no qualms about destroying the people's livelihood and dividing Taiwan's society, for partisan political benefit. Its perversion of party politics cast a pall over Taiwan's democracy.

We can now see that the decline of the ROC's system of checks and balances was not due to opposition party resistance, but to ruling party arrogance and bigotry. The DPP was both incapable of ruling the nation and unwilling to accept outside advice. It chose to ignore the complaints of the multitudes, rather than to yield even an inch. Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Wang To criticized Shen Fu-hsiung. He said that Taiwan's problem was that the KMT/PFP coalition, which constituted a majority in the legislature, was unwilling to behave like a loyal opposition party. This is typical Democratic Progressive Party buck-passing. When has the Democratic Progressive Party ever behaved like a loyal opposition party? The minority Chen regime has never accorded the slightest respect to the majority in the legislature. The ruling DPP is unethical, incompetent, and intolerant. It brooks no dissent from ordinary citizens. When have the people ever figured in its calculations? The Democratic Progressive Party has the temerity to accuse the Blue camp of not being a "mature opposition party." When has the DPP ever behaved like a "mature ruling party?"

Shen Fu-hsiung's Dream of a Prosperous Taiwan sounds remote and impossible, but he has written a prescription that can dispell a myth about democracy. The fact is, a political authority that will not allow its power to be checked, is the source of political disaster. For ROC voters, this reminder has a kind of special significance. Because over the years, a kind of self-regulating mechanism has appeared in the ROC's elections. If one camp scores a major political victory this time, the next time swing voters shift their support to the opposite camp. This kind of pendulum effect ensures that a political party which wins will not let success go to its head. Shen Fu-hsiung is now reminding people that this pendulum effect has led to political deadlock and wheel-spinning. Everyone must reject this pendulum effect. Only then can we liberate Taiwan's democracy from the curse of political deadlock.

Taiwan's political polarization, is unquestionably more complex than Shen Fu-hsiung's simple diagnosis. In Shen Fu-hsiung's vision of party politics, the ruling regime and the political opposition have room for compromise, and share a common national objective. But the Democratic Progressive Party makes partisan politics a showdown over reunification vs. independence. Domestic opposition is turned into undying enmity between "Us" and "Them." What room is there for reconciliation between Blue and Green given the DPP's attitude? Chen Shui-bian railed, "The Pacific Ocean doesn't have a lid on it, those who gripe about Taiwan can swim to [mainland] China!" Democracy has been reduced to Mobocracy. The ruling authorities no longer feel any constraints whatsoever. Talk of a system of checks and balances is irrelevant.

Shen Fu-hsiung resigned from his political party at the age of 70. Yet he dreams of a prosperous Taiwan. Is he courageous, or merely naive? The final answer does not depend on the strength of Shen Fu-hsiung's proposal, but on how many people still cling to hope for a prosperous Taiwan. The final answer depends on whether the people of Taiwan can divest themselves of their deeply entrenched cynicism.

沈富雄的盛世想像和台灣的政治解方
【聯合報╱社論】
2007.11.21 03:20 am

面對日漸委頓的台灣，沈富雄宣稱他「希望看到台灣盛世」。他提供的解方是：若藍軍贏得六成以上立委席次，他將呼籲「總統不能選謝長廷」，以免再陷入朝小野大的覆轍。

沈富雄的「台灣盛世夢」，恐怕是許多台灣人民想都不敢想望的事，因為台灣的政局，早已讓人失去美好想像的能力。但這個盛世想像，倒不純然是個不著邊際的幻想，因為它對台灣民主僵局提出了一個「解咒」錦囊：五五波的對峙態勢必須打破，台灣的引擎才有重新發動的可能。

從政治理論面看，沈富雄希望行政權和立法權能同歸一黨的說法，其實並不符合民主政治鼓勵制衡的原理，這也是他昔日的民進黨同志對他批評最厲的地方。但從實務面看，沈富雄之所以提出如此「破格」的見解，正是洞悉了制衡理論在現實上已被政客玩弄殆盡，甚至已達使民主政治無法運作之地步；也正因為如此，他的解方看來或許太過簡單而直接，卻透顯了這位「政治孤鳥」對台灣政治的冷眼和苦心。

事實上，制衡理論在台灣政治上的實踐，確曾有過令人刮目和感動的時刻；那是在民進黨懷抱理想的在野年代，相應於當時國民黨對把持權力的心虛或戒懼，因而構成了相當程度的朝野平衡，推促了民主的前進。即使在陳水扁就任之初，他的內閣組成及所謂的新中間路線，似仍試圖表達權力分享和共治的理念；但不及半載，旋即全盤放棄，走向獨攬、獨斷的偏鋒。甚至，民進黨時常運用割喉及焦土戰略，不惜毀棄民生經濟，撕裂台灣社會，只為達成其本黨的政治利益。至此，不僅政黨政治變形走樣，台灣民主也形同塗炭。

從這個過程看，台灣民主制衡精神的淪落，問題不在在野黨的杯葛，而在執政黨的傲慢和偏見，既拙於施政治國，卻又吝於接受不同的意見，寧可承受千夫所指也要硬拗到底。民進黨立委王拓批評沈富雄說，台灣朝小野大的問題，全出在國親不願扮演「忠誠的反對黨」；這是最典型的民進黨推諉策略。反過來看，民進黨又何曾善盡「忠誠執政黨」的責任？且不說「朝小」的扁政府從來不將「野大」的反對黨放在眼裡，它失德失政卻又不容輿論批評、不許百姓嗆聲，它眼裡還有人民嗎？民進黨罵藍營是「不成熟的反對黨」，它自己何曾像個「成熟的執政黨」？

沈富雄的台灣盛世夢，聽起來遙不可及，但他開出的解咒處方箋，主要就是在戳破這層民主假象：不願接受任何節制的權力，才是民主災難之源。這項提醒，對台灣選民而言，也有一種特別切顯的意義。因為多年來，台灣選舉已出現一種自動平衡的功能：上次選舉某一陣營大勝，下次選舉中間選民會移向另一陣營；這種鐘擺效用，讓一次獲勝的政黨不致得意忘形。現在，沈富雄要提醒的是：規律的擺盪如果已造成了台灣僵持及內耗不前，那麼大家必須合力打破這個鐘擺規律，才能解除台灣民主的內耗魔咒。

不可諱言，台灣的政治對立，其實遠比沈富雄診斷的病情還要複雜許多。在沈富雄的政黨政治想像中，朝野雙方還能有妥協餘地，以及彼此共同的國家目標；但民進黨將政黨競爭上綱為統獨對峙，「內部矛盾」已變質為「敵我關係」，藍綠還有和解、共生的餘地？更何況，當陳水扁膽敢對人民喊出「太平洋沒有加蓋」、「嫌台灣的人游出去」，民主實已淪為個人民粹的填塞物；當權力已毫無界限可言，再談什麼制度、談什麼尊重，都是太奢侈的事了！

在年屆七十之齡選擇退黨，還念念不忘做一個台灣盛世夢，沈富雄究竟是勇敢，還是天真？最後的答案，其實不在沈富雄個人的主張有多強烈，而在對台灣盛世仍懷有渴望的人民有多少。而要挑戰的，則是台灣人民憤世嫉俗的深度。