A March Not Rooted in Self-Pity?

A March Not Rooted in Self-Pity?
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 14, 2009

The DPP got its start on the streets. It has no other strengths. All it knows is how to butt heads with the system. To its embarrassment, 20 years after the party was founded, the political situation has changed. Most embarrassing of all, this 20 year period includes eight years of Democratic Progressive Party rule. Yet its eight years in power failed to teach the DPP the importance of obeying the law. The DPP often forgets that when it butts heads with the system, the DPP was at one time the defender of the system.

For politicians to suffer from amnesia is not surprising. For the sake of power, they must change with the political winds. They must always weave some sort of rationale to convince themselves they are always right, and their opponents are always wrong. Unfortunately for them, the public's memory is better than theirs. What they did and what they said, the public remembers. It has been nearly a year since the second change in ruling parties. On the eve of the first anniversary of the Ma/Liu government's inauguration, the Democratic Progressive Party is again taking to the streets. It is organizing a May 17 "Protest Ma, Defend Taiwan March." As the opposition party, opposition to the party in power is perfectly normal. The Democratic Progressive Party has called for full public mobilization. It has set quotas for the marchers, and quotas for the tour buses, lest the public forget the Democratic Progressive Party aptitude at "remaking the world."

This is the first street demonstration launched by the DPP since it lost power. The Democratic Progressive Party has also produced two promotional videos. The first asks people whether they had enough to eat? It mocks the Ma administration for the past year's economic recession. Unfortunately for the DPP, the stock market refused to cooperate. It rose eight days in a row. The second video features former DPP Chairman Huang Hsing-chieh. He called for the masses to summon their past enthusiasm. Twenty years ago he strenuously protested the "ten thousand year parliament." He won support for direct presidential elections. But people were unmoved. Without these two films, people might not have been so strongly reminded of how far the DPP degenerated once it tasted power. It might not have felt such anguish over the eight years Taiwan lost as a result of Democratic Progressive Party misrule.

The Democratic Progressive Party ruled for eight years. It trumpeted its defense of "Taiwan's sovereignty." Meanwhile, the ROC found itself in dire diplomatic straits. Cross-Strait relations became increasingly tense. We were unable to join the WHO. We even became known in the international community as a troublemaker. The DPP government built "international airports" in cities and counties all over the island. These airports soon resembled ghost towns. The DPP's talk of doubling tourism became an empty boast. Its "Two Trillion, Twin Stars" plan was a day late and a dollar short. In the end it was only the Ma administration's mainland policy that brought Taiwan and foreign capital back to the island, and Mainland tourists to Taiwan to boost spending. The Democratic Progressive Party is castigating the Ma administration for "selling out Taiwan" even as the ROC is preparing to attend the WHA as an observer.

The Democratic Progressive Party ruled for eight years. It shouted empty "wage war on behalf of the economy" slogans for eight years. In the end the only war it waged was on behalf of its own ideology. Now that it is again out of power, the Democratic Progressive Party has reverted to peddling its false idol of Taiwan independence. It is attempting to delude the public on Taiwan. DPP officials denounce the Ma administration for recognizing Mainland academic credentials, even as their own spouses work toward degrees at Mainland universities. DPP officials obstruct the opening of cross-strait economic and trade, even as its own officials conduct business on the Mainland. DPP officials shout themselves hoarse denouncing the Parade and Assembly Law as a relic of the martial law era. Meanwhile they forget that they were in power for eight years, during which they made not the slightest move to amend this unconstitutional law. DPP officials accuse the Ma administration of turning the clock back on democracy. Meanwhile have they ever reflected upon their own eight years in office? What if anything did they do for democracy? Twenty years after Taiwan's political liberalization, all they can do is spout the same old political platitudes, and play the same old political games.

For an opposition party to engage in confrontation is perfectly natural. But it must offer convincing reasons for its opposition. If it cannot offer hard data to prove its case, at least it should offer a reasoned argument. What is the DPP's argument? DPP officials have declared they will take to the streets. They may even even stay overnight. They boast that they are even "willing to be arrested and jailed." In order to avoid conflicts, the Taipei City Government has urged the KMT to withdraw its application for a similar permit on May 18. It is allowing the DPP to protest. But the DPP is utterly unappreciative. It is unwilling to abide by existing legal norms. it forgets that when the Red Shirt Army took to the streets to protest Chen Shui-bian and his family's corruption, the DPP invoked the very same law they oppose to prevent the Red Shirt Army from passing through cities and counties ruled by the Democratic Progressive Party.

The primary battlefield in a democracy is in the halls of parliament. Yet the DPP had the temerity to barricade itself inside the Legislature, preventing the Legislature from conducting business. Its primary motive in taking to the streets is to provoke violent conflict. When the Democratic Progressive Party was in power it sanctimoniously demanded that opposition parties behave as the "loyal opposition." But the Pan Blue opposition parties never barricaded themselves inside the Legislature by attaching locks to the doors of the Legislature. They never led the masses onto the streets for the express purpose of provoking violent clashes. Now that the DPP is in the opposition, it refuses to behave as a loyal opposition party. But the least it can do is behave as a responsible opposition party. If it has the ability to lead the masses onto the streets, it has the responsibilty to ensure that they safely return home. It should at least be able to find its own way home.

The ROC has undergone two ruling party changes. Its political system is not in danger of collapsing, dire warnings by the Democratic Progressive Party to the contrary notwithstanding. Instead, it is the Democratic Progressive Party that faces a crisis. The Democratic Progressive Party is doing nothing for the public on Taiwan. It is doing nothing for social progress. At least it should do something for itself. It should hold a peaceful demonstration. it should refrain from mawkish appeals to self-pity. It should ensure that incidents of violence do not leave an indelible stamp on the DPP's forehead reading, "The Party of Violence."

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2009.05.14
社論－走出悲情，辦個漂亮的遊行吧
本報訊

民進黨街頭起家，別的長處沒有，就是擅於衝撞體制，尷尬的是，創黨迄今廿多年，政治形勢丕變，更難堪的是，這中間還包括民進黨八年執政。八年執政，沒讓他們學會「守法」對民主政治的重要性，輕易就忘記了他們一意要衝撞的體制，曾是他們主事且捍衛過的體制。

政治人物或政黨有失憶症並不稀奇，為了權力，他們必須隨勢逆變，永遠找得到一套說詞說服自己永遠是對的，而競爭對手永遠是錯的，偏偏人民的記性永遠比政客要好，他們曾經做過的事、說過的話，民眾可不會輕易忘得了。政黨再輪替即將一年，就在馬劉政府就職一周年前夕，民進黨重回街頭，發動五一七嗆馬保台遊行，做為反對黨，站在執政者的對立面也是常態，民進黨為此要求公職全面動員，群眾有配額、遊覽車有配額，就怕群眾忘記民進黨「打出天下」的本事。

為了這場在野後第一次由黨發起的街頭遊行，民進黨還特別製作兩支宣傳影片，第一支以民眾互道「呷飽未」？諷刺馬劉政府上台一年來的經濟蕭條，偏偏股市很不給面子地連漲八天；第二支影片則請出前主席信介仙，呼喚支持群眾的往日熱情，廿年前民進黨力抗萬年國會、爭取總統直選的身形重現，卻感動不了人心。沒有這兩支影片，民眾或許還沒這麼強烈地感受到民進黨享受權力滋味時的墮落，對台灣因民進黨執政而失落的八年，這麼沉痛。

民進黨執政八年，高喊捍衛台灣主權的時候，台灣外交處境最困窘、兩岸關係最緊張、我們既無法參與世衛組織，甚至成國際間認定的「麻煩製造者」；民進黨政府任內興建各縣市的國際機場，都成了班機空蕩蕩的半報廢機場，觀光客倍增成為空談，兩兆雙星眼看著成為明日黃花，還是得靠馬政府的大陸政策，吸引台資回流、外資搶進、大陸觀光客刺激消費。當民進黨口沫橫飛痛罵馬政府出賣台灣的時候，台灣正準備以觀察員身分出席世衛大會。

民進黨執政八年，空喊拚經濟八年，拚得還是政治口水；在野之後，民進黨賣的還是主權圖騰，企圖以此迷幻台灣民眾，民進黨人一方面痛罵開放大陸學歷，自己的配偶卻早已赴大陸修習學位；他們一方面阻撓兩岸經貿開放政策，卻不乏在大陸經商之人；他們聲嘶力竭地指責戒嚴版集會遊行法，卻忘了自己執政八年，絲毫未曾動念修一修這個大法官解釋認為違憲的條文，民進黨人大剌剌地批評馬政府民主倒退，卻從未反省執政八年，到底為民主進步做了什麼事？讓台灣在政治開放廿多年後，還在老套的政治語言與遊戲中打轉。

在野黨搞對抗搞反對，天經地義，但是得拿出足以說服人的道理，沒有數據，好歹要有個說法，民進黨的說法在哪？民進黨揚言上街頭，還要徹夜靜坐，「被關也在所不惜」，台北市政府為避免衝突，勸退五一八也申請路權的國民黨，讓民進黨「嗆個夠」，民進黨卻完全不領情，就是不願遵循現行的法律規範，他們也忘了，當紅衫軍為了陳水扁及其親信家人的貪腐弊案上街頭時，甚至運用這個他們此時反對的法律，拒絕紅衫軍途經民進黨執政縣市。

民主運作主戰場在國會議事殿堂，民進黨人卻可以反鎖國會議事場上的大門，阻絕議事的進行；走上街頭還非要以釀成衝突為第一目標。民進黨執政時動輒呼籲在野黨要做個「忠誠的反對黨」，當時在野黨抗爭既不會反鎖國會議事場的大門，更不會帶了群眾上街頭以製造衝突為樂，如今在野，民進黨即使做不到他們口中的「忠誠反對黨」，至少學會做一個負責任的反對黨吧，既有本事帶群眾上街頭，就要有本事讓群眾平安回家，也要自己找到離開街頭的路。

當台灣民主已經歷兩次政黨輪替，台灣民主沒有民進黨危言聳聽的存亡關頭，倒是民進黨的發展到了關鍵時刻，民進黨不為台灣人民、不為社會發展，至少為自己做一件事：搞一次平安的集會遊行，不要再賣弄悲情，不要再有任何意外讓暴力黨的陰影，成為頭上撕都撕不掉的標籤。