DPP: Why Not Renounce TIFA Outright?

DPP: Why Not Renounce TIFA Outright?
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 12 2012

Summary: Today the Legislative Yuan will vote on whether to allow U.S. beef imports. The Green Camp has threatened a bloody struggle. It is engaging in all out obstructionism. Blue Camp legislators are of two minds. Some are ready to run for cover and vote Green. The Legislative Yuan is about to witness yet another ruling vs. opposition party melee. This is hardly surprising. But TIFA has been delayed for seven years. Do the opposition Green Camp parties really not care?

Full Text below:

Today the Legislative Yuan will vote on whether to allow U.S. beef imports. The Green Camp has threatened a bloody struggle. It is engaging in all out obstructionism. Blue Camp legislators are of two minds. Some are ready to run for cover and vote Green. The Legislative Yuan is about to witness yet another ruling vs. opposition party melee. This is hardly surprising. But TIFA has been delayed for seven years. Do the opposition Green Camp parties really not care?

The U.S. beef imports bill must pass. It must pass not because it is a major Ma administration policy initiative. It must pass because it is the final obstacle in the way of restarting talks over the Taiwan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The government must ensure the quality of U.S. beef imports. It must fight for international economic and trade advantages. It can do both. Ensuring economic prosperity does not require sacrificing the health of the people. The Green Camp has declared war. It intends to prevent the import of U.S. beef products. But is it "defending Taiwan's interests?" Or is it standing in the way of Taiwan's economic development?

Some Blue Camp legislators are wobbling. They say they are unsure what they are fighting for. But this is exactly the question we should be asking the DPP. When you insist on preventing U.S. beef imports, just exactly what are you fighting for? Are you fighting for pig farmers? The Ma administration has already persuaded Washington to distinguish between beef and pork. Are you fighting for public health? Japan and South Korea have established strict quality control standards. Haven't these achieved that very goal? Are you "fighting for Taiwan?" Then shouldn't Taiwan's trade relations and economic growth take priority over US beef imports with Clenbuterol and Ractopamine? Is the DPP fighting for any of these ostensible goals? Or is the DPP waging this demagogic battle, and engaging in this populist rabble-rousing merely for its own selfish political advantage?

As the political opposition, Green Camp political parties feel a compulsion to engage in political obstructionism, in order to accumulate political capital. This is the essence of the game of democracy. But lest we forget, beneath the offensive and defensive maneuvers, beneath all the checks and balances, democracy requires rationality -- if it is to survive. Besides jockeying for position against their rivals, political parties must also show us what they stand for. U.S. beef imports and TIFA are both policies the Democratic Progressive Party championed when it was in office. Now that the DPP has been relegated to the status of an opposition party, it has reverted to obstructionism. The DPP's opportunistic behavior tells us it has no core values. If the DPP insists on forcefully preventing U.S. beef imports, it might as well come right out and renounce TIFA. It should openly proclaim that if the DPP ever returns to power, it will refuse to sign TIFA. Only this will absolve it from the charge of flip-flopping, and chronic and habitual deceit.

The DPP boasts that it intends to use the anti-ECFA methods it adopted two years ago to prevent U.S. beef imports. Such intimidation tactics may appear tough, but they are actually confessions of impotence. The Democratic Progressive Party demonized ECFA. It said ECFA would bring disaster upon the nation. It said ECFA was a sugar-coated poison pill that would forfeit sovereignty and humilate the nation. The DPP boasted that it would obstruct US beef imports in the Legislative Yuan. The DPP even threatened a referendum to nullify the US beef imports bill in the event it passed. But ECFA soon proved its effectiveness. During last year's election campaign Tsai Ing-wen suddenly declared that she would not nullify ECFA in the event she was elected president. She was so arrogant before, and so deferential afterwards. Does the DPP really want U.S. beef imports to be a replay of the ECFA fiasco?

Given the current make up of the Legislative Yuan, the DPP's threat of blanket obstructionism is not terribly worrisome. More worrisome is the ruling and opposition parties' zero-sum game. This will result in the coarsening of the legislative process. Take U.S. beef imports. We expect the opposition parties to put forth a more detailed plan for the control of Clenbuterol and Ractopamine. Instead, they are indiscriminately calling for a halt to everything. Take TIFA. We hope the DPP can offer constructive alternatives once the talks resume. They could help ensure a more level playing field during Taipei/Washington negotiations. They could help maximize Taiwan's interests. But so far the Green Camp's only response has been "No!" It has no desire to seek more complex answers. It has no desire to rationally assess the pros and cons. Suppose the Green Camp's sneak attack succeeds. Suppose it brings the legislative process to a standstill. At most it will delay the vote by a few days. But will it win the respect of the public on Taiwan?

Five years ago, the DPP used a U-lock and superglue to lock the Speaker of the Legislature out of the Legislative Chambers. Wang Jin-pyng was unable to preside over the ongoing session. The DPP did this merely to prevent passage of the Central Election Commission Organization Act. Its conduct left an ugly record of coarseness, without the slightest trace of respect for the spirit of democracy. Meanwhile some Blue Camp legislators are whining "We don't know what we're fighting for." They are even more pathetic. They are members of the ruling party. They cannot walk away from questions of right and wrong. They are standing on the battlefield. Yet they have the gall to claim that they cannot tell friend from foe? Are they waiting for acknowledgement and approval? Are they waiting for the party to give them a wake-up call?

In recent years democracy on Taiwan has remained deadlocked. The main reason is that partisan political interests are presented to the public as national interests. Politicians have learned how to play the political game faster than the public has been able to learn how democracy works. But if the DPP thinks it makes no difference whether we sign TIFA, then it should say so, openly. It should not hide behind the shield of US beef imports, in order to hoodwink the public.

民進黨何不直接宣布放棄TIFA？
【聯合報╱社論】
2012.06.12

立法院今天將就「美牛案」進行表決，綠營揚言將流血抗爭，全力杯葛；藍營則有立委首鼠兩端，準備抽腿跑票。立院要加演一場朝野混戰大戲，不足為奇；但對於延宕七年的TIFA，在野黨真的一點都無動於衷嗎？

美牛案之所以必須過關，並非因為它是馬政府力推的重大政策，而是因為它是重啟「台美貿易及投資架構協定」（TIFA）的最後一道關卡。進一步說，一邊做好美牛的把關，一邊爭取台灣國際經貿談判空間，是可以達到「雙贏」的選項，完全不必以犧牲國民健康為代價。在這種情況下，綠營宣稱要浴血抗戰杯葛美牛案，到底是在維護台灣利益，還是在打擊台灣的發展？

就在某些藍營搖擺立委傳出不知「為何而戰」之際，這個問題，恰好也可以拿來反問民進黨：杯葛美牛是為誰而戰？如果是為了豬農，馬政府不是已作出「牛豬分離」的決策嗎？若說是為了國民健康，比照韓日訂出嚴格的管制標準，不是可以達到同樣的效果嗎？若說是為了台灣，那麼台灣經貿發展的問題不會比美牛瘦肉精更迫切嗎？排除這些之後，民進黨會不會只是為了一己的民粹利益而戰？

作為反對黨，綠營當然需要盡其所能地杯葛，以累積自己的政治資本，這是民主遊戲的本質。但別忘了，撇開浮面的政治攻防，民主政治除了反對及制衡，還有理性的一面需要維持；那就是，如何在攻防之間展現自己的精神和價值。美牛和TIFA都是民進黨執政時推動未遂的政策，如今民進黨淪為在野，便又移至杯葛立場，這種投機作法有何核心理念可言？若民進黨今天要強力阻擋美牛案，何不乾脆直接宣布放棄TIFA，聲明將來自己即使執政也絕不推動；唯有如此，才能免去其反反覆覆、欺世盜名之譏。

民進黨近日揚言，要比照兩年前反ECFA的規格，來對付美牛案。這種威嚇手法，外表狠勁十足，內裡卻相當荏弱。試想，民進黨當時大肆妖魔化ECFA，指為禍國殃民、喪權辱國的糖衣毒藥，除在立院大打一場，還揚言重返執政後要舉辦公投決定其存廢。然而，俟ECFA的效用逐漸彰顯，去年底大選前蔡英文便公開聲明當選後不會廢掉ECFA。如此前倨後恭的表現，難道要在美牛案重演一回？

以目前立法院的結構，民進黨的凡事杯葛並不值得太過憂慮；比較令人擔心的，是朝野耽溺於這種「有你無我」的零和遊戲，將造成國會立法的粗糙化與偏頗化。以美牛案為例，我們其實期待在野黨對瘦肉精的管理提出更細緻的主張，而不只是一味在那裡喊「卡」；以TIFA為例，我們也希望民進黨能在復談過程中拿出相對意見，使美台談判能更趨均衡，可以極大化台灣的利益。但現在，綠營提供的答案卻只有一個「不」字，不想用心去思考更複雜的解答，也無意以理性評估大局的利弊得失。那麼，就算綠營今天奇襲成功，使議事根本無法進行，充其量也不過是使表決大戰多拖幾天，這能贏得台灣民眾的尊重嗎？

五年前，民進黨以機車大鎖及三秒膠封住議長進出之門，使王金平無法主持議事，不過是為了阻擋中選會組織法的法制化。那樣的行動，除留下一個狼藉、粗暴的杯葛紀錄，有彰顯任何一絲民主精神嗎？相形之下，藍營中那些喊著不知「為何而戰」的立委，則更可悲。身為執政黨國會議員，不能從大局分斷是非利害也就罷了；身處戰場，竟還敢聲稱不知敵我之分。他們是在期待被摸頭，還是等著黨紀的當頭棒喝？

台灣民主近年膠著不前，主要癥結，便在黨派利益往往假藉民意之名來冒充是國家利益；而攻防戰術的改良，又遠快於民主理性素養的提升。民進黨若覺得TIFA簽不簽無所謂，那就請公開宣示放棄，不要躲在美牛的擋箭牌下欺弄人民。