End Internal Bickering: Taiwan Must Go Forward

End Internal Bickering: Taiwan Must Go Forward
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 28, 2012

Summary: On economic issues, there is no such thing as Blue or Green. On economic issues, whichever party destroys the economy, must bear total sesponsibility. Internal bickering is not merely inflicting pain upon the ruling party. It is inflicting pain upon everyone. Taiwan needs a way out of its dilemma, First, it must end internal bickering, The first step must be ruling and opposition party dialogue. This is the will of the people. This is their hope for the ruling and opposition parties.

Full Text below:

Former Vice President Vincent Siew recently spoke at an economic summit. He said Taiwan is caught in a vicious cycle. It is spinning its wheels. Industrialists, government officials, and scholars expressed strong agreement. Vincent Siew was hardly being prophetic. The term "internal friction," which usually means "internal bickering," has long been a buzzword on Taiwan. Taiwan's competitiveness has been spiraling downward for some time. Unfortunately ruling and opposition political leaders, who are the ones with the power and resources, persist in endless internal bickering. They long for the chance to rule after the next election. What really concerns us is that by the time the winner of this internal bickering has been decided, Taiwan will be the biggest loser.

Taiwan provides a benchmark for the development of democracy in Chinese society. The essence of democracy is constraints and limitations on power. Inefficiency is the price of democracy. But checks and balances must not run amok. Obstructionism must not prevent consultation and dialogue. Work must get done. Otherwise checks and balances will undermine economic development and destroy public trust in democratic institutions. The political atmosphere would be permeated with anxiety and dissatisfaction. Ultimately Taiwan would decline even further.

"Absent internal unity, Taiwan cannot enjoy stability.The ruling and opposition parties must act rationally and  work cooperatively. They must end their confrontation. They must allow Taiwan to recover." So said former DPP party chairman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen, when she kicked off her presidential campaign. But even though she was DPP chairman for four years, she consistently rejected ruling and opposition party dialogue. She never understood the true meaning of democracy. Protest and opposition may be necessary within a democracy, but they are not its real purpose. The election is over. The DPP has a new chairman. Unfortunately new chairman Su Tseng-chang shows no signs of opening a window for dialogue. The Legislative Yuan spun its wheels. It adjourned with 385 bills on the agenda. Yet Su Tseng-chang had the cheek to hold a "victory banquet." Ironically the Democratic Progressive Party festivities highlighted the suffering of the public on Taiwan. This pain will continue. Will anyone be able to endure it?

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng expressed regret that politics has undermined the biotechnology industry. As Speaker of the Legislature he spearheaded the biotechnology venture capital bill. But Wang must see beyond the biotech industry. Legislative inefficiency has left Taiwan industry stagnant for quite some time. Wang Jin-pyng is the leader of the legislature. Shouldn't he ask himself why the legislature has become the locus of internal friction on Taiwan?

Taiwan has a society imbued with limitless energy. Taiwan was once responsible for an economic miracle and a quiet revolution. Both were the envy of the world. Now it is attempting to catch up to its global competitors. Last year it landed in sixth place. The joy lasted one year, This year we dropped one place. Taiwan may be democratic and wealthy. But the public's crisis consciousness persists. This is especially true for the private sector. The public has constantly urged the government to accelerate its transformation. But some time ago such calls became cries in the wilderness that went unheard.

Compare the development of neighboring economies. Hong Kong ranks first in global competitiveness . Singapore ranks fourth. South Korea may rank behind Taiwan in competitiveness. But South Kora is already a member of the "20/50 Club." It is one of only seven developed nations in the world with an annual per capita income exceeding 20,000 USD, and a population exceeding 50 million. Taiwan was once number one among the Four Asian Tigers. Now it is number four. Can Taiwan blind itself to reality and persist in internal bickering? Can Taiwan ignore its increasingly vibrant competitors?

Ironically the conviction that "internal friction is harmful" is the one thing everyone on Taiwan agrees on. Internal friction comes in two forms. One. Internal bickering, Two. Running about blindly. Internal bickering refers to Infighting between the ruling and opposition parties. The infighting is laughable. The ruling and opposition parties are bickering over the seven in one elections two years from now. Both parties seek victory. Members of both parties also seek victory against fellow party members, over who will be the party's nominees. They are all attempting to preempt each other or elbow each other aside. They are all worrying about matters of no urgency. They are "running about blindly." The public on Taiwan is not thinking about the seven in one elections two years from now. To them which party wins is beside the point. The point is whether the winner will be pragmatic and capable, and serve the people. The same is true of the presidential election four years from now. People with merit will be selected. People without merit will be eliminated. Unfortunately the ruling and opposition parties are blind. For them winning elections is everything. The national interest and the greater good are nothing.

The fate of the nation hinges upon the thoughts and actions of ruling and opposition party leaders. Former SEF chairman and former Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hong Chi-chang recalled the time he and Vincent Siew attended the WTO Ministerial Conference. The two men sat at the same table and talked through the night. Seventeen years later, the Republic of China must reevaluate its national strength, its economic competitiveness, and its strategic status. Is it stronger? Or is it weaker? Hong felt compelled to speak out. "Taiwan needs a rational, responsible, and loyal opposition party. It also needs a ruling party with vision, the capacity to govern, and the ability to create wealth for the people. Only this will enable Taiwan to move forward." Political parties may compete. But Taiwan's future requires the two parties to join hands and solve problems.

Ruling vs opposition party rivalry led to the comprehensive re-election of the legislature and to direct presidential elections. It led to a change in ruling parties -- a high point. Dialogue between the leaders of rival political parties is not that difficult. This is especially true on economic issues. On economic issues, there is no such thing as Blue or Green. On economic issues, whichever party destroys the economy, must bear total sesponsibility. Internal bickering is not merely inflicting pain upon the ruling party. It is inflicting pain upon everyone. Taiwan needs a way out of its dilemma, First, it must end internal bickering, The first step must be ruling and opposition party dialogue. This is the will of the people. This is their hope for the ruling and opposition parties.

停止內耗 台灣加油
中國時報 　
2012.06.28

前副總統蕭萬長日前在一場論壇演講中，直指台灣正陷入內耗空轉的惡性循環，激起產官學界的強烈共鳴。事實上，蕭萬長並非發人先聲，「內耗」早就是台灣政壇的流行語，遺憾的是，儘管眼見台灣競爭力一路在螺旋下滑，手握權力與資源的朝野政治領袖，卻依舊無休止地讓內耗惡化，以期搏取下一次的執政機會，我們真的擔憂，在這場內耗的贏家還未判定之前，台灣已先淪為最大的輸家。

台灣是華人社會民主發展的標竿，民主最重要的內涵就是對權力的約束和限制，效率是民主必須付出的基本成本。但如果監督制衡被無限上綱，抵制癱瘓凌駕協商對話，導致國政治理一事無成，其惡果不僅是戕害經濟發展的動能，摧毀民眾對民主體制的信賴，更嚴重的會讓整體社會氛圍普遍瀰漫焦慮與不滿，最終就是驅使台灣進一步向下沉淪。

「沒有內部團結，台灣不會安定，朝野政黨應理性合作，停止對抗，恢復台灣元氣。」這段話是民進黨前主席、總統參選人蔡英文在年初總統大選時講的話，儘管她在四年黨主席任期，始終拒絕朝野對話，畢竟了解民主政治的真諦。抗爭容或是民主的必要手段，卻不是目的。選舉結束，民進黨主席更迭，新任主席蘇貞昌迄無打開對話之窗的跡象，立法院以空轉卡住三百八十五項法案結束會期，蘇貞昌竟舉行「慶功宴」，民進黨的歡慶其實正凸顯台灣人民的真實痛苦，而這個痛苦似乎還要繼續，誰還能忍受！

立法院長王金平感慨政治力介入讓生技業者卻步，做為曾經破天荒領銜提案通過生技創投條例的國會議長，其眼界應該更高於生技業，台灣產業經濟已經在無效率的國會議事文化下停滯久矣，王金平必須思考為什麼他領導的國會竟成為台灣內耗的指標？

台灣是一個民間活力無限的社會，台灣曾經創造舉世稱羨的經濟奇蹟與寧靜革命，全球競爭力一路追趕，去年曾經創下第六名的成績，高興不過一年，今年立刻下滑一名。民主富裕後的台灣其實整體而言危機感依舊深重，特別是來自民間的警醒與呼籲，不斷成為催促政府加速轉型腳步的動力；然而，曾幾何時，這樣的呼籲愈來愈像投入深井的石子，波瀾不興。

看看週邊國家的發展，香港全球競爭力蟬連第一，新加坡全球第四，南韓即使競爭力仍在台灣之後卻已躋身「二○｜五○俱樂部」的全球七個已開發國家之列，當年台灣曾經是「亞洲四小龍」之首，如今卻敬陪末座，台灣還能悶著頭搞內耗，無視競爭對手的拚鬥精神愈趨高昂嗎？

反諷的是：「內耗」竟成為全民形容台灣社會現狀的最大共識。內耗的表現主要有二：一是內鬥，二是瞎忙。內鬥既是朝野惡鬥，可笑的是還有朝野兩黨內部的權力鬥爭，想的是兩年後的七合一選舉，兩黨爭勝之外，還要費盡力氣思索黨內誰該參選，以便防堵或卡位，忙的都是不急之務，謂之「瞎忙」。對台灣人民而言，不要說兩年後的七合一選舉，不論哪一個政黨勝選，重點是當選者務實能幹，真心為民服務，即使四年後的總統大選，同樣擇優汰劣，遺憾的是，朝野政黨目光俱如豆，以當選為唯一勝利，卻無視國家利益與全民福祉。

國運強弱繫於朝野政治領袖的轉念與行動，前海基會董事長、民進黨前立委洪奇昌回溯當年他和蕭萬長一起出席世貿組織部長會議時，兩人一席徹夜長談。十七年過去了，台灣必須思索我們的綜合國力、競爭力和國際戰略位置到底是進步、還是退步？他有感而發直言，「台灣需要一個理性負責的忠誠反對黨，更需要有規畫、治理能力、為人民創造福祉的執政黨，才能帶領台灣往前走。」政黨有競爭，然而，台灣的前途卻需要兩黨攜手籌謀。

回首前塵，朝野兩黨在競爭對抗中完成國會全面改選，推動總統直選，把台灣民主推向政黨輪替的高峰。政黨領袖的對話沒有這麼困難，特別在經濟大問題上，沒有藍綠之分，拖垮執政黨的惡果得全民承擔，內耗的痛苦已經不是執政黨的痛苦，而是全民的痛苦。打開台灣的出路，要從停止內耗做起，停止內耗第一步要從朝野對話始，這是全民的心聲，也是對朝野兩黨最深切的期盼和呼籲。