Blasting the Party Leadership: Blue and Green Camp Political Maneuvering

Blasting the Party Leadership:
Blue and Green Camp Political Maneuvering
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China)
A Translation
February 14, 2014

Summary: Su Tseng-chang has been sniped at by his peers. Ma Ying-jeou has been challenged by younger party leaders. It is hard to say who is less fortunate. In any case, President Ma has abundant government and party resources. He is overly biased regarding personnel and policy matters. He has failed to use the available resources to benefit the people and to ensure the passing of the baton within the party. This is highly regrettable. Leaders within the Blue and Green camps are restlessness. If this is reduced to the level of invidual power struggles, that will be a negative development. But if this is seen as a response to the Big Picture, then those shrill voices are reminding us of hard realities that must be dealt with.

Full text below:

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin recently said, "If we lose the seven in elections, the party chairman should step down." KMT comrades roundly criticized him. They said his remark inflicted pain upon friends and gave comfort to the enemy. They called it a violation of party ethics. Chairman Ma Ying-jeou reminded local government officials to watch what they say. About remarks unconducive to unity, he said "Enough is enough." The implied threat was clear.

KMT party leaders have the "unity" and "ethics" card. This implies that Hau's remark embarrassed the party and the president, and hurt his comrades's feelings. The Ma administration's performance has been poor. The seven in one elections loom. Discouraging words from within the party are of course embarrassing. But two issues must be addressed. One. Is the Ma administration giving Blue Camp county chiefs and city mayors enough opportunities to be heard and seen? Have personnel appointments alienated them? If not, why are they sounding off to outsiders? Two. Can the KMT party leadership rein in and discourage such acts? Can it offer nothing more in response than feeble moralizing?

Of the two issues, the former pertains to causes. The latter pertains to effects. The KMT elites and local princes are blasting the party leadership. This began last year, and has since recurred. It shows that comrades are dissatisfied with the party leadership's policy. It shows that certain people are uneasy about the mechanism for power transfer. Divisions have arisen over local and central level personnel appointments. Members are anxious about power tradeoffs. They are angry about being dragged down by the poor performance of the cabinet. Ma Ying-jeou apparently does not understand these feelings and refuses to respond. He is both president and chairman. But his carrots have not mollified them, and his sticks have not silenced them. His cavalier attitude has contributed to the spread of these sentiments.

Take Hau Lung-bin for example. Hau is ruling party mayor of the capital city. He has spoken out on several major policy matters. He has often sung a different tune than the Ma administration. He has even flatly contradicted it. For example, on the issue of Chen Shui-bian's health, Hau favors granting Chen "medical parole." On the issue of the nuclear plant referendum, Hau maintains an anti-nuclear stance. On the issue of influence peddling, Hau advocates doing away with the Special Investigation Unit, in order to mollify the public. On the issue of personnel reshuffling, Hau wants President Ma to let Chiang Yi-hua form his own cabinet. Hau is determined to demonstrate his independence and personal style. That is his prerogative. Ma has never tried to communicate with him. Therefore Hau's increasingly harsh words and his call for Ma to resign are hardly surprising.

Hau Lung-bin is not alone. New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu intends to run for president in 2016. His recent comments about the party leadership have been equally blunt. For example, when he criticized the "Green Regime" era "Two Trillion, Twin Stars" policy, he underscored the economic downturn. He called for more vacations to reduce public discontent. He implied that "five municipalities" were too many and that "three municipalities" were just right and should be restored. His remarks carried an edge. Lien Sheng-wen intends to run for Taipei Mayor. During last September's political struggle he sided witih Wang Jin-pyng. He went so far as to refer to the "Ming Dynasty." Perhaps one should not read too much into his remarks. But they reflect the extent of Blue Camp discontent with the party leadership. They also show that their views are being ignored within the party.

The Blue Camp is not alone. DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang has been blasted by DPP leaders, perhaps even more harshly than Ma Ying-jeou. Should he continue to serve as party chairman? The Hsieh and Tsai camps have given him plenty of grief. Su has procrastinated about running for Taipei mayor. He finds himself caught between Wen-Je Ko, Wellington Ku, and Annette Lu. He has been accused of "defeatism." On cross-strait policy he has been too conservative. He has been accused of wavering and self- contradiction. Consider the matter of leadership ability. Lin Yi-hsiung is reportedly organizing a new political group. Younger leaders are ridiculing him, saying he is not the man he once was.

As one can see, after two changes in ruling parties, both the Blue and Green camps have undergone subtle changes in their make up and culture. A chairman with feet of clay can no longer wield supreme authority. The party machinery can no longer carry out his will. More importantly, the current leaders lack the ability to lead reform or make political breakthroughs. They have left the public disillusioned. They have allowed the party to become disorganized. This has inspired the rebellious and the angry to direct their fire at the center whenever possible. Will those who have opened fire be injured themselves? That is another matter altogether.

Su Tseng-chang has been sniped at by his peers. Ma Ying-jeou has been challenged by younger party leaders. It is hard to say who is less fortunate. In any case, President Ma has abundant government and party resources. He is overly biased regarding personnel and policy matters. He has failed to use the available resources to benefit the people and to ensure the passing of the baton within the party. This is highly regrettable. Leaders within the Blue and Green camps are restlessness. If this is reduced to the level of invidual power struggles, that will be a negative development. But if this is seen as a response to the Big Picture, then those shrill voices are reminding us of hard realities that must be dealt with.
 
砲打中央：看藍綠菁英的躁動現象
【聯合報╱社論】
2014.02.14 03:47 am

台北市長郝龍斌最近一席「七合一選舉失利，黨主席應下台」的談話，引起國民黨同志的圍攻，認為其發言令親痛仇快，有違政黨倫理。馬英九主席也提醒從政縣市首長要謹言慎行，無助團結的話要「適可而止」，頗有警告意味。

祭出「團結」和「倫理」的大旗，意味郝龍斌的發言已損及黨和主席的顏面，也傷害了同志的感情。正當馬政府政績欠佳、而七合一選舉告急的情況下，這種內部的唱衰言論當然令人難堪。但這裡也有兩個問題需要討論：一，馬政府是否讓藍軍縣市長有足夠的發言或發揮機會？若非因為人事上的偏歧讓他們感到疏離，為何在外放砲宣洩？二，黨中央對於這類行為有沒有辦法收服或勸止？或者僅有微弱的道德喊話一招可以因應？

這兩個問題，前者要探討的是「因」，後者要探討的是「果」。國民黨內部菁英或地方諸侯「砲打中央」的現象，去年以來一演再演，不僅顯示了黨內同志對中央施政的不滿，也反映了特定人士對權力傳承的躁動不安。其中，除了有地方與中央的人事隔閡，有面臨權力交替的焦慮，也有遭內閣政績拖累的憤怒。然而，馬英九對這些情緒似乎不紓解也不回應，既無法運用其總統或主席的「恩」來收攏，又無法運用其「威」來鎮懾對方；如此漫不經心的作風，似愈發助長這類情緒的擴散。

以郝龍斌為例，作為執政黨的首都市長，他在若干重大政策上的發言，屢屢出現和馬政府不同調乃至相牴觸的情況，一直顯得突兀。例如，對陳水扁的健康問題，郝龍斌主張讓扁「保外就醫」；在核四公投議題中，郝龍斌持反核立場；在關說風波中，郝龍斌主張廢特偵組來挽救民心；在人事改組時，他要求馬總統放手讓江宜樺組閣。郝龍斌要表現個人的風格或其獨立性，是他個人的選擇；但可以想見，馬英九從未嘗試透過管道與他溝通，也因此，郝龍斌更進一步說刺耳或逼宮的話，也就不足為奇。

不止郝龍斌，有意挑戰二○一六大位的新北市長朱立倫，最近對中央的意見也顯得不太保留。諸如，在批綠朝「兩兆雙星」政策時，順帶點了一下經濟低迷，要求多放假紓解民怨；他更暗指「五都」數目太多，應以回歸「三都」為宜，言下暗藏機鋒。至於有意參選北市長的連勝文，在去年九月政爭中偏袒王金平，連「大明王朝」的話都脫口而出。這些談話也許不必過度演繹，但這反映藍軍菁英對於中央施為的不滿，也顯示他們的意見在日常的黨或政的管道裡無法被聽見。

不唯藍營，民進黨主席蘇貞昌最近遭黨內菁英圍攻之激烈，其程度恐怕不亞於馬英九。在應不應續任黨主席議題上，他飽受謝長廷和蔡英文陣營的挑釁；在台北市長候選人上的遲疑，他夾在柯文哲、顧立雄和呂秀蓮之間，被批充滿「失敗主義」；在兩岸政策及課綱議題上的抱殘守缺，被批搖擺不定及自我矛盾。在領導能力上，林義雄傳出要另組新政團，中生代則譏諷其能力遠不及前幾任。

由此可見，歷經兩次政黨輪替，藍綠兩黨的體質與文化都有了微妙的變化：被看破手腳的主席不再擁有無上的權威，黨機器的控制和意志的貫徹也無法再得心應手。更重要的是，現任領導者缺乏帶領政局突圍脫困的能耐，使人民失望，也讓黨的意志變得渙散；從而鼓舞了有心人和憤怒者的叛逆，一有機會就向中央開火。當然，這些開砲者會不會遭逆火自傷，則又是另一回事。

比起蘇貞昌屢屢遭到同輩戰友的挑激，馬英九受到更多中生代的質疑，我們實在很難分斷誰比誰幸運。無論如何，對於擁有豐厚黨政資源的馬總統而言，他對人對事的關注過度偏倚，而未能運用各種資源來厚植政府的利民政績和政黨的人才傳承，著實令人嘆惋。藍綠黨內菁英的躁動，如果完全從個人的權鬥和爭勝去解讀，將只會走向負面發展；但如果從大局的變動和因應看，那些刺耳的聲音所傳達的現實，恐怕也值得好好處理。