How Can the DPP Change Its Anti-Business Image

How Can the DPP Change Its Anti-Business Image
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
October 1, 2014

Executive Summary: Given the political reality, the KMT should announce that the STA has been temporarily shelved. It can be left until negotiations over the MTA have been concluded. The ruling and opposition parties can then conduct negotiations. The DPP totally repudiated the KMT's Fiscal Policy Act. It must change its attitude. The DPP must take concrete actions to change its anti-business public image.

Full Text Below:

The pressure on President Ma must be enormous. A student hurled a book at him, hitting him. The Beijing authorities are again pressuring him to endorse one country, two systems. Former Minister of Economic Affairs Yin Chi-min recently published an article in the China Times, asking "Is anyone still willing to step forward and defend the Ma government?" In the dead of night, President Ma has to be feeling the pain.

Tsai Ing-wen is also having a hard time. She is clearly concerned about the DPP's public image. She wants to the DPP legislative caucus to establish an ad hoc group for fiscal affairs. She has proposed a fiscal bill to "enrich the nation and benefit the people." She hopes to reverse the party's anti-business image, as groundwork for a return to power in 2016.

Tsai Ing-wen has established short, medium, and long-term development strategies. In the short term the DPP will wrangle over fiscal policy matters in the Legislative Yuan. In the medium term the DPP will propose a Financial Industry Act and related policy proposals. In the long term, she will use the "Citizens Economic Conference" to propose a new model for economic development. She hopes this will enable the DPP to become a quasi-ruling party. 

Tsai Ing-wen's declaration shines a spotlight on the DPP's Achilles Heel. The party is deeply distrusted by the business sector. Tsai Ing-wen is hoping to remedy this. The KMT has long enjoyed good relations with the business community. But during President Ma's second term, the government's direction on the petrochemical industry development, policy on energy , and particularly policy on nuclear power, as well as the minimum wage, have deeply alienated the business community.

Faced with current economic difficulties, both parties must offer something in the way of fiscal policy and legislation.

The DPP has long trumpeted its concern for the interests of labor, farmers, SMEs, and other disadvantaged segments of society. It has long evinced a socialistic flavor. During the 2012 presidential election, Tsai Ing-wen raised the banner of "fairness and justice." This underscored the DPP's solidarity with disadvantaged segments of society. But in a pluralistic society, championing fairness and justice, and attending to the interests of disadvantaged segments of society, are not necessarily the same as being "anti-business." The DPP is widely regarded as anti-business for two reasons. One. It lacks any robust arguments or proposals on fiscal policy. Two. It maintains to an "oppose anything having to do with [Mainland] China" closed door stance on cross-Strait economic and trade policy. During the Chen era it cavalierly halted construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. It flip-flopped repeatedly on construction of the Number Eight Naphtha Cracking Plant. It stubbornly blocked passage of ECFA (cross-Strait economic cooperation framework agreement). It even obstructed review of the recent STA (cross-Strait trade in services agreement) and FEPZ (special regulations for the free economic pilot zones). These reveal the degree to which the DPP ignores the voice of the business community. It was inevitable that it would be seen as anti-business.

By contrast, during the KMT's long rule on Taiwan, it has enjoyed close relations with the industrial and business sector, relations that the DPP cannot hope to match. Couple this with farsighted fiscal policy during its rule, including Yin Chung-jung, Li Kuo-ting, Chao Yao-tung in the early years, to Vincent Siew, Chiang Pin-kung and other fiscal experts during later years. All in an unbroken succession. It earned the business community's trust and affirmation. As a result the general public has the impression that the KMT is more adept than the DPP at promoting economic prosperity. But once President Ma was re-elected, he attempted to practice his own brand of "fairness and justice." With the worst possible timing, he introduced in rapid succession, the capital gains tax, gasoline price and electricity rate hikes, and other unpopular policies. This undermined trust between the government and the business sector. Add to this the impact of the Ma Wang rivalry and the Sunflower Student Movement. The Ma government's cross-Strait policy has been staunchly affirmed by the business community. But its inability to implement its policies due to Legislative Yuan obstruction has saddled it with an image of incompetence. This too, has deepened the alienation between the Ma government and the business community. The KMT's long-term advantages in fiscal policy have also been rapidly eroded.

Tsai Ing-wen is eager to reverse the DPP's anti-business image. She has proposed a "new model of economic development for Taiwan." She is attempting to change the DPP's image as a party inept at fiscal policy. Her "new model" includes three points. One. Economic growth is not limited to GDP. It must also factor in employment, wages, income distribution, regional balance, generational justice, quality of life, and environmental protection. Two. She hopes to change the "Taiwan takes the orders, then manufactures the product overseas" growth model. She hopes to transform the industrial structure. Three. The economic decision-making model should be "bottom-up" and require a social consensus.

The above rhetoric sounds oh so pretty. The direction is admittedly correct. But where are the specifics? Where is the road map? A policy without beef is no policy, merely a slogan. Her rhetoric provoked renewed criticism that Tsai was "water spinach" (a vegetable with hollow stems, hence one lacking substance). To escape criticism, she must present a clear and workable policy, along with a specific blueprint for public scrutiny.

The DPP may be able to change public perception. It must accelerate deliberation and offer a "new model of economic development for Taiwan" in the Legislative Yuan. This would definitely help the DPP change is anti-business image. Important fiscal policy bills have been stalled in the Legislative Yuan, unable to pass. Policy cannot be implemented. The KMT's image has been seriously undermined. The KMT must make compromises to breakthrough the legislative deadlock.

The "special regulations for the free economic pilot zones" are actually aimed at promoting industrial restructuring. It is consistent with the DPP's "new model" concept. The DPP should accelerate its proposed amendments to the law, and participate in advance consultations. The two major parties' legislative caucuses have undergone personnel changes. The "Cross-Strait Agreement Oversight Regulations" bill should be reviewed as soon as possible. As long as the ruling and opposition parties do not dig in their heels, a compromise should be possible. As for the controversies over STA (cross-Strait agreement on trade in services) and MTA (cross-Strait agreemento on trade in merchandise), the Mainland has explicitly rejected restarting negotiations. For the moment, all we can do is put the matter on hold. We can proceed later at the current pace. But the consultation process must be totally transparent. We must be in continuous communication with the relevant industries.

Given the political reality, the KMT should announce that the STA has been temporarily shelved. It can be left until negotiations over the MTA have been concluded. The ruling and opposition parties can then conduct negotiations. The DPP totally repudiated the KMT's Fiscal Policy Act. It must change its attitude. The DPP must take concrete actions to change its anti-business public image.

社論－民進黨如何改變反商形象
2014年10月01日 04:09
本報訊

馬總統內心的壓力一定非常沉重，學生丟他書，大陸重提一國兩制讓他腹背受敵，前經濟部長尹啟銘日前在《中時》發表文章，詢問「還有誰願意出來捍衛馬政府？」馬總統夜深人靜，想必情傷。

蔡英文的日子也不好過，顯然她對民進黨形象不振深感焦慮，要求立法院黨團成立財經專案小組，提出「福國利民」的財經法案，以扭轉外界對民進黨反商的認知，做好2016年重返執政的準備。

蔡英文訂出短、中、長期發展策略：短期在立院鎖定財經議題攻防；中期推出財經產業法案議題及政策主張；長期則透過「公民經濟會議」提出經濟發展新模式，讓民進黨成為準執政黨。

蔡英文的表態，凸顯出長期以來民進黨不受工商界信任的罩門，蔡英文希望能有所挽回。至於國民黨方面，雖然長期以來與工商界關係良好，但馬總統第二任後，在石化業發展方向、能源政策，尤其核電政策、基本工資等問題上，和工商界間疏離感也愈來愈深。

面對當前台灣經濟困境，兩黨都有必要在財經政策及立法上有所作為。

民進黨一貫標榜照顧勞工、農民、中小企業等弱勢利益，具有某種程度社會主義色彩；2012年總統大選，蔡英文高舉「公平正義」旗幟，凸顯民進黨和弱勢者同站一邊。惟在多元化社會裡，主張公平正義及照顧弱勢利益，不必然和「反商」畫上等號，而民進黨之所以被外界視為反商，癥結原因有二：一是在財經政策上缺乏強有力的論述及主張；二是在兩岸經貿政策上故步自封，甚至「逢中必反」。從扁政府時期率爾停建核四，對「八輕」設廠政策反覆，到強力反對ECFA《兩岸經濟合作架構協議》，乃至近來杯葛《兩岸服貿協議》、《自由經濟示範區特別條例》等法案審查，在在顯示民進黨漠視企業界的聲音，自難免被認為有反商情結。

相較之下，國民黨在台灣長期執政，和財團及工商界的深厚關係自非民進黨可比，再加上執政時期以財經政策見長，從早年尹仲容、李國鼎、趙耀東到蕭萬長、江丙坤等財經首長，一脈相傳，備受企業界信任和肯定，因而在一般民眾印象中，國民黨比民進黨會拚經濟。然而，在馬總統當選連任後，以實踐「公平正義」自居，在不適當的時機，接連推出課徵證所稅、油電雙漲等不得人心的政策，重創政府與工商界的信賴關係。再加上受到馬王政爭及太陽花學運等影響，馬政府最受企業界肯定的兩岸政策因立法院阻力致難以落實，從而更被冠以「無能」形象，也更為加深馬政府和企業界的疏離感；國民黨在財經施政上的長期優勢亦迅速流失。

蔡英文亟欲扭轉民進黨反商形象，提出「台灣經濟發展新模式」政策論述，試圖改變民進黨不擅長財經政策的刻板印象。「新模式」涵蓋三內涵：一是經濟成長不只重GDP，也要兼顧就業、薪資、所得分配、區域平衡、世代正義、生活品質及生態環境保護等；二是改變「台灣接單、海外生產」成長模式，改造產業結構；三是經濟決策模式應「由下而上」，先期凝聚社會共識。

上述方向與論述看起來都很漂亮，方向也很正確，但看不出執行的具體方案與路線圖，沒有「牛肉」的政策不是政策，只是口號，因而再度引起「空心菜」的批評，要擺脫批評，就必須提出明確可行的具體政策主張及推動藍圖，供社會各界檢驗。

不過，民進黨可以翻轉社會認知，若能在現階段就加速研議可實現「台灣經濟發展新模式」理念的具體法案，在立法院推動實現，絕對有助民進黨澄清反商形象。而重大財經法案在立法院遲遲無法通過，施政停滯不前，對國民黨形象已造成極大傷害，國民黨亦應作出妥協，突破立法僵局。

《自由經濟示範區特別條例》其實目的在推動產業轉型，與民進黨「新模式」理念相符，民進黨宜速提出修法版本，及早進行協商；《兩岸協議監督條例》在兩黨立院召委換人後應及早付委審查，只要朝野不堅持己見，達成妥協版本並非困難。至於《兩岸服貿協議》及《兩岸貨貿協議》的爭議，前者大陸已明確拒絕重啟協商，目前似乎只有暫時擱置一途，後者則可依目前節奏進行，但協商過程需維持最大透明度，與相關業者持續溝通。

衡諸政治現實，國民黨實可宣布暫時擱置服貿審議，留待貨貿完成談判後，再一併進行朝野協商，民進黨亦須改變全盤否定國民黨財經法案的態度。民進黨須作出具體行動，才能改變社會反商形象。