Is This Really How the DPP Wants to Play It?

Is This Really How the DPP Wants to Play It?
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 6, 2015

Executive Summary: The Ma Xi summit will convene in Singapore this Saturday. As soon as the news emerged, DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen reacted swiftly. Her tone was low-key. She refrained from inciting anti-Mainland sentiment. DPP candidates refrained from mobilizing mass protests or sieges of the Presidential Palace. Nevertheless Tsai Ing-wen failed to behave in a manner befitting a national leader. The DPP once again reverted to form, and hurled ideologically motivated accusations of “black box” decision-making. It once again alleged that “Taiwan's democracy will be undermined!”

Full Text Below:

The Ma Xi summit will convene in Singapore this Saturday. As soon as the news emerged, DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen reacted swiftly. Her tone was low-key. She refrained from inciting anti-Mainland sentiment. DPP candidates refrained from mobilizing mass protests or sieges of the Presidential Palace. Nevertheless Tsai Ing-wen failed to behave in a manner befitting a national leader. The DPP once again reverted to form, and hurled ideologically motivated accusations of “black box” decision-making. It once again alleged that “Taiwan's democracy will be undermined!”

Most world leaders are concerned about East Asia. Political and intellectual elites concur. The strategic picture in East and Southeast Asia is turbulent, chaotic, and indeterminate. The Ma Xi summit may play an important role in cross-Strait peace. It is sure to become an important page in cross-Strait, even East Asian history. It provides a visible benchmark for peace in the Taiwan Strait and East Asia. Never mind the rest. The mere image of leaders from the two sides meeting and shaking hands reeks with historical significance. After all, the two sides have been separated for 66 years. Their leaders have finally reached the point where they can talk and shake hands. Think of all the twists and turns that came before. Think of the wisdom and effort required to bring us to this point. No wonder the global media considers this event so significant.

If Tsai Ing-wen becomes ROC president, the Ma Xi summit presents her with a highly advantageous, historic opportunity. After all, this meeting of leaders is the most difficult step. It will enable her to follow in Ma's footsteps and eventually go beyond. Tsai Ing-wen must now transcend blue vs. green. She must cease answering only to the Democratic Progressive Party. As Tsai Ing-wen herself said, the Republic of China is not synonymous with the KMT, and Taiwan is not synonymous with the DPP.

Sad to say, Tsai Ing-wen has failed to transcend her limitations. She persists in playing word games with terms such as "the people" and “the citizenry”. She is attempting to equate herself with "the people" and “the citizenry”. She is back to her old habits. These enable Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP to puff up their chests and indiscriminately reject any and all Ma government policies. They must realize that no matter how low President Ma's approval ratings have fallen, he remains a president elected by a majority of the people. He is fully authorized to implement his philosophy and his policies. The Ma Xi summit realizes an important plank in Ma's cross-Strait peace policy. Tsai Ing-wen has yet again reverted to the same tired rhetoric. By doing so, she has reneged on her pledge to make positive changes to her cross-Strait policy.

Those who arranged the Ma Xi summit emphasize that the two men are meeting as leaders of each side. They will address each other as "Mister". They will discuss no politics. They will engage in no negotiations. They will sign no agreements. They will issue no statements. They will make no private commitments. In other words, the Ma Xi summit on Saturday will be symbolic in nature. It will at most firm up the consensus between leaders from the two sides. By all accounts it will be consistent with Tsai's call for "equal dignity", "openness and transparency", and "apolitical nature". Furthermore, President Ma has publicly promised to report to the Legislative Yuan afterwards. Does this not consistute public and legislative oversight? Therefore, just exactly is Tsai Ing-wen's complaint?

Tsai Ing-wen's final remark reveals the true source of her inner anxiety. She said, "Taiwan is currently in the middle of an election. This is a sensitive time. Was the choice to convene a Ma Xi summit at this time intended to influence the election? The public has its suspicions." So this is what has Tsai in a tizzy. Tsai Ing-wen's real concern is that the Ma Xi summit will influence the presidential election. This footnote essentially nullified everything Tsai Ing-wen trotted out earlier. The same is true of the reaction of several DPP county chiefs and city mayors. All of them saw the summit as nothing more than an election ploy.

What's interesting is that Tsai Ing-wen considers herself a representative of "the people" and "the citizenry". If she really believes "the people" and "the citizenry" are offended by the Ma Xi summit, won't their reaction help her election prospects? Shouldn't she be delighted? Why wring her hands about any "attempts to influence the election"? If a single Ma Xi summit can influence the election, then which party needs to rethink its campaign platform? The KMT? Or the DPP? The results from a several live votes have been released. A majority of the public are happy to see a Ma Xi summit take place.

Let us not mince words. It is a widely held belief that the DPP cares only about winning elections, nothing else. This charge reveals Tsai Ing-wen's mindset more clearly than anything else. Since the election began, her cross-Strait policy platform has been one long tap dance. She has dodged every question asked her about the 1992 Consensus. She refuses to present any position whatsoever. Her irresponsible attitude has finally been outed by the Ma Xi summit. She has completely reverted to form. She has lost the moral high ground. She has unwittingly but clearly told "the people" and "the citizenry" that apart from winning the election, she cares about nothing else.

The Ma Xi summit held on Saturday will be an important moment in history. It will have positive repercussions for the future. At this critical juncture, Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP have left behind a record of their behavior. They have left behind damning insights into their character.

這就是民進黨的格局嗎？

2015年11月06日 中國時報

馬習會將在本周六於新加坡舉行的消息傳出後，民進黨及其總統參選人蔡英文很快都做出回應，雖然表現低調，未操作反中情緒，也沒有黨籍候選人發動包圍總統府或群眾示威抗議。但令人遺憾，蔡英文並沒有展現出國家領導人應有的高度與格局，再度展現民進黨意識型態原形，質疑決策過程「黑箱」，還指控對台灣民主政治會有傷害！

相信全球多數關注東亞局勢的國家領導人、政治與知識精英都會同意，在東亞與東南亞國際戰略情勢正進入風起雲湧、渾沌不明之際，馬習會的舉行將有機會對兩岸未來的和平發揮關鍵作用，勢必將會是兩岸發展史、乃至東亞區域史上重要的一頁！而台海的和平對區域和平亦具有觀察指標的意義。別的不談，僅就兩岸領導人正式見面握手的畫面，就具有彌足珍貴的歷史意義！畢竟兩岸分離66年，終於走到領導人握手交談這一步，中間歷經多少曲折，又凝聚了多少人的智慧與心力！難怪這兩天幾乎全球媒體都給予正面的評價。

對蔡英文而言，如果她有機會擔任下一屆的中華民國總統，這般的歷史發展，對她而言絕對是有利的契機，畢竟當「領導人會面」這最艱難的一步都跨過去了，她能夠接續布局的空間將更擴大許多！此刻的蔡英文，所選擇的位置應是超越藍綠的台灣，而不是台灣的民進黨！套用蔡英文自己的語言，如果中華民國不等於國民黨，台灣也從不等於民進黨。

但蔡英文還是無法超越局限！她在聲明中不斷玩弄「人民」、「國人」的語詞，意圖將她自己與「人民」、「國人」畫上等號，而也就是這種慣性的修辭操作，讓蔡英文與民進黨過往能理直氣壯地抵制馬政府的所有政策！要知道，馬總統就算今天的聲望再低落，畢竟也是多數民意選出的總統，他有完全的責任去實踐他的理念與政見，如今的馬習會，本來也就是落實兩岸和平政策上重要的一環，蔡英文再度祭出了同樣的修辭大加質疑，反而將她早先對兩岸正面的調整全破了功！

更何況，這次的馬習會，已經早就強調雙方是以兩岸領導人身分會面，互稱「先生」，而且完全不涉政治談判、不簽署協議、不發表共同聲明，也不會有私下承諾。換言之，周六舉行的馬習會，所展現更多的其實是其象徵的意義，至多只有凝聚兩岸領導人共識的功能。從各方面來看都符合蔡英文所強調的「對等尊嚴」、「公開透明」、「不涉政治前提」的原則，更何況馬總統都公開許諾了，他事後願意到立法院去報告，這不也等於是接受民意與國會監督嗎？那麼蔡英文的最大不滿究竟是什麼呢？

在蔡英文聲明中的最後，或許才道出她內心的真實焦慮，她說「目前正值台灣選舉的敏感時期，選擇在這個時間進行馬習會，是否意圖影響選舉，必定遭受社會質疑。」原來如此，蔡英文真正掛念的，是擔心馬習會的舉辦，會不會影響總統選情？這個註腳等於讓蔡英文先前說的所有冠冕堂皇的話全掉了漆，而幾位民進黨縣市長的反應也全一樣，全都將之視為是選舉操作！

耐人尋味的是，如果蔡英文自認代表台灣全部「人民」，她若認為所謂「國人」或「人民」都會不同意或不允許馬習會的舉辦，那麼豈不是對她的選情更有加分的作用！她高興都還來不及呢，何來「意圖影響選舉」之說，如果一場馬習會就能夠真的影響選情，那麼該檢討的是國民黨還是民進黨？要知道，已經公布的若干即時民調，多數民意可是樂見馬習會的哦！

不諱言地說，相較於其他的批評，這種「只圖選舉，不為其他」的思維慣性，徹底暴露了蔡英文的局限性。自選戰開打以來，在兩岸政策上，她一路模糊以對，對關鍵的九二共識立場更是完全躲閃，甚至是根本不論述，這種不負責任的態度，終於到了這次馬習會的議題上，完全現出了原形，不僅完全喪失了高度，而且明示的告訴國人，除了選舉，她其實不在乎其他的東西。

可預見的，周六舉行的馬習會，將在未來的大歷史中記上重要的一筆，它的正面效應也會在未來陸續展現，而在這個關鍵時刻中，蔡英文與民進黨所留下的紀錄，也將見證其識見與格局！