Taiwan's Most Unprincipled Government Ever Owes the Public an Apology

Taiwan's Most Unprincipled Government Ever Owes the Public an Apology
China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC) 
A Translation 
May 30, 2016

Executive Summary: Does the DPP intend to copy past KMT behavior verbatim?  Does it intend to take a position and defend it to the bitter end? Does it intend to adopt the very same policies it denounced yesterday and praise them to the skies? Does it intend to be as uncommunicative as the KMT government used to be? Taiwan is being ripped apart. The DPP needs to think about whether to apologize to the Taiwan public. But even more than that, it needs to think about the coming public backlash.

Full Text Below:

Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Chou-yan attended the WHA annual meeting in Geneva on behalf of the DPP government. When he addressed the organization, he repeatedly referred to "Chinese Taipei". Not once did he use the term “Taiwan”. This provoked considerable controversy. Yet President Tsai gushed. She said “Every obstacle was difficult, yet every obstacle was overcome”. The Taiwan United Nations Alliance WHO Information Group declared the result "unsatisfactory but acceptable". Now think back to the 2009 WHA annual conference. The Kuomintang government had just straightened out the mess in cross-Strait relations. For the first time ever, it used the term "Chinese Taipei". It did so in order to qualify for observer status. Then director Yeh Chin-chuan headed the delegation. He had yet to leave the country when the DPP legislative caucus held a press conference, and blasted Yeh Chin-chuan for "selling out Taiwan". Legislator Ye Yi-chun accused Yeh Chin-chuan of "surrendering our sovereignty". Legislator Chai Trong-rong alleged that "Chinese Taipei" simply means "China's Taipei".

It was bad enough that the DPP engaged in name-calling at home. Overseas students went to the meeting venue, surrounded Yeh Chin-chuan, and screamed at him. They even provoked incidents at dinners hosted by diplomatic allies. One female student confronted Yeh Chin-chuan and screamed “Why are you using the term Chinese Taipei?”, “Why are you selling out Taiwan?”, and even more shrilly, she demanded to know "Under what name is Taiwan participating in the WHO?”. She then said, “Yeh Chin-chuan, you are shameless! Don't bother coming back to Taiwan!" In short, the circumstances were the same. The only difference was when Yeh Chin-chuan went, he was accused of "selling out Taiwan". Whereas when Lin Chou-yan went, he was praised as a hero, and commended for "overcoming all obstacles". Yesterday Yeh Chin-chuan. Today Ye Chou-yan. Both represented Taiwan. Both increased Taiwan's international space. But Yeh Chin-chuan was branded a "traitor to Taiwan", while Ye Chou-yan was welcomed back as a conquering hero. If these are not double standards, then pray tell what constitutes a double standard?

In response to blue camp complaints about double standards, Taiwan United Nations Alliance WHO Information Group spokesman Shen Chi-lin offered a truly surreal excuse. Shen said "The DPP and some people on Taiwan perceive your party (KMT), or past governments under your party, as selling out Taiwan. Your party has a certain public image. That is not something that can be explained by an isolated event or an isolated analogy”. In short, if the DPP does it, it's okay. If the KMT does it, it's not. In 2009 the Kuomintang had been in office less than a year. According to the DPP's logic, that year's new mandate was “not really a mandate”.

This sort of “wrong yesterday, but right today” phenomenon has provoked the blue camp to argue that “The DPP owes the KMT an apology!” But frankly, most people think it good that the DPP government has adopted a pragmatic attitude in order to participate in the WHA. They consider such an attitude beneficial to exchanges between Taiwan and the international community. They think it enables Taiwan to better obtain international health information. They consider Taiwan contributing to the international community a good thing. They think consider reluctantly accepting the "Chinese Taipei" name beneficial to cross-Strait peace. They think at least it offers a good beginning for CCP-DPP trust. We wonder why the KMT is demanding an apology?

We consider the KMT demand for an apology pointless. But the DPP really should consider apologizing to the public. The DPP has been in office a mere 10 days. Yet it has reversed itself repeatedly. It has revealed its political double standards. It really should apologize to the Taiwan public. Years ago the green camp surrounded Yeh Chin-chuan and accused him of “selling out Taiwan”, causing enormous turmoil. Yeh Chin-chuan also found “Every obstacle difficult, yet overcame every obstacle”. Forget the allegations that Yeh Chin-chuan "sold out Taiwan". What were the social costs of these allegations for Taiwan? Back then the government increased our participation in international organizations. For that it was skinned alive. Today, the green camp has accepted the same nomenclature and the same agenda -- lock, stock, and barrel. Lin Chou-yan was not even treated as well as Yeh Chin-chuan. Yet Lin Chuan-chou is being praised by everone up and down the ranks of the green camp as a hero. Taiwan society pays no small price for these confrontations and divisions. Never mind an apology. The DPP has yet to express even “regret”.

The DPP's “wrong yesterday, but right today” phenomenon is not confined to this. The newly formed Lin Chou-yan cabinet is billing itself as a "humble cabinet", and boasting that it is "the most communicative government ever". Meanwhile, it is canceling toll free national highway travel during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is collecting tolls on East-West national highways. It is halting the mining of granite in Taroko Gorge. Its long list of high handed measures has shown the public that the new government is neither humble nor communicative. Even many green camp legislators are appalled. They are demanding that the new government communicate with the legislature before introducing new policies. Green camp local leaders are even more incensed. They eventually forced the Ministry of Transportation to reverse its policy of collecting tolls on East West national highways. These complete reversals of policies, like the acceptance of the "Chinese Taipei" name, leave an indelible impression. When the KMT attempted to communicate in the past, all it got in return was condemnation and humiliation. Today, the DPP does not even bother to communicate with anyone. It simply imposes its policies from the top down, without any consultation whatsoever.

Does the DPP intend to copy past KMT behavior verbatim?  Does it intend to take a position and defend it to the bitter end? Does it intend to adopt the very same policies it denounced yesterday and praise them to the skies? Does it intend to be as uncommunicative as the KMT government used to be? Taiwan is being ripped apart. The DPP needs to think about whether to apologize to the Taiwan public. But even more than that, it needs to think about the coming public backlash.

最會轉彎的政府，欠人民一個公道
2016年05月30日 中國時報

衛福部長林奏延首度代表民進黨政府參與日內瓦WHA年會，演說中自稱「中華台北」，完全沒提到台灣，引起重大爭議，但蔡總統大力稱讚，稱許「關關難過關關過」，隨行的台灣聯合國協進會WHO宣達團也宣稱「不滿意但可以接受」！回顧2009年WHA年會，國民黨政府在理順兩岸關係後，首度以「中華台北」名義、「觀察員」身分，由葉金川署長率團出席。結果人還未出發，民進黨立院黨團就開記者會痛批葉金川「出賣台灣」，立委葉宜津認為是「主權的喪失、流失與退讓」，立委蔡同榮更質疑所謂「Chinese Taipei中華台北」，根本等於「中國的台北」。

在國內被罵就罷了，到年會會場還被海外留學生圍剿羞辱，甚至在宴請支持我友邦的晚宴上大鬧。一位女留學生在現場質問葉金川為什麼要用「中華台北」？為什麼要「賣台」？更高聲痛罵「台灣以什麼樣的身分參加WHO，葉金川不要臉，不用回台灣啦！」換言之，腳本其實都一樣，不同的是當年葉金川被羞辱，被罵「賣台」，林奏延則被讚揚，被稱許為「關關難過關關過」，當年的葉金川、今天的林奏延，都代表台灣去拓展國際空間，但葉金川被扣上「賣台」的帽子，林奏延卻是三千寵愛集一身，如果這還不叫「雙重標準」，還要怎樣才算是「雙重標準」呢？

面對部分藍營人士的不平之鳴，台灣聯合國協進會WHO宣達團發言人沈志霖的辯解最傳神：「貴黨（國民黨）或貴黨過去執政的政府，所作所為被民進黨或許多台灣人民稱之為賣台，是因為貴黨至今積累的社會形象有關，並非單一事件單一類比可以解釋。」簡單地說，同樣的事，民進黨做可以，國民黨做就是不行！2009年的國民黨還是剛執政才不滿周年的新政府哪！按照這種邏輯，當年的「新民意」根本就不配稱之為「民意」吧！

這般昨非今是，讓藍營人士逮到機會聲稱民進黨「欠國民黨一個道歉！」但老實說，多數民眾站在國家利益角度思考，會認為民進黨政府以務實態度參與WHA，有益台灣與國際社會的交往，更能及時掌握國際衛生資訊，有機會貢獻國際社會，當然是好事一件，勉為其難接受「中華台北」名稱，對兩岸和平發展道路有正面效益，至少是民共互信正面的開始，真不理解國民黨討這個道歉是要幹嘛？

我們認為國民黨「討道歉」的心態很無聊，但同樣站在民眾的角度出發，卻認為民進黨確實應該好好思考，執政短短10天不斷出現的「髮夾彎現象」，暴露的「雙重標準」政治文化，是否真該向台灣社會道個歉了！當年綠營對葉金川的撻伐與圍剿，曾製造了多少紛擾，引發了多少動盪！同樣的都是「關關難過關關過」，葉金川陷入「賣台」指控不說，當年大量的謾罵與指控，無端耗掉台灣多少社會成本？當年這場好不容易才拓展出的國際參與，被綠營修理得簡直是體無完膚，如今從名稱、定位到議程，綠營一切都是照單全收，林奏延甚至不及葉金川當年的格局，綠營上下卻是對之讚譽有加，而台灣社會當年為這些紛擾所付出的對立與撕裂，不可謂不小！但甭說道歉，連個遺憾都沒有！

老實說，民進黨昨非今是的還不只是這些，剛起步的林全內閣一方面高倡「謙卑內閣」，宣稱要做「最會溝通的政府」，但另一方面從「取消端午國道夜間免費」，到「橫向國道收費」、「停止亞泥在太魯閣採礦案」等一連串讓人民非常感冒的措施，是既看不到「謙卑」，更不見「溝通」，讓不少綠營立委都看不下去，公開要求內閣在推出政策之前，應先主動和立法院溝通說明，綠營地方首長更是憤怒，最後迫使交通部不得不收回「橫向國道收費」政策。這種反差與接受「中華台北」名稱同樣令人印象深刻。過去國民黨主動進行溝通，常換來羞辱與攻擊，如今民進黨甚至完全不溝通，政策就都已經上路了！

如果民進黨一一複製國民黨當年的作為，一一採取當年自己抵制到底的立場，當初痛斥的政策，今天讚揚有加，甚至決策與國民黨政府同樣閉鎖，溝通同樣草率，面對被撕裂的台灣，就不只是該不該深刻反省道歉的問題，而是民意何時反撲的問題。