United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
September 8, 2016
Executive Summary: The Tsai government is in chaos. This provides the KMT with an opportunity to accelerate blue camp transformation. The KMT must offer a forward-looking vision. It must boldly take a stand on behalf of the Taiwan public. It must offer constructive alternatives to DPP policy in order to win public support. Internally, comrades who take the revitalization of the blue camp seriously, must forsake selfishness and be more willing to consider the Big Picture. Hung Shiu-chu must keep an open mind. Only then will people of talent and constructive suggestions come pouring in.
Full Text Below:
Under the color of the "Articles for the Disposal of Illicit Party Assets", financial institutions have ceased lending funds to the KMT. This has exerted tremendous pressure on the party. The KMT Central Committee has suspended monthly retirement benefits and 18% interest payments. It has been forced to make spending cuts, and adopt a whoe range of austerity measures. Almost all of these have been passive responses to events swirling around it. Following its election debacle, the KMT appears to have lost all drive and direction.
Consider Chairman Hung Shiu-chu's substantial changes to the party's Central Committee. She scored election victories in Hualien City, Tianwei Township, and several other locales. She has officially incorporated the Cross-Strait Peace Agreement into the KMT party platform. These are all positive moves. But the impact of these, both politically and socially, is relatively small. Put simply, these moves are not enough to attract outside attention. Nor are they enough to unify the party from within, never mind revive blue camp morale.
The new government has failed to win peoples' hearts and minds. This provided the KMT a golden opportunity to demonstrate oversight, insight, and tolerance in its role as the political opposition. Unfortunately the KMT dwelt exclusively on its own persecution. It harped on party assets instead of hardships endured by the nation as a whole. The manner in which it expressed itself, with complaints, sarcasm, and bad-mouthing, has not won public sympathy. Therefore the new government's failure to win public support has not led to a corresponding rise in support for the KMT. The KMT has failed to transcend its old stereotypes. It has not given people the impression of change.
Looking forward, the KMT faces three major obstacles. It must overcome these obstacles if the blue camp is to have a real chance at transformation and rebirth. If it busies itself with trivialities, with a war of words and merely goes through the motions, it will not be able to revive itself.
The first of the KMT's three major obstacles, is the lack of an internal party line. Next year's party chairmanship election will apparently be contested only by Hung Shiu-chu and Wu Den-yih. That is not a good sign. Wu and Hung each have their strenghts and weaknesses. But neither has offered a vision for the party attractive enough to inspire the public. Meanwhile, rival party factions are covertly mobilizing. The battle is bound to form along "nativist" and "non-nativist" lines. It amounts to another round in the unfinished battle between Hung and Wu over the party chairmanship earlier this year. If the chairmanship election leads to increased divisions within the party, it will be obtuse beyond belief.
The second major obstacle the KMT faces, is the 2018 county and municipal elections. When Eric Chu was chairman, he demanded that six legislators without portfolio resign after serving only two years, and even sign agreements to that effect. But Hung Shiu-chu apparently has no intention of meekly complying with rules laid down by Eric Chu. She proposed an alternative -- a pre-selection system to nominate more newcomers. In fact, both models have their limitations. The biggest problem is that new or old, there are no strong candidates to be found. So how can the KMT have any winners? The KMT Central Committee must be more aggressive. It must help candidates with potential establish public images. It must provide them with election opportunities. Merely waiting for candidates to emerge from normal work processes, offers little chance of victory.
The third major obstacle the KMT faces, is letting go of its party assets. KMT party assets have become a major political burden. The KMT should use the opportunity to relieve itself of this burden once and for all. It should conduct a thorough inventory of party management and staff. This would help accelerate the downsizing and restructuring of the party. This should be regarded as a blessing in disguise. A party that dwells on the past, that continues to support seven to eight hundred party workers and thousands of retired party workers, can only rest on its laurels. It has no prospects for the future. Currently only Vice Chairman Tsan Chi-hsian has expressed a desire to put an end to this. Others remain filled with resentment. But that only makes it more difficult for the party to make a new beginning. In reality, the KMT must cease defending and start attacking. It must let go of resentments over party assets. It must turn the tables on the DPP, and attack its extortionate and illegal expropriation of public assets. It must demand that party assets be used for public welfare. Only then will divesting itself of its party assets acrue to its own favor, and polish its own public image. Only then can it effectively combat DPP demands for party assets, and force the DPP to abide by the law.
The Tsai government is in chaos. This provides the KMT with an opportunity to accelerate blue camp transformation. The KMT must offer a forward-looking vision. It must boldly take a stand on behalf of the Taiwan public. It must offer constructive alternatives to DPP policy in order to win public support. Internally, comrades who take the revitalization of the blue camp seriously, must forsake selfishness and be more willing to consider the Big Picture. Hung Shiu-chu must keep an open mind. Only then will people of talent and constructive suggestions come pouring in.
國民黨轉型的腳步必須加快
2016-09-08 聯合報
在《不當黨產處理條例》的框限下，金融機構陸續停止與國民黨的借貸合約，使國民黨面臨龐大的周轉壓力。國民黨中央除停發退職黨工月退及十八趴外，也必須緊縮各種支出，並被迫進一步採取裁員措施。這些行動，幾乎全是被形勢推著走的消極因應。整體觀察，國民黨在大選潰敗後，似乎還沒找到重新出發的動力和方向。
觀察洪秀柱出任主席之後的作為，黨中央的人事布局作了相當規模的調整，也打贏花蓮市、田尾鄉等幾場地方補選，並將「兩岸和平協議」正式寫入黨的政策綱領。這些，自有其正面意義；但就政治影響和社會形象而言，仍嫌相對微小。簡言之，這些作為對外不足吸引民眾的目光，對內無法產生強大的凝聚，遑論重振藍軍氣勢。
其實，在新政府執政不得民心的情況下，國民黨原有不少可以發揮的空間，表現出在野監督的見識和氣度。遺憾的是，國民黨卻只專注在自己受到的打壓（如討黨產），而不是提升高度以關注民瘼與國家大局的平衡；此外，選擇以抱怨、嘲諷、唱衰等方式表達異議，亦不易引起社會大眾共鳴。也因此，在新政府民意支持度下墜的同時，並未見國民黨支持度的相對上升，主要就是國民黨並未能超越自己舊有窠臼，無法讓民眾看到它改頭換面之貌。
往前看，國民黨面對的是三座大山，必須要能跨越這些險峻的挑戰，藍軍才有真正轉型重生的可能。否則，如果只是每天忙於因應眼前這些瑣瑣碎碎的口水戰及形式微調，恐怕無助重振氣勢。
國民黨的三座大山，第一，是黨內的路線問題懸而未決。明年的黨主席選舉，目前看來，似乎仍只有吳敦義和洪秀柱競逐的態勢，這並非好的徵兆。吳、洪兩人各有優劣，但雙方均未就黨的發展提出足夠吸引人的見解，而只是在派系人脈上暗中動員較勁。如此一來，勢必又要落入「本土」與「非本土」的路線之爭，等於將年初因吳臨陣卻步而未完的主席之戰重演一回，勢將重蹈內耗的窠臼。主席選戰，若再度造成黨的傷口撕裂，即愚不可及。
第二，參選二○一八縣市長選舉的人才何在：朱立倫在主席任內，曾要求六名不分區立委只任兩年即必須辭職參選，甚至簽下切結。但洪秀柱顯然無意「朱規洪隨」，她改提「預選制」，想要提前透過選舉產生候選人，以拔擢更多新人。事實上，兩種模式都有其侷限，最大的問題在，不論新人或舊人，放眼都看不到強棒，如何能有勝算？黨中央必須拿出更積極的態度，幫黨內具有潛力的人選製造形象與機會；否則，只是被動跟著作業流程等待人選浮現，是沒有勝算的戰法。
第三，對割捨黨產的態度猶豫難決：黨產已成為國民黨一大政治包袱，趁此機會作一總結，同時對黨的經營和人員重新進行總盤點，其實有益加速黨的瘦身和轉型，不妨視之為「焉知非福」的因素。試想，一個坐困愁城的政黨，卻養著七、八百名黨工和數千退休黨工，除了坐吃山空，前景何在？然而，目前似乎只有副主席詹啟賢清楚表達了斷之意，許多人仍充滿怨念，但越是如此，越不容易重新出發。盱衡現實，國民黨唯有「易守為攻」，放下對黨產歸公的怨嘆，轉而對民進黨強徵民產的不法之處提出嚴格監督與攻擊，甚至提出歸公黨產之公益用途。如此，才能藉著「黨產歸零」重新累積自己的形象資產，進而有效打擊民進黨討黨產的霸道與踰法。
蔡政府執政腳步紊亂，正是藍軍加速轉型重生的契機。國民黨必須拿出有高度的瞻矚，站穩為台灣計議的立場，對民進黨政策提出針砭和積極建議，才能爭取民氣支持。對內而言，那些還把振興藍營當一回事的同志，必須放下私心，多一點大局綢繆。洪秀柱則要打開心胸，人才和建言才進得來。
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