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96 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
watchdog body. Chang Chun-yen, Ma’s nominee for
president of the Examination Yuan, was forced to withdraw
his candidacy.
As Ma’s leadership was challenged, Wu Poh-hsiung,
chairman of the Kuomintang, had to name three top
lawmakers his vice chairman at an extraordinary party
national congress in November to improve relations
between the government and parliament.
Public Dissatisfaction with Two Major Parties
The public was very much dissatisfied with the
new Legislative Yuan inaugurated in February 2008.
Public opinion surveys have shown people considered
the opposition Democratic Progressive Party performed
“irrationally,” while the performance of the ruling Kuomintang
was regarded as “poor” at best.
First of all, the Democratic Progressive Party
could not get out of the shadow of President Chen
Shui-bian, who is standing trial for corruption and graft
in addition to money laundry. People consider the opposition
party just as corrupt as President Chen. A public
opinion survey conducted by the Era Poll Center in
August showed only one out of every ten respondents,
or 10.5 percent of the sample, thought the opposition
party incorruptible, against the 31.4 percent for the
Kuomintang. A 66.5 percent majority thought the opposition
“highly corruptible,” much higher than the Kuomintang
at 40.2 percent. Furthermore, a TVBS poll in
October indicated a higher 69 percent majority believed
the opposition was corrupt while those who considered
it incorruptible were a 14 percent minority, down by 11
percent from the previous poll. The in-fighting between
the pro- and anti-Chen blocs made the ratings of solidarity
among the opposition party supporters plummet
11 percent to a record low 31 percent, far behind the
Kuomintang at 54 percent. Meanwhile, the party’s failure
to distance itself from President Chen made a 55
percent majority of eligible voters believe the opposition
lacks a self-examination ability.
On the other hand, the opposition is regarded as a
party of violence. The election of Tsai Ing-wen as party
chairwoman boosted the image of the opposition. The
successful mass rally on October 25 further improved
that image. But rallies held in protest against the visit to
Taipei of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for
Relations across the Taiwan Strait, wiped out all the
gains. According to a United Daily News poll on November
6, a 53 percent majority was dissatisfied with
Tsai’s leadership in the protest rallies. A mere 26 percent
minority approved of her leadership. Similar results
were found by Global Vision Magazine. In a poll
held from November 7 through 9, Global Vision Magazine
found a 55.2 percent majority regarded Tsai as
irresponsible, whereas she was considered responsible
by a 24.7 percent minority.
The reason is not far to seek. Radical protest rallies
were considered out of date. Taiwan is no longer
under martial law, one most important reason for such
rallies while the Kuomintang was in power in the 1980s.
The protest was against the Kuomintang government
policy vis-à-vis relations between Taiwan and China,
which the majority of voters believe is conducive,
while the opposition party does not have a better China
policy. The opposition party, in fact, was going against
public opinion in calling the protest rallies, which were
marred by violence. As a matter of fact, a TVBS poll
conducted before Chen Yunlin’s visit showed a 47 percent
plurality would welcome him though he would not
be welcomed by a 30 percent minority. Moreover, a 33
percent plurality believed that Chen’s visit would be
favorable to Taiwan’s development, while 22 percent of
the respondents did not think so. A 49 percent plurality
did not support the plan by the opposition party to hold
an overnight protest rally before his arrival in Taipei,
with the supporters forming a 33 percent minority.
Moreover, the public thought the violent rallies
hurt the image of Taiwan. According to the Global Vision
Magazine poll, a 66.4 percent majority were convinced
the violence committed during the rallies seriously
damaged Taiwan’s image as a democracy. A mere