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14 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
Eligible voters went to the polls to elect a new
Legislative Yuan and their president and vice president
in early 2008. Taiwan’s two major parties began their
campaigns of 2008 much earlier than were due. One
reason was that President Chen Shui-bian had to win
the two pivotal elections in a row in order to keep his
Democratic Progressive Party in power for his political
survival after his retirement. The legislative elections
took place first. In the past, parliamentary elections
were held in early December, at least three months before
the Legislative Yuan met for its opening session in
February in accordance with the Constitution. Chen
wanted the new Legislative Yuan to be elected not too
long before the presidential election. As a result, Chen
had the legislative elections moved back to January 12,
2008 from the originally scheduled first week of December
2007. In his capacity as chairman of the ruling
party, Chen kicked off the parliamentary campaign,
which would be a warm-up for the presidential election
of March 22, earlier than was necessary in an attempt to
crush the precarious majority of the opposition bloc in
the Legislative Yuan. He thought the ruling party had an
even chance to win both legislative and presidential
elections.
Chen resorted to his wonted China-baiting tactic,
wishing if provoked enough, Beijing would threaten to
invade Taiwan, thereby so hardening the anti-Chinese
feelings in Taiwan as to get all swing voters to vote for
the Democratic Progressive Party. He first tried to abolish
the National Unification Council and the Guidelines
for National Unification. The council, created by
President Lee Teng-hui in 1990, adopted the guidelines
on August 1, 1992. The guidelines define “one China”
with a different interpretation. To Beijing, that one
China may be the People’s Republic of China with
Taiwan as a “special administrative region” after reunification.
Taipei, on the other hand, considers “one China”
to mean the Republic of China, founded in 1912
and with de jure sovereignty over all of China. The
guidelines prescribe a three-step process for Chinese
reunification. Taiwan, according to this process, is now
in the medium-term phase – a phase of mutual trust and
cooperation – which features the establishment of
channels of communication to usher in direct postal,
transport and commercial links and an exchange of visits
by government leaders between the two sides of the
Strait. In the final phase, the two sides would establish
a consultative organization for unification through
which they will jointly discuss their task, while adhering
to the goals of democracy, economic freedom, social
justice and nationalization of the armed forces, and
finally map out a constitutional system to establish a
democratic, free and equitably prospering China. The
guidelines provide the legal basis for the consensus of
1992, which is an agreement on “one China with a different
interpretation.” And that is why President Chen
was compelled to commit himself in two inaugural addresses
not to abolish the council as well as the guidelines
as part of his pledge not to change the status quo
across the Taiwan Strait.
When President Chen made known his decision to
terminate the council as well as the guidelines in 2006,
the United States was greatly alarmed. Washington
considered it a move to unilaterally change the status
quo as it defines. The Department of State issued
warning after grim warning, though China kept mum,
preferring to watch the Americans trying rein in President
Chen. The Chinese learned a lesson in 1996.
Jiang Zeming threatened to war on Taiwan to intimidate
the electorate ready to vote for President Lee Teng-hui.
China did not like Lee to be reelected, but the threat
backfired. Lee won a decisive victory. After months of
frenetic consultations with Washington, Chen was finally
able to have the council “cease to function” and
the guidelines “cease to apply.” He claimed victory in
effectively “terminating” both.
De-Sinicization
The next step President Chen took was an all-out
drive to de-Sinicize Taiwan, of which a posthumous
dethroning of President Chiang Kai-shek was a main
feature. The time was right. He wanted to remind the
people of how Chiang was involved in the February 28
Incident of 1947 on its sixtieth anniversary. As a starter,