The Wisdom of Asia №3

Part Ⅰ：How to Deal with China and America

Chapter One
Expanding Potentials in Asia by “Taiwan's Choice”

      President of Akita International University    Nakajima Mineo

2．China's First Democratic Transfer   （1)

　　　Taiwan chose its new President and Vice-President early this year （in 2000）as a result of the second Presidential election，electing Chen Shui-bian（陳水扁）and Ms. Lee Hsiu-1ien（呂秀連）of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party（DPP）. lt is perhaps necessary at this stage to make a general review of what Taiwan's democratization means．
　　　That election is of great historical signinficance. It was not only the first change of political power since the Nationalist Party（KMT）moved the government to Taiwan，but the end of the 90-year KMT rule that followed Dr．Sun Yat-Shen's （孫逸仙）revolution．Furthermore，the transfer of power from KMT to the DPP by a direct democratic election was a historic first event in Chinese history．
　　  The Chinese have long maintained a unique imperial power structure. Changes of rules took place either through revolution of dynastic change（易姓革命），or hereditary succession following a ruler's death．This was the pattern throughout the chain of succeeding dynasties. It has remained the pattern in the People's Republic of China under the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship，as it did with the Chiang Kai-Shek and Chiang Ching-Kuo regimes of the Republic of China．That presidential election was thus greatly change the Chinese political system. lts open transfer of power，observed by the whole world，was tru1y epoch-making.
　　　　It is my belief that President Lee's  firm determination was what caused such a decisive event to take place．President Lee served out the term of Chiang Ching－Kuo followlng that man's death．He was reelected by the people. President Lee then，through constitutional revisions，inaugurated a system  of direct presidential election．lt is a system that directly reflects the will of the people，one that represents the people's will better than the Japanese Cabinet system or the United States presidential election system，however close that may seem to direct election．Like the U．S．system，it sets a term of four years and a maximum of two terms．In the first direct election，Lee won  a landslide victory. China's  pressure with large-scale military exercises and missile tests had an effect opposite to that calculated and helped Lee to win．
　　　　There was a great deal of sentiment urging President Lee，who had Promoted Taiwan's democratization，to serve one more term，through a constitutional revision. That is the normal way ln socialist states and in development-dictatorship model of Asian countries．
　　　  President Lee could easily have exerted leadership through such a method，but from early on he refused to change the firm decision he had made. He expressed his firm determination in the words：“I wanted to pass on to Taiwan the legacy of a democratic system. If  leaders chosen by the system in the future choose to follow a political course based on the will of the people，so much the better．”
　　　　President Lee，therefore，is，I believe，satisfied in his heart with the result of the election in 2000，because the great enterprise known as the democratization of Taiwan，which he has nurtured during the 12years of the Lee Teng-hui era has gone one step beyond the point of no return．The Chinese world has democratized，protecting freedom of speech and the freedom of criticizlng the president，something heretofore unimaginable in  the Chinese world. The difference is crystal clear when compared with the eras of Chiang Kai-Shek，Chiang Ching-kuo and with the reglme in power on the Chinese mainland，where there exists absolutely no room for anti-Jing Zemin（江澤民）demonstrations．
　　　  In the process of democratization which President Lee promoted，there was one chronic disease which could not be avoided，namely，the divisive ethnic issue of whether one is a“native Taiwanese ” or a “waisheng-jen（外省人）” （a mainland Chinese who moved to Taiwan after
the Second World War，especialIy those who moved there with Chiang Kai-shek in 1949，translator）.The recent election showed that those group barriers remain deep－rooted.
　　　  But one cannot view the problem from the standpoint of provincial origin contradictions（「省籍矛盾」）alone. In fact，the DPP's victory can be  intepreted as a victory for the Lee program. It should not be surprlslng that President Lee，who did so much to guide Taiwan's democratization and the Tiwanization of the Republic of China，felt a strong aversion to transferring power to an external reglme，　meanlng，　of course，“the non-Taiwan-born-Chinese-controlled Nationalist government（外来政権）．” President of the recent power transfer the outcome President Lee－once President of the Nationalist Party，who nevertheless fought the National Party  and，at the same time，though President of the Republic of China，fought the Chinese world－deep in the bottom of this heart wished for？
　　　   Many who supported the DPP in the election were once supporters of President Lee. During the election，President Lee，in his capacity as the ROC President and as KMT Chairman，lent his support to candidate Lien Chan (連戦). He exerted even more energy for the Lien camp toward the final stage of the campaign than at the time of his own electoral campalgn，but directed most of his attack on candidate Jamessoong（宋楚稔），at the same time avoiding serious criticism of Chen Shui-bian，the Taiwan-born candidate．During the closing days of the campaign，Dr．Lee Yuan－tze（李遠哲)．President of the ROC academia Sinica（中央研究院），a Nobel Prize winner, who had been a friend of President Lee，declared his support for the Chen camp．Hsu Wen-lung（許文龍），Chairman of the Chimei group（the Taiwan-based enterprlse which produces 25％of the world's  production of ABS resin）and a long time strong supporter of the Lee government，also sided with the Chen camp．They have long held an“anti-external reglme” consciousness ，while supporting President Lee．They did not cut their ties to President Lee yet ran to the DPP camp，at the same time maintainlng unchanged in their respect for President Lee．

"The Wisdom of Asia" Translated by Alexander K. Young 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Akita International Univwrsity Press

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