Kuomintang Triumphs at Taiwanese Polls

The Kuomintang [KMT] opposition thrashed the Democratic People’s Party [DPP] of President Chen Shui-bian in Taiwan’s parliamentary elections over the week-end. Under a new voting system, the KMT took 81 of the 113 seats, while the DPP picked up just 27. The other five went to independents, who appear to be pro-KMT. This suggests the KMT will also win the presidential election in March.

Voter turnout was weak with just 58.5% voting; that’s a record low in Taiwan. Additionally, two referenda held simultaneously with the election were rejected as only 26% of the eligible voters cast a ballot, short of the 50% needed to make them valid.

Whether the new system resulted in the low turnout or whether it was a campaign devoid of content is hard to say. Ting-I Tsai, a freelance journalist based in Taipei, reported, “The new legislative voting system resulted from the passing of a constitutional amendment in 2005 that halved the body's 225 seats and adopted a 'single-seat, dual vote' system similar to that used in Japan and Germany. But the voting system, where voters cast one ballot for a candidate and one for a political party that determined the makeup of 'at-large' legislators, failed to live up to its billing as a way to usher in an era of more professional and efficient lawmakers.

“Instead, the new system rewarded local factional strength and discounted professionalism even more than in the past. With only one lawmaker being elected from each district, having powerful local ties and being able to get out the vote trumped the appeal of being an effective lawmaker. Many of the directly elected winners were local political power brokers who now have more power than before but care little about legislating effective national policy.”

What does matter is that the KMT is not the pro-independence party, but rather accepts the One-China idea (it just thinks the KMT rather than the Chinese Communist Party should govern). The DPP often flirts with declaring Taiwan independent. Beijing would almost certainly use force to prevent that, and the US has said it would defend Taiwan in the event that occurred. The KMT has a very authoritarian past, but the future looks a bit less tense for now because of its win.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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