A President that Radicalizes Rivalry of a Taiwan in Anxiety

 A President that Radicalizes Rivalry of a Taiwan in Anxiety

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

August 22, 2017

 Translation of an Excerpt

The 29th World Universiade unexpectedly encountered an embarrassing scene in which athletes from various countries were delayed in their entry to the opening ceremony. The organizing authorities blamed the anti-pension reform groups; from the President and the Premier, to the competent Cabinet ministry, they all expressed in unison that they will stringently punish and pursue accountability. Taipei Mayor Ke Wen-je even spit out expletives in his tweets, condemning the anti-pension reform groups and their supporters. However, to be fair, although the delayed entry of the athletes into the stadium for the opening ceremony was embarrassing, it had not reached a serious degree; did the Tsai government overreact? Was it a pretext to oppress dissidents? On that day, protesting and demonstrating groups also included pro-Taiwan independence elements. When the reasons for the delay of athletes’ entry into the stadium have not been cleared up, the authorities hastened to condemn the anti-pension reform groups. Weren’t they after something else?

In actuality, the fact that protesting groups use the venue of important international events for the stage of their demonstrations has always been a problem that various host countries frequently face. They not only include the quadrennial Olympic Games, the World Soccer Cup and other sports competitions, even the G20 and Assemblies of UN functional organizations, etc. Demonstrators and the police often clash outside the venues; the chaotic scenes even include fistfights between opposing sides, leaving casualties. In 2014 when the World Soccer Cup was held in Brazil, 1 million people took to the streets, with outbreaks of bloodshed; this was the most serious case.

As the military, civil servants, and public school teachers have always been considered as the biggest support group for the Blue camp, most of them uphold the Republic of China and oppose Taiwan independence, playing the role of the mainstay in society. However, since the DPP returned to power, its various actions have caused them anxiety, believing that the Republic of China has been undergoing a substantive change. From the appeals of the anti-pension reform groups in their demonstrations at the Universiade, we can clearly see this anxiety.

The authorities should enhance their dialogue with anti-pension reform groups, channeling and alleviating their grievances, further improving the pension and retirement system, as well as long-term care policies, promising to reserve the possibility of remedial measures if fiscal conditions permit in the future. At the same time, the authorities should stop the meaningless ideological acts of governance, so as to provide an outlet for the malaise of collective psychology of anxiety in the society and stabilize the cross-Strait situation.

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