If Unwilling to Be Called "Small Greens", One Has to Conscientiously Oversee the Gov’t

If Unwilling to Be Called "Small Greens", One Has to Conscientiously Oversee the Gov’t

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

July 16, 2020

 Translation of an Excerpt

The Tsai administration has just entered the second term of complete control of government, yet it has already produced many unimaginable chaotic phenomena. Whether it is cronyism in personnel arrangements, doling out high official positions, abuse of law, the acts of unfairness and injustice have emerged endlessly. Because of one-party dominance, the DPP's erosion and harm of democracy and rule of law are also greater day by day. The main reason why the DPP can get what it wants on all fronts and is unscrupulous is principally that the opposition parties have not fully fulfilled their responsibilities to oversee the ruling party.

Traditionally, political parties in this country are divided into Blue and Green because of the differences on reunification and independence. Today, among the effective political parties in the Legislative Yuan, besides the two big ones, the "New Power Party" and the "Taiwan Statebuilding Party" are usually referred to as "small Greens", which set the key tone by following the DPP's footsteps. As for the People’s Party, the line is still quite vague. Under such circumstances, the DPP, with complete control of government, grasps all executive and legislative resources; the opposition parties decide right and wrong from a political standpoint, so that the opposition parties cannot effectively exert strength of checks and balances in democracy.

In contrast, the DPP's strategy against the opposition parties: those that can be absorbed will be absorbed, and those that cannot will be suppressed with all efforts. Those "small Greens" that have been absorbed, such as Fan Yun, the chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party, became an at-large legislator of the DPP; Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Hao-yu, of Green Party affiliation, turned to the big boss; Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Bo-wei turned DPP by outperforming the DPP. These people have lost the self-identity of their own political parties. From the perspective of the development of political parties, always escorting the bigger party on crucial issues in the end will also be gobbled up by the big party.

From earlier on, the DPP attempted to railroad amendments to the "State Land Planning Act", but as all the opposition parties lambasted all-out in unison, the bill barely sailed through, in the end, the controversial provisions were finally shelved. Thus it could be seen that although the DPP is arrogant, as long as the opposition parties are united, effective oversight is not impossible. From the perspective of the long-term development of democratic politics or political parties, if the opposition parties that escort the DPP do not want to be called "small Greens", then please take the attitude of opposition parties for conscientious oversight!

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