Lai Ching-te’s Chances of Getting a Fair Primary Are Only Slightly Higher than Zero

 Lai Ching-te’s Chances of Getting a Fair Primary Are Only Slightly Higher than Zero

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

May 22, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

The fight between President Tsai and Lai Ching-te in the DPP’s primary, after twice being postponed, is again facing a showdown because both sides’ views are seriously divergent with regard to the ratio of mobile phones in opinion polls and the imaginary opponents in cross-referencing polls. At the Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday, "the pro-Tsai faction" attempted to revise the primary rules tailored to the needs of Tsai Ing-wen, but it failed because it was opposed by DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai. Lai Ching-te then introduced, as a compromise, his "three conditions" in cross-referencing polls with Han Kuo-yu as the imaginary opponent. Thus, Lai Ching-te’s dream of a contest between gentlemen came near the brink of disillusionment; once defeated in the primary, he could even face the fate of coming to the end of his political life in advance.

From the repeated postponement of the primary, to the endless changes in the rules of the game, in every tug-of-war, Lai Ching-te failed to get the upper hand. In the power ecology of the DPP, "the Central Executive Committee is higher than the party," and "President Tsai is again higher than the Central Executive Committee." Under such circumstances, Lai Ching-te, harboring the illusion of "the DPP of yesteryear", thought that he could singlehandedly challenge Tsai Ing-wen on his own strength; this is a misassessment of the situation. The reality is that the DPP is no longer the DPP of yesteryear. Now it is "who has power has overwhelming support."

Lai Ching-te heaved a sigh, saying "he shot an arrow, but the target was moved", drawing many sympathies. However, this is probably not yet the worst situation. Yesterday, the DPP’s local chapters reportedly cosponsored a “pro-Tsai” statement. There were the signatures of 19 local chapter directors across the island, leaving out only the chapter directors of three localities, Tainan, Pingtung and Taitung. The pro-Lai Ching-te voices were barely heard. Lai Ching-te has been relegated to an embarrassed situation of dwindling followers and a precarious outlook.

The pro-Tsai faction in the DPP has been painstakingly using all tricks to help Tsai Ing-wen to shape "winning" rules of the game; viewed from another perspective, wouldn’t a similar approach of manipulations occur in the final presidential election?

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