What Else Would Tsai Ing-wen "Confiscate" If Given 4 More Years?

 What Else Would Tsai Ing-wen "Confiscate" If Given 4 More Years?

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

January 7, 2020

 Translation of an Excerpt

In recent pep rallies, Tsai Ing-wen endlessly urges the electorate to give her four more years, saying that she would use all efforts to strive for the economy and safeguard sovereignty. However, considering Tsai Ing-wen’s indifference to the grassroots economy, and her squandering of state finances on wasteful construction during the four years of her governance, we would be congratulated if debts would not be left to our children and grandchildren; how could we expect “miracles”? Especially, Tsai Ing-wen uses the pretext of "safeguarding sovereignty," trying to cover up her trampling on people’s rights, the rule of law, and vox populi. If we gave her four more years, even giving the DPP complete control of government once again, Taiwan's democracy would be devastated beyond recognition.

During the electoral campaign, the Tsai government has issued checks amounting to hundreds of billions of NT dollars, from the extension of the High-Speed Rail southward and northward, to farmers' pensions, travel subsidies, childcare allowances, etc., they are plentiful and colorful. Although these checks look attractive, they nevertheless would rely entirely the people to foot the bill under the coercion of the government. And we should not forget that since Tsai Ing-wen came to power, how highhandedly she has "confiscated" the people’s rights and Taiwan's freedom and democracy. If giving her four more years, the voters have to think better: how much more freedom and dignity would they have to be trampled upon by her?

In the past four years, how much of "vox populi" has the Tsai government confiscated? The government has rammed through the amendment bills to the "Labor Standards Act" for “one fixed holiday, one flexible day-off”, and it has confiscated the rights of the people to make their voices known. Toward the end of 2018, seven plebiscite propositions were adopted; however, the Tsai government, nevertheless, has confiscated the results of the plebiscite elections one by one, forcibly amending the relevant laws to negate the effects of the plebiscites already adopted. It has indeed confiscated the fruits of the plebiscite elections, forcibly amending the relevant laws to negate the effects of the plebiscites already adopted.  

The Tsai government has confiscated the people’s voices, confiscating the checks and balances as well as oversight of democracy, confiscating the neutrality and professionalism of civil servants, and confiscating the possibility of harmonious coexistence of society. Regarding these vicious acts, unless the people express strong dissatisfaction in the elections, it would not be sufficient to awaken the DPP. If the electorate release a message of approval, the end result would have to be a bitter fruit to be endured by the entire population.

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