Vincient Siew praises Singapore model

Responding to questions about the fear of a single dominant party running the country, KMT VP candidate Vincient Siew praised the Singapore model as a good example of having one party in charge (the soft-authoritarian People's Action Party) and said the government can really get things done with this model.

I imagined that the KMT would seek to make a place for itself in Taiwan that equated to the PAP in Singapore or the LDP's traditional position in Japan as a "permanent majority" in a democratic framework (though I suppose it doesn't take too much imagining to expect a party to do so). Political offices lower than city councils are dominated solidly by the KMT; most city and county commissioners are also KMT members; and the new legislature will assure solid control by the KMT for the foreseeable future. The only really competitive election will be the presidential election.

Update: Siew later clarified his comment, saying the KMT is not suggesting Taiwan copy Singapore's soft authoritarianism.

And yet I note KMT lawsuits against the lawyers who prosecuted him, against the DPP for saying Ma was a student spy, and against a blogger for satarizing a politician. These are the sorts of things that can silence and bankrupt critics from all walks of life.