Chen: We've made the KMT greener

President Chen Shui-bian, in an interview with the Financial Times, said that the DPP's greatest accomplishment in its eight years of power has been to make the KMT greener.

The publication of the interview coincides nicely with KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's ad in the China Times that Michel Turton blogs about today declaring that "Taiwan's future must be decided by the Taiwanese people," a significant departure from recent statements of him on this matter (including that Taiwan's future should be decided by "the people on both sides of the strait").

As I noted in a comment on Michael's blog, you'll note what Ma did not say: (1) That a referendum should be the mechanism for deciding Taiwan's future. The KMT's statements are lip service to what people here already take for granted, but you'll note the KMT still refuses to really put the ultimate power directly in people's hands.

But Ma's statement demonstrates Chen's point. The KMT has no choice but to make itself increasingly green to win. I think most of the young blue-leaning voters thought Ma's statement was already a solid KMT position.

But the KMT still has two steps to make before it will be fully green and end the blue-green divide: (1) accept the referendum as the only way to decide Taiwan's future and (2) drop the One China fantasy and accept the "one side, one country" reality.

I'm looking forward to that day.