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Jan 7, 2012

Just sayin'

The Tsai campaign has been making some noise about a "post partisan era" that they intend to usher in. This is all well and good if you have some expectation that the KMT will cooperate, and I think the DPP is clearly aware that they wouldn't.

So why say these things as the election nears? First, and most obviously, this stance attracts middle voters who do not subscribe to the traditional blue-green divide and who yearn for cooperation and consensus, values highly treasured in Taiwan society if not in its political culture. But secondly, maybe this position is an early outreach to Soong Chu-yi and the PFP.

In some crazy world where the PFP actually manages to win enough legislative seats that it could form a coalition government with the DPP, Tsai's call to post-partisanship might be a stealth signal to the PFP. And if Soong wishes to remain relevant, he might just give legs to a "Taiwan consensus" policy by allowing the DPP to negotiate with the most viable "pro-unification" party, resulting in some sort of "One China Constitution" position that the KMT will have a great deal of trouble refuting directly.

If this scenario miraculously plays out, the question will be: does Soong love the spotlight more than his strict adherence to pro-unification principles? I suspect he loves the spotlight more. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you may be right.

I read the KMT/PFP as more of a mafioso crime family.

Imagine things from Soong's perspective.

James Soong had been tapped early on as the successor to the Chiang legacy and the mantle of the KMT. He was to be the Godfather. He toadied up to the old party men and as head of the GIO, he carried out their wishes by word and deed. He was a made man and loyal to the core.

Even under Lee, Soong felt he had kissed the right asses to ascend the presidency in short order, especially after getting the localities firmly in the KMT pocket in getting the faction heads on the take.

When Lien was tapped to succeed Lee, Soong felt betrayed and sidelined by a less competent and less connected Capo. Lien hadn't had to get his hands dirty. He never had to "whack" anybody.

Soong took the men he had helped to "make" and split... a gangland war of votes... costing the KMT victory in 2000.

Chen Shui-bian was a fluke. Who took advantage of KMT fighting to get a cut of the business-- A Puerto Rican gang. The KMT and Soong figured he would be gone by 2004 and they could again wrest control over their traditional rackets. All they had to do was stall the legislature and create chaos.

Soong, without the financial resources of the KMT, opted for second fiddle on the ticket to the lesser Lien, despite his earlier use by Lien as emissary to China... a position Lien coveted. This had to have burned him twice over.

Again, Soong was on the losing end, and again banished from the inner circle. He was a political cast away that needed nothing more from the old party boy.

The upstart Ma Ying-jiu could unite the blues against Chen and took the prize in 2008. Soong was relegated to a mere footnote with Lien playing the elder statesman and spiritual boss of the KMT crime family.

Not only that. They had Chen effectively "whacked" for crossing the line and getting into a racket that belonged to the blues. (In light of the Yu Chang forgery, it really makes you wonder about the evidence)

Now, with his very real mortality and obscurity staring him in the face, Soong wants to make his final mark and cement a lasting legacy. He feels he was cheated and robbed of his destiny and may be looking to cop a plea in exchange for immunity and legacy.

This is Soong's last chance to have a career that was worth a damn.

Tommy said...

I interpreted Tsai's comment as an outreach to the PFP. I really doubt she was sending a signal to the KMT. Moreover, coalition governments do not have to include all parties in a government. They only have to include more than one party in order to give both voting blocs more weight in decision making.

This is a good announcement for Tsai. It is very much in line with the concept of a Taiwan Consensus as well. She should have been pursuing this line for a long time. I don't know how much good it will do so late in the game.