DPP Newsletter Aug2013

7/30/2019 DPP Newsletter Aug2013

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AUGUST 2013

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DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS

DPP delegation visits Thailand

DPP Chair Su Tseng-chang led a delegation to

Thailand, departing on Aug. 15 to conduct

meetings with leaders of the main opposition

party, the Thai Democrat Party, and interna-

tional think tanks operating in Thailand as wellas meeting with DPP supporters and Taiwanese

businessmen.

According to Mr. Liu Shih-Chung, director of

the Department of International Affairs, this is

Chair Sus fourth trip overseas since taking the

chairmanship position, and due to the long his-

tory of Taiwanese businessmen making invest-

ments in Asia, this area is top priority for the

DPP.

Mr. Liu said the main purpose of this trip is to

show the DPPs support of Taiwanese busi-

nessmen in Thailand, also hoping to gather sug-

gestions regarding better investment planning

and strengthening economic and trade relationswith other countries.

Chair Su has conducted three overseas trips in

the first half of this year, first to Japan in Febru-

ary, Singapore in April and to the U.S. and Can-

ada in June. Mr. Liu emphasized that this times

visit to Thailand is part of the DPPs global

strategic planning as Chair Su has placed great

importance in promoting foreign relations for

Taiwan on behalf of the party.


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The delegation this time was comprised of mem-

bers from the Subcommittee for Economic and

Industry of the DPPs think tank, Chairman of the

DPPs Taoyuan Branch Mr. Cheng Wen-tsang

and Legislators Gao Jyh-Peng, Wu Ping-Jui, ChiuYi-Ying, Pang Meng-an, Tsai Chi-Chang and Bi-

khim Hsiao.

Taiwanese businessmen promote Taiwan in local

Thai communities

ChairSu first headed to the guest center of the

Thai-Taiwan Business Association to join a dia-

logue with executives of Taiwan enterprises op-

erating in Thailand. He praised Taiwanese busi-nessmens devotion to the local communities

from relief efforts and construction assistance to

providing volunteers at the Suvarnabhumi Airport

to assist international tourists on behalf of Tai-

wan.

The DPP delegation was greeted by a group of

local Taiwanese businessmen and DPP volunteers

at the DPPs Southeast Asia Headquarters of Su-

varnabhumi Airport.

President of the Thai-Taiwanese Business Asso-

ciation said that since 1988, responding to the

Go-South policy,

many Taiwanese

businessman

moved to Thai-

land where they

started what later

was registered asthe Thai-Taiwan

Businessmen As-

sociation in order

to promote the

rights of Taiwan-

ese in Thailand

while fostering

cooperation be-

tween both coun-

tries. Now, theassociation has

fifteen chambers across Thailand.

Chair Su thanked the Taiwanese businessmen for

their cordial hospitality, saying that they serve as

the best model for their feet in Thailand, havinga vision from all over the world and providing

their feedback to Taiwan. He also acknowledged

their contribution to Taiwan-Thailand relations

through deep involvement with relief efforts and

construction assistance.

Chair Su further added that he was immediately

impressed by Thailands progress manifested by

the construction of the new airport since his last

visit some time ago. As the country also has alongstanding and highly influential presence of

Taiwanese businessmen, and as the country is

Taiwans third-largest country of foreign invest-

ment for Thailand, the visit was meant for sup-

porting Taiwanese entrepreneurs while learning

from their experiences. He said that their opin-

ions will be used for the DPPs policy regarding

international trade, especially areas concerning

Southeast Asia in order to strengthen the relation-

ship between Taiwan and its neighboring coun-tries.


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Visits with Thai Democrat Party

On Aug. 16, the DPP delegation met with Leader

of the Opposition of the Thai Democrat Party and

Former Prime Minister Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, at

the House of Representatives of the National As-

sembly of Thailand.

Members of the Taiwan-Thailand parliamentary

friendship group also hosted an evening reception

for the DPP delegation. Members of the reception

included Hon. Kiat Sittheeamorn (MP), Hon. Ka-

sit Piromya (MP), Hon. Ongard Klampaiboon

(MP), Hon. Buranaj Smutharaks (MP), Hon. Isra

Sunthornvut (MP), Hon. Chavanond Intara-

komalyasut (MP), among others.

In his address at the evening reception, Chair

Su said that the collaboration between both par-

ties has had a long history, mainly starting from

both being founding members of the Council of

Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), an alli-

ance of liberal democratic parties in Asia. In the

20 years of holding exchanges, both have been

successful in gaining support from the people

to achieve ruling power. He added that in the

future, he hoped that democracy and freedom

continue to serve as common values to support

regional peace. He further wished that both

sides economic relations continue to flourish.

In the meeting at the National Assembly of

Thailand, Chair Su said he shared the same

thoughts as Former Primer Minister Vejjajiva,

whereas Taiwan, as a medium-sized economy,

must not allow it being dominated by the eco-

nomic strategy of larger countries. Besides both

sides agreeing that Taiwan and Thailand must

enhance greater economic relations, Chair Su

said he hoped that Thai officials can offer their

assistance in supporting Taiwans bid to join

international organizations.

Mr. Vejjajiva expressed great concern regarding

the issues of democracy development and eco-nomic growth. Both sides agreed that in addi-

tion to economic growth, it is also important to

promote democracy.

Additionally, Chair Su expressed concern over

the worlds current events, especially the situa-

tions in the Middle East and the political crisis in

Egypt. He said that the DPP in Taiwan is also fac-

ing the sole control of one political party, but like

the support of democracy by the international

community in the past, there is now great concern

over Egypt. He emphasized the need of coopera-

tion and welcomed the platform provided by or-

ganizations such as CALD.

DPP Chair Su Tseng-chang pictured here with Mr. Rainer Adam,regional director of the Southeast Asian headquarters of the FriedrichNaumann Foundation, an international NGO"om Germany thatpromotes liberal and democratic values.

Visiting the National Assembly of Thailand


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Chair Su: Taiwan made a milestone of civilpower over army reform

At the DPPs Central Standing Committee on Aug.

7, the DPP held a long discussion concerning the

military crisis in Taiwan as a result of the death of

army conscript Mr. Hong Chong-chiu.

During the meeting, Mr. Koo Li-hsiung delivered a

report titled Human Rights in the Army and Fur-

ther Reforms of the Military Trial. Chair Su

Tseng-chang commented that the incident of Mr.

Hung represents a case where civil power prevails,

prompting the Legislative Yuan to pass laws that

make criminal cases be take over in the regular

civil court during non-war times. He said that the

DPP will continue to track the progress of Mr.

Hungs case and oversee the upcoming reforms on

human rights and the trial system in the army,

which is one of the most challenging issues that we

are facing today.

Chair Su said that, despite the comment of the In-

terpretations of the Grand Justices Council No.524,

No. 436 (1997.10.03) that endorsed a one-tier trial

court system, reforms have eluded the secretive

military trial and court system. This culminates in

reoccurring abuses, of which even the victims fam-

ily could not get justice, he said. Such cases have

exposed a huge inadequacy in Taiwans human

rights campaign, which Chair Su attributed to the

armys problems and public distrust as a result of

the lack of accountability and incompetency of

military chiefs, an issue for which President Ma

should be held responsible.

Citing the Hung Incident and the stepping down of


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two defense ministers within a week, Chair Su said

that the people felt betrayed by the army, a senti-

ment as much disastrous to the army as to the na-

tional defense itself. He further reported that in

June, the DPP invited thirty retired high-ranking

military officials to a series of in-depth and intensediscussions that produced a National Defense Blue

Book, calling for the recovery of the national

armys three faiths.

Chair Su appealed for President Ma to shoulder the

responsibility as the armys commander in chief.

He said President Ma should look deep down at the

entrenched problems of the military system so that

Taiwans national defense can regain the trust by

the soldiers, the people and our neighboring coun-tries.

As 250,000 people took to the streets at Ketagalan

Boulevard last Saturday on Aug. 3, one of the big-

gest rallies held this year without the support of a

political party and mainly by the will of the people,

Chair Su said this rally not only expressed what the

people wanted from the government, but it was also

a milestone of civil power calling for policy

changes. As a result, human rights reform in the

army pushed the legislative body to act immedi-

ately and make legislation happen. He called the

demonstration a remarkable civil movement that is

the fruit of the countrys increasingly mature de-

mocracy.

Democracy is not just about elections, said Chair

Su. A more progressive society and more devel-

oped democracy will not be possible until more

people are willing to fight injustice and defend the

common good.

He also challenged fellow party members to re-

spond faster to the demands of a growing civil so-

ciety by materializing these wishes into policies,

fulfilling the duties of a political party.


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The DPP conducted a poll on August 20 to 22, gathering public opinion regarding their approval rating on

the DPP and the KMT on the areas of public service. The sampling of the poll was 1,151 samples via tele-

phone polling and targeting Taiwan citizens with voting rights.

1. DPP vs. KMT approval rating

Areas DPP (A) KMT (B) No Opinion Difference

(A-B)

Protection of

democracy andfreedom

58.4% 18.7% 22.9% 39.7%

Labor policy 53.4% 16.7% 29.9% 36.7%

Agricultural de-

velopment

50.3% 17.5% 32.2% 32.8%

Environment and

energy sources

44.7% 25.1% 30.2% 19.6%

Economic devel-

opment

44.1% 27.8% 28.1% 16.3%

Social welfare 43.5% 28.5% 28% 15%

Finance 40.4% 28.5% 31.1% 11.9%

Ethnic policy 39.8% 31.5% 28.7% 8.3%

Education and

culture

37.3% 30.4% 32.4% 6.9%

Transportationand construction

34.6% 33.5% 31.9% 1.1%

National defense

and foreign rela-

tions

31.7% 40.6% 27.7% -8.9%

Cross strait rela-

tions

22.6% 58.8% 18.6% -36.2%

DPP releases poll on DPP, KMT approvalratings


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2. In regards to the honesty and public integrity of

civil servants, there were 42.2% that believed

the DPP administration was better and 22% that

believed the KMT administration is better.

3. In understanding the needs of the public, there

were 62.3% that believed the DPP administra-

tion was better and 16.1% that believed the

KMT administration is better.

4. Overall, there were 40.7% of the public that be-

lieved the DPP administration was better while

35.7% believed that the KMT administration

has more governance capability.

5. There were 53.3% of the public that hoped to

see the DPP regain back the administration in

2016 while 22.8% hoped to see the KMT con-

tinue governing.

Party Approval Rating

In party approval rating, the DPP received 33.9%,

the KMT 19.8%, independent voters 16.1%. From

a pan blue-green perspective, the pan-green team

received 44.1% and the pan-blue team received

34.4%.

6.

On behalf of DPP Chair Su Tseng-chang, a group

of DPP representatives negotiated with President

Ma Ying-jeous staff at the presidential office on

Aug. 28 regarding holding a debate concerning

the cross strait services trade agreement. Both

sides agreed that the debate will be televised and

to be held on Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. in the afternoon.

The debate will be held between DPP Chair Su

Tseng-chang and President Ma Ying-jeou.

Legislator Tsai Chi-chang, one of the representa-

tives, said that the negotiations went smoothly,

and the DPP used the same concept as the ECFA

debate three years ago. He noted that Chair Su

will debate on the standpoints given to him by the

public in order to rightly represent the role of the

opposition party.

Besides Legislator Tsai, the DPP negotiating

group was comprised of Mr. Wang Ming-shen,

director of the chairs office; Mr. Huang Chih-tah,

deputy director of the Policy Research Commit-

tee; and Mr. Huang Li-ke, deputy director of the

Culture and Communication Department.

The debate will be televised over the public tele-

vision station, and it will be hosted by media de-

velopment manager Mr. Ho Kuo-hua. According

to Legislator Tsai, the ECFA debate took over

two-and-a-half hours, which many said it was too

long. He said the DPP hopes this time to complete

the debate within two hours, by both sides agree-

ing to discuss four items instead of the original

five.

Debate on cross strait services tradeagreement set for Sept. 15


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Huashan China Forums recap

The DPP held its third Huashan China Forum on

Aug. 15 with Former Chair Mr. Yu Shyi-kun presid-

ing. The title of the forum was Reactions to Chinas

Influences on Taiwan.

Guest speakers included Mr. Liu Te-shun, former

deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council un-

der both DPP and KMT administrations, and Mr.

Lau Ka Yee, a democracy activist from Hong Kong

to discuss Hong Kongs experiences under China.

Director of the DPPs China Affairs Department,

Mr. Honigmann Hong, said the DPP has consistently

pushed for the normalization of cross strait relations,

but with the China factor, the exchanges have

been controlled by the Beijing authorities, all of

which prevent normal exchanges. He said that even

though Taiwan is a small country, it has a free sys-

tem and an open society. In facing the influence of

China over Taiwan, the question lies whether Tai-wans democracy will receive a greater impact, he

said.

According to Mr. Hong, the forum was based on

discussing how to engage in cooperation with not

just the Beijing authorities, but also with Chinese

civic and academic groups. As there are opportuni-

ties and challenges to the rise of China, he said the

complexity of the topic cannot be viewed from a

black and white perspective. He further emphasized

that dealing with China should not be the responsi-

bility of just one political party.

Experts conclude enlarging exchanges between civic

societies from both sides should be priority

The fourth Huashan China Forum was held on Aug.

29, presided by Former Chair Ms. Tsai Ing-wen. The

topic of the forum this time was titled Cross Strait

Civic Society Exchanges Know-How.

During the forum, Ms. Tsai emphasized the impor-

tance of the DPP to research and analyze the crea-

tion of relationships with civic societies from China,


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searching for the common language between DPP

supporters and for the party to play a role in facili-

tating. She said that as long as the DPP persists in

the value of progress, the party will be able to

achieve the goals of dialogue and understanding be-

tween both sides.

Ms. Tsai said that from the perspective of the DPP,

in order to formulate a comprehensive China policy

that surpasses the current circumstances, it must in-

volve the leadership of civic societies to push for the

relevant topics. She said that even though

there are greater numbers of exchanges now,

there is still a lack of understanding on a

systematic level. This means, she said, the

accumulation of public knowledge is lack-ing, and this is something that the DPP must

focus its efforts in the future.

Another guest speaker, Secretary-General

for the New School for Democracy, Mr.

Wang Shing-Chung said that since the DPP

lacked a comprehensive strategy, there was

no specific exchange plans between cross

strait civic groups.

Chinese activists Wang Dan, who was present

at the meeting, said that

when the DPP discusses

China, it should refrain

from referring to it as one

entity, and the challengeslie on whether the DPP is

capable of differentiating

between China, the Chinese

people and the Chinese

authorities

Mr. Wu Jieh-min from the

Institute of Sociology of

Academia Sinica, said that

the Xi-Li administration inChina has been focused on

anti-corruption and re-

form, but it has also con-

tinued to suppress new

democratic movements, including the Internet and

human rights activists. He further said that the basic

relationship between the cross straits should be de-

fined as an inter-state relationship, however, the

cooperation methods between the KMT and CCP is

definitely showing that it is not an inter-state rela-tionship, enlarging even more a domestication of

politics. He said that Taiwanese civic groups must

take active participation in order to prevent them

from participating in the dialogue.


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DPP conducts forum series reviewing the2000 - 2008 administration

The DPPs think tank, the New Frontier Founda-

tion, announced on Aug. 16 that it will organize a

series of forums to discuss the positives and nega-

tives of the eight years of DPP administration from

2000 to 2008. The series will be called Hardwork-

ing Government for the People to Strengthen Tai-

wan - the DPPs Eight Years in Power.

The think tanks executive director, Mr. Lin Wan-

yi, said that the conference series will invite past

government officials and academics to gather opin-

ions from civic society as well as the media. The

purpose of these conferences is to review the DPPs

past administration achievements and setbacks in

order to prepare the DPP for the future.

The conference series were scheduled to take place

on August 23 and 30 and September 6 and 14. Dis-

cussions will be divided into the domains of consti-

tutional politics, national defense, foreign relations,

economy, finance, civic society, education and cul-

ture. There will be 18 sessions combined in total.

Below is a summary of

Chair Sus remarks on

August 23:

The DPP had eight

years of experience

from 2000 to 2008,

and if it did a good

job, then how is it

possible that it

didnt continue gov-

erning? However, if

it did a bad job, then

why is the public

having such nega-

tive sentiments to-

wards the current

administration with an approval rating lower than

the DPP in the past? The DPP has now been in op-

position for five years and with the ability to make

comparisons between the current and past admini-

strations, it is now time to reflect on the past eight

years.

Many say that the DPP is incapable of discussing,

or there is no point, in remembering the past ad-

ministration, but this conference is to give a report

to the public and to engage in dialogue in order to

take over historical responsibility. Because with

time, one can see the results clearly and putting

emotions aside on what was right and what was

wrong. With a humble attitude, we are taking a

practical approach to the discussion and bravely

facing up to any issues of the past. This will make it

much better for our future!

I would like to thank our former officials and

members of the academia for their assistance in

making preparations to make this conference possi-

ble. In the next four weeks, we will have a wide

range of discussions and I hope that the DPP can

deliver to the public and make it better for Taiwan,

achieving the motto of a hardworking government

for the people to strengthen Taiwan.


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DPP receives U.S. visitors from both housesof Congress in August

The DPP received Mr. Robert Menendez, senior

United States Senator from New Jersey on Aug. 19.

Since Chair Su was visiting Thailand at that time,

the delegation was received by DPP Legislative

Caucus Convener Mr. Ker Chien-ming and DPP

Representative to the U.S. Mr. Joseph Wu.

During the meeting, they discussed the topics of

Taiwans national defense, U.S.-Taiwan relations

and current domestic politics.

In response to Senator Menendez question regard-

ing the state of affairs in Taiwans domestic poli-

tics, Mr. Wu responded that Taiwans national de-

fense is an area faced with the most urgent need. In

the years of President Mas administration, the na-

tional defense budget has fallen to only take 2.1%

of the countrys GDP, which he said this is insuffi-

cient to conform to the current needs of the army.

Mr. Wu further reported that the recent participa-

tion by the Taiwanese public against the abuse of

power over the death of army conscript Mr. Hong

Chong-chiu, has also prompted the DPP to re-

spond through the Legislative Yuan to review mili-

tary reform. He emphasized to Senator Menendez

that the DPP believes that Taiwans self-defense

capabilities is highly important.

Senator Menendez also asked about recent devel-

opments in Taiwans energy issues and how the

DPP is able to promote legislation by having a mi-

nority in the Legislative Yuan. Mr. Ker responded

that even though the DPP has never been able to

achieve majority in the legislature, it has resorted

to take a more active form of questioning in order

to represent pubic views. He said that the DPP has

also largely engaged the cooperation from civic

groups to put pressure on the government on issues

such as the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, military

reform and the cross strait services agreement.

Lastly, Senator Menendez inquired about the DPPs

future campaign strategy. Mr. Wu said that he be-

lieved the DPP would be able to garner greater sup-

port not only from the Southern areas, but it will

also be able to make strides in the traditional Cen-

tral areas.

In related news, DPP Chair Su Tseng-chang re-

ceived at the DPP Headquarters on Aug. 22 Mrs.Judy Chu, member of the House of Representatives

from Californias 27th district and Mrs. Madeleine

Bordallo, member of the House of Representatives

from Guams At-Large District.


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DEMOCRACY &PROGRESS

PUBLISHED BY:

Department of InternationalAffairs DemocraticProgressive Party

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Tel: 886-2-2392-9989 ext. 306

Fax: 886-2-2393-0342

Email: [email protected]

Website:

http://www.dpp.org.tw
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