From: chang@crowe.seas.ucla.edu (Fengteng Chang)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.taiwan
Subject: An article about Taiwanese Election (LA Times)
Date: 21 Dec 92 00:13:55 GMT
Organization: SEASnet, University of California, Los Angeles


The following is an article from Los Angeles Times,

Fengteng
**********************************************************************

"Ruling Party Wins Election in Taiwan"
--	"POLITICS : But main opposition faction  makes important gains in
	 first democratic vote for legislature since 1949."
--	Los Angeles Times, Sunday, Dec. 20, 1992, page A10-A11.
--	By David Holley, Times Staff Writer.

	TAIPEI -- In an election makring a milestone for democratic development
in Taiwan, the ruling Nationalist Party retained control of the island's
legislature Saturday, but the main opposition party made signficant gains.
	
	The Nationalists won 96 seats in the new 161-member Legislative Yuan, 
the first to be deomcratically chosen in Taiwan since 1949, when the 
Nationalist government fled here from the Chinese mainland. The opposition
Democratic Progressive Party took 50 seats, the Chinese Social Democratic
Party took one seat, and independent won 14.

	Hsu Kuei-Lin, secretary general of the Central Election Commission,
said Saturday evening that the election was a key  step in reforming Taiwan's
political structure.
	
	"This is an important election in carrying out our democratic 
politics," he told a news conference at ballot-counting headquarters.
	
	Opposition supporters generally found cause for satisfaction in the
results. Seats were won by at least seven former political prisoners who had
served time on charges related to advocacy of permanent Taiwanese independence
from Chian, which until recently was viewed here as seditious.

	Taiwan has in effect been independent from China since 1949, when the
Nationalists lost a civil war on the mainland to the Communists. But the 
Nationalist government still claims to be the legitimate government of all 
China.  A key underlying issue of the election was whether this claim should be
abandoned in favor of proclaiming an independent Republic of Taiwan, a step
generally favored by the Democratic Progressives.

	Domestic issues centered on Democratic Progressive demands for improved
social services matched against Nationalist claims of superior ability to
maintain stability and provide competent government. There were also many
allegations of vote-buying, directed primarily against the Nationalists, who
were much better financed.

	Winning candidates held victory rallies, many of them outdoors, across
the island Saturday night.
	
	Typical was a raucous event, complete with firecrackers and gongs, in
which about 500 people gathered to celebrate the victory of Chen Shui-Bien,
one of the former prisoners. Vendors worked the crowd, selling snacks while
political speeches blared over loud-speakers.

	"He's done a lot for public welfare and justice, and fighting for the
welfare of ordinary people," said Yang Chun-neng, 69, a Chen supporter in the
crowd. Yang also said he favored a declaration of Taiwan independence. 
Everyone nearby agreed.

	Many here fear that declaring Taiwan independence might provoke an 
attack by Beijing, which views the island as a breakaway province and has vowed
never to allow it to win international recognition as an independent nation.
But Democratic Progressive activists tend to dismiss tthis concern.

	"I'm not afraid [ of a Chinese attack ], because we Taiwan people are 
united," said another Chen supporter, who gave only his surname, Wang.

	"The only way to prevent the mainland from taking action [ against
Taiwan ] is to proclaim independence and win recognition from the United
Nations as an independent country."

	Although the election left the Nationalists in firm control of the 
legislature, the party's absolute grip on power, which until a few years ago
was virtually unchallengeable, has now been further eroded.

	The Nationalists won just 53% of teh valid votes cast, compared with 
31% for the Democratic Progessives, 14% for independent and 2% for minor 
parties.

	The rise of multi-party democracy and teh gradual loosening of the 
Nationalists' grip on Taiwan's political life has its roots in the successes
teh Nationalists have achieved here in more tahn four decades of unbroken
rule, commented Thomas B. Gold, chair of UC Berkerley's Center for Chinese
Studies, who is in Taiwan with a group of U.S. Scholars to observe the 
election.

	"They have raised the level of education, the standard of living,
knowledge about outside world. They`ve promoted the idea that they are creating
democracy," Gold said. "People have finally just put all that stuff together
and said, "Well, yeah, OK, if this is Free China, let's have some freedom,
and if this is a democracy, lets' have some democracy."

	Direct elections by district were used to fill 125 seats in the new
legislature, with the remaining 36 seats filled proportionally according to
the number of votes received by each party. Of the votes cast for candidates
running as party nominees, the Nationalists took 62% compared with 36% for the 
democratic Progressives.

	Analysis of the results was further complicated by the presence in the
race of about 43 candidates who broke Nationalist Party discipline to run as
independent. At least seven of these candidates won, including Jaw Shao-Kan, 
whom with 235,000 votes was the biggest single vote-getter in the election.
If votes for these candidates are grouped with votes for Nationalist Party
nominees, the ruling pparty could be credited with a stronger showing. But
the more important meaning of these candidates' actions and the victory of
some may be that it shows a major weakening of the once strong discipling
within Nationalist Party ranks.

	"The [ Nationalists ] don't listen to people's voice," Jaw said after
his victory. "This may force them to compromise." Jaw recently resigned as
director of the Enviromental Protection Adminstration after bing criticized
for his stringent pollution control measure.

	About 70% of Taiwan's 13 million registered voters turned out for the
election. President Lee Teng-Hui, in a televised address Friday, had urged
voters to participate in the transition to democracy.


Newsgroups: soc.culture.taiwan,soc.culture.china