DPP Newsletter May2014

8/12/2019 DPP Newsletter May2014

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tioned each others dedication to the party, up-

holding of Taiwanese values, or our respective

commitment to deepening Taiwans democracy

and progressive values.

Just like all members of the party, we not only

compete under a democratic system, we also

cooperate on the basis of our shared values and

beliefs. Competition and cooperation are the

drivers for the partys continued advancement.

Democracy and progress are in the name of our

party, and they are also our most important val-

ues. The founding comrades, some of whomare here with us today, risked their lives and

imprisonment to fight for democracy against the

dictators. In the last twenty years of the 20th

century, democracy has been the progressive

value in the eyes of the society.

With the efforts of our many predecessors, we

successfully moved Taiwans democratization

forward and completed political transition. We

also experienced losing the right to govern

when the pace of our pursuit of progressive val-

ues lagged behind social expectations.

Looking back on this history, we have learnedthe high price paid for freedom and democracy,

and how dearly we must cherish these treasures.

During the political transition, we have learned

to govern and govern responsibly, and we felt

the full weight of the peoples aspirations for

good governance.

Having grown together with Taiwans democ-

racy has taught us that we should not only un-

dertake an in-depth review of our executive ex-perience, but also reflect upon just what the

people expect from the DPP. In the face of a

new era, what are the progressive values with

which society identifies?

The time to act is now. I know that the country

holds great expectations of us. Our members

also hope that the DPP will once again achieve

success. In light of this, I want to lay out for


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you now the three critical tasks that we have

ahead of us.

First and foremost, the year-end seven-in-one

elections will be an important test for us tobring the country out of the current quagmire.

We will establish a 2014 campaign strategy

committee, and will devote the resources of

the entire party to a complete mobilization to

win this election. Additionally, the consolida-

tion of our field organization structure will also

be one of the critical responsibilities of this

committee.

Electoral victory is not merely a question ofcounting seats and attaining a majority; rather,

its about a comprehensive expansion of the

partys base of social support during the course

of an election campaign, a process of mobiliz-

ing ever more supporters to participate in the

reform and development of this party.

At the same time, we must develop the partys

field organization, to map out the personnel

teams that will expand local management. Wewill need to improve the field officers ability to

audit votes and counteract vote buying, to make

elections fairer and raise the quality of Taiwans

grassroots democracy.

Second, the DPPs future policies must moreclosely reflect public opinion, as well as corre-

spond with the needs of Taiwans future devel-

opment.

In order to advance the dialogue with society to

new levels and forge a consensus for nation-

wide reform, we must transform the New Fron-

tier Foundation think tank into a platform for

dialogue between the party and the people.

We will increase cooperation with independent

think tanks to strengthen our research efforts in

various areas of public policy.

We will also initiate direct dialogues with all

types of civil society organizations, to convert

ideas for reform into effective public policies.

At the same time, this platform must also have

active linkages to the private sector, andthrough these systematized interactions, in-


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Remarks by outgoing chair Su Tseng!changat 15th chair inauguration ceremony

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since the party was founded, its goals were to

reform Taiwan and to be a party that pursued

democracy and progress. While embracing ide-

alism and passion, we believed that Taiwan had

the right conditions to become a greater coun-

try, and the people had the right to dignity, free-

dom and happiness. As a party founding mem-ber, I deeply believe that our ideals have not

changed and our passion has not diminished,

and the DPPs pursuit of democracy and pro-

gress has not wavered.

Nevertheless, the DPPs confidence has been

shaken. We have shied away from promoting

the achievements made during our eight years

in administration. We have spoken less about

our convictions and values, but we have alsofailed to face our mistakes. We dared not to

confront China directly, and towards our own

China policy, our confidence and standpoint

have also been flustered.

In these two years as chair of the DPP, I have

traveled extensively throughout Taiwan and

spoken to senior members of the party. We con-

ducted conferences regarding the eight years of

the DPPs past administration, discussing ourformer achievements and mistakes. We also re-

established the DPPs mission in the U.S. in

order to rebuild mutual trust with the U.S. Fur-

thermore, we re-established the China Affairs

Department, in which we extensively discussed

and reflected our China policy, and where we

firmly reaffirmed our unchanged core values.

Not for a moment did I believe that in order to

compete with the KMT, the DPP had to imitate

or compare itself with the KMT. Instead, theDPP had to remain true to its values because


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when it came with mobilization, resources and

dealing with China, we were unable to beat the

KMT. Even with winning in these areas, what

kind of values would be left for the DPP?

With full force, we saw the surging of social

movements and the recent Sunflower Student

Movement. The students persistence on fair-

ness and justice and their firm stand on identifi-

cation to Taiwan made us remain closer to our

founding values, making them timeless and ir-

refutable. This is a great achievement!

At the DPP, there are beginnings and endings to

chair terms. It is time for me to leave office

now. In regards to unfinished business, there are

regrets of course, but I feel extremely grateful

to the entire team for their efforts in the past

two years. The progress and achievements

made are the results of everyones dedication.

Chairs come and go, and the most important

priority for the party is to continue on, walk

forward with further and better goals in mind.

I would also like to thank the support given to

the DPP by people from all walks of life. For a

long time, Ive always been known as a person

who rushes ahead, but I also know now that inturning a corner, I must slow down; in certain

issues, with a slower approach, it is actually

much faster; and in other pressing issues, we

must not wait.

With this handover, I am letting go of titles and

responsibilities, but I will not handover my

concern for Taiwan and my appreciation for our

supporters. The position of party chair of course

is not easy, and I hope that everyone can give

their encouragement to the new chair. Chair

Tsai Ing-wen has extensive knowledge and a

great image, and she has achieved wide support

from the people. In the future, I hope that wher-

ever I may be, I can continue fighting with the

people. Thank you!


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As the 25thanniversary of the 1989

Tiananmen Massacre approaches,

Chinas crackdown on human rights

activists is growing with documented

cases of arrests, blocking of media

sites such as Google, and threatening

journalists who are covering storiespolitical in nature and considered

damaging to the Communist Party

of China. In addition, they have

made mandatory for foreign students

in Beijing to attend field trips away

from Beijing during the dates of the

Tiananmen Massacre anniversary.

These actions have raised concerns

around the world, with requests to exercise re-straint from world leaders. The DPP urges China

to respect freedom of expression and human

rights because China, as a signatory to the two

covenants on human rights by the United Na-

tions, must abide by its commitment to respect

the cultural, political and human rights of its

people.

The DPP further urges to release the following

individuals, who have been arrested recently:! Gao Yu 70-year old journalist, recipient of

numerous world freedom awards;

! Pu Zhiqiang human rights lawyer;

! Guo Jian Australian citizen and artist,

former CCP soldier at Tiananmen Massacre.

Furthermore, the media has reported that more

than 50 human rights activists, artists, lawyers,

journalists have been arrested and charged for

false reasons such as leaking state secrets or

causing trouble to the government, etc. These areaccusations that remain unfounded, and the DPP

highly regrets the actions of the Chinese govern-

ment.

The 23 million people of Taiwan value democ-

racy, freedom and human rights. The recent Sun-

flower Student Movement shows that the Tai-

wanese people strongly desire to protect democ-

racy and human rights, and they will stand op-

posed to any black-box or non-transparent meth-ods by any government. If China wishes to un-

derstand Taiwan and get closer to its people, they

must start by respecting the rights of their own

people. The DPP expresses strong condemnation

to Chinas actions and urges to hold its highest

restraint in the eve of the 25thAnniversary of the

Tiananmen Massacre.

DPP strongly condemns Chinas crackdownas 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre

approaches


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Responding to the violent protests

that have erupted in Vietnam over

Chinas unilateral move to build

an oil rig into the waters of the

South China Seas, the DPP issued

four appeals to the Ma administra-

tion. Taiwanese businesses have

received the brunt of the violence

with factories looted, property de-stroyed and some factories forced

to close down operations.

The DPP made the following four

appeals to the Mas administra-

tion:

1. The Ma administration should

quickly regard the safety of

Taiwanese citizens in Vietnam

and arrange for their safe re-

turn to Taiwan. The govern-

ment must coordinate with

commercial airplanes to ar-

range charter flights for Tai-

wanese citizens.

2. The administration must re-

quest the government of Viet-

nam to ensure the safety of

Taiwanese businessmen, in-cluding demanding for the compensation of

victims from the riots, which must not be

demanded together with Chinas demands.

3. The government should pressure banks to not

seek for an immediate return of loans made to

Taiwanese businessman for their operations

in Vietnam.

4. The government should set up a fund to pro-

vide financial assistance to Taiwanese busi-nesses in Vietnam to re-start their companies.

DPP issues statement concerning violenceagainst Taiwan businessmen in Vietnam

Picture from Facebook page: [,]


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Public opinion survey released by DPPshows Mas disapproval rating at 65.6"

May 14-15, 2014 DPP Public Opinion Survey

A proval Ratings Mean Disapprove Approve

Central President Ma 40.50% 65.60% 34.40%

Premier Jiang Yi-Huah 41.00% 63.10% 36.80%

Local DPP Held Counties & Cities 71.70% 13.00% 87.00%

Non-DPP Held Counties &

Cities

58.70% 33.40% 66.60%

With President Ma Ying Jeou's term six years in, we asked respondents for their opinions

on select issues regarding how well they thought he handled them. On a scale of 0-100 with

0 being the lowest and 100 being the highest, we designated a score of 60 as the minimum

passing score.

Mean Disapprove Approve

Corruption 43.90% 56.00% 44.10%

Cross Strait Policy 43.30% 58.10% 41.80%

Human Rights

Protection

42.80% 56.60% 43.40%

Foreign Policy 42.40% 60.20% 39.90%

Education 41.90% 61.80% 38.30%

National Defense 41.90% 60.60% 39.30%

Mothballing the 4th

Nuclear Plant

39.30% 66.20% 33.70%

Defending National

Sovereignty

37.40% 66.90% 33.10%

Economic Development 36.90% 70.00% 30.10%

Handling of Public

Demonstrations

34.00% 74.60% 25.30%

Stabilizing Price of

Commodities

32.80% 76.80% 23.20%

Reducing Wealth Gap 31.20% 77.10% 22.90%


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How would you rate the last 6 years of President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance?

N=1018 (R spondents) Disapprove Approve Total Proportion of

65.60% 34.40% 100.00%

Responses

Blue & Green 85.70% 14.20% 100.00% 42.40%

Green Blue 39.90% 60.10% 100.00% 37.80%

Moderate 72.00% 28.00% 100.00% 16.70%

No Opinion 67.00% 33.00% 100.00% 3.20%

How would you evaluate the performance of Premier Jiang Yi-Huah?

N= 939 Disapprove Approve Total Proportion of

(Respo

dents)63.10% 36.80% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 83.40% 16.60% 100.00% 43.40%

Coalitions Blue 36.90% 63.10% 100.00% 39.40%

Moderate 74.90% 25.20% 100.00% 14.80%

No Opinion 53.90% 46.10% 100.00% 2.40%

How would you rate the performance of the mayors or county governors in your area of

residence?

N=101 (Respondents) Disapprove Approve Total Proportion of

27.10% 72.90% 100.00%

Responses

Incumbent Incumbent Held Cities 13.00% 87.00% 100.00% 31.10%

Opposition Held Cities 33.40% 66.60% 100.00% 68.90%

Blue Green New Taipei City 22.50% 77.50% 100.00% 17.00%

Coalitions Taipei City 32.80% 67.20% 100.00% 11.70%

Taoyuan - Hsinchu -

Miaoli

36.30% 63.70% 100.00% 14.80%

Taichung - Changhua -

Nantou

42.10% 57.90% 100.00% 19.20%

Yunlin - Chiayi -

Tainan

17.70% 82.30% 100.00% 14.60%

Kaohsiung - Pingtung 8.40% 91.60% 100.00% 15.70%

Keelung Yilan

Hualien Taitung

Pingtung

30.40% 69.60% 100.00% 6.90%


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How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance on education?


61.80% 38.30% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 76.20% 23.70% 100.00% 42.80%Coaltions Blue 39.80% 60.30% 100.00% 38.60%

Moderate 73.70% 26.20% 100.00% 15.90%

No Opinion 75.90% 24.20% 100.00% 2.70%

How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance regarding national defense?


60.60% 39.30% 100.00%

ResponsesBlue Green Green 80.50% 19.50% 100.00% 43.50%

Coalitions Blue 35.80% 64.20% 100.00% 38.70%

Moderate 68.40% 31.60% 100.00% 15.80%

No Opinion 48.90% 51.10% 100.00% 2.10%

How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's decision to mothballing the 4th nuclear

power plant?


66.20% 33.70% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 82.30% 17.60% 100.00% 42.70%

Coalitions Blue 47.40% 52.70% 100.00% 38.80%

Moderate 70.90% 29.20% 100.00% 16.30%

No Opinion 55.40% 44.60% 100.00% 2.20%

How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance in safeguarding national

sovereignty?


66.90% 33.10% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 91.40% 8.50% 100.00% 42.80%

Coalitions Blue 35.50% 64.50% 100.00% 38.20%

Moderate 74.50% 25.60% 100.00% 16.10%

No Opinion 74.00% 26.10% 100.00% 2.90%


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How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance regarding economic growth?


70.00% 30.10% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 89.20% 10.90% 100.00% 42.60%

Coalitions Blue 44.90% 55.20% 100.00% 38.00%

Moderate 78.30% 21.70% 100.00% 16.30%

No Opinion 70.70% 29.30% 100.00% 3.10%

How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's handling and response to demands from

public demonstrations?


74.60% 25.30% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 88.40% 11.70% 100.00% 42.40%

Coalitions Blue 57.40% 42.60% 100.00% 38.20%

Moderate 78.90% 21.10% 100.00% 16.50%

No Opinion 78.80% 21.20% 100.00% 2.90%

How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance on maintaining the price of

commodities?


76.80% 23.20% 100.00%

Responses

Blue Green Green 93.00% 7.00% 100.00% 42.70%

Coalitions Blue 55.10% 44.90%5 100.00% 37.90%

Moderate 84.90% 15.10% 100.00% 16.50%

No Opinion 76.90% 23.10% 100.00% 2.90%

How would you rate President Ma Ying-Jeou's performance on the growing wealth

disparity?


77.10% 22.90% 100.00%

Responses

Green Blue Green 93.90% 6.10% 100.00% 42.50%

Coalitions Blue 56.00% 44.00% 100.00% 38.30%

Moderate 81.70% 18.20% 100.00% 16.40%

No Opinion 81.70% 18.20% 100.00% 2.70%


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DEMOCRACY &

PROGRESS

PUBLISHED BY:

Department of InternationalA"airs DemocraticProgressive Party

9F, No. 30, Pei#Ping EastRoad, Taipei, Taiwan

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

Fax: 886#2#2393#0342

Email: [email protected]

Website:

http://www.dpp.org.tw
http://www.dpp.org.tw/http://www.dpp.org.tw/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

DPP Newsletter May2014

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