DECEMBER 2010
DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS
DPP Chair Tsai Ing-wen’s New Year Statement
The DPP is back, make no
mistake about it. The results of
the past two years’ elections
prove this beyond the shadow of
a doubt. The DPP is once again
trusted and is a serious competi-
tor to the KMT.
The DPP is the first post
WWII political party to spring
from this land of ours. From our
first day we proclaimed our in-
tention to stand together with the
people of Taiwan. Taiwan is a
land which has suffered griev-
ously but we are never without
hope and the drive to be masters
of our own land. We the people
of this land have a common past
and also a common mission for
the future. The most important
thing for the DPP in 2011 is to
believe in our land, believe in our
people and the values we hold
dear.
The DPP has always be-
lieved that our country’s roots are
its land and its people. With the
KMT so enthusiastically cele-
brating the ROC’s Centennial,
we are not being cynical but sim-
ply ask the people of Taiwan to
sit down and reflect. Each Tai-
wanese should ponder their un-
derstanding of their own country.
Instead of arguing over the
meaning of the " ‘92 consensus,”
or the terms “one China different
interpretations”, ‘different inter-
pretations one China”, let's ask
people themselves what they, in
their heart of hearts, think their
country is. The answer will
come without hesitation: either
Taiwan or the Republic of China.
But behind these two answers
there is a clear meaning, namely
our country is this specific land;
our country is different from and
not part of the People's Republic
of China.
So I don't understand why
President Ma is insistently asking
questions as if he were unsure
about the present or future of our
country's position. The reality is
that this is our land, we are 23
million strong, we have walked a
long hard road and established a
vibrant democracy. For a presi-
dent, your country exists here
with the people who voted for
you.
The biggest difference we
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PAGE 1

have with the KMT is that the KMT says,
"Without the ROC there is no Taiwan." We
believe, "Without Taiwan there is no ROC".
They worship at the altar of power and rulers.
In contrast, our faith is in this land and its peo-
ple. The difference is that we make Taiwan our
priority and we believe we stand on the side of
the majority of the people.
In 1949 the Republic of China came to
Taiwan and became one part of the history of
this land. We respect this historical fact, but we
also believe that in the future, it is only through
a democratic system can we change the struc-
ture that has existed for sixty years. But what
people now need is neither the constant strug-
gle between blue and green over national con-
sciousness nor spending lots of money to build
a sense of identity that is out of touch with re-
ality. What the people want to see from now on
is our citizens working together beyond the dis-
tinctions of blue or green and without any po-
litical confines, to freely create and choose our
future.
For the majority of the Taiwanese people,
2010 was a difficult year. Yes, the GDP re-
sumed its growth and consumption was up, but
at the same time prices rose and, most impor-
tantly of all, the salaries and income of the ma-
jority of people did not rise. This shows that
our economic development has entered a new
pattern, where there is unequal distribution of
wealth and development. While some people
are quite happily enjoying the fruits of recov-
ery, other families have endured a harsh winter
with tears in their eyes. If this pattern of de-
velopment continues, the wealth gap will con-
tinue to grow and disparity between urban and
rural areas will get even worse.
For 2011, another mission of the DPP is to
present an economic approach that is different
from that of the KMT, to resist the worsening
wealth gap in our society. While the KMT is
DECEMBER 2010
... continued "om the "ont page
complacent with the GDP growth figures, we
will concern ourselves with people's lives, their
employment and income. How high the num-
bers look is irrelevant; they are mere empty
figures if the average person does not feel the
growth. The DPP must feel what the people
are feeling, must provide a secure future for
those without economic or social capital. The
DPP exists for these people and each day we
must remind ourselves that if there were no
DPP, who would care for the future of these
people? This was the original purpose of the
founding of our party, and remains the value
we hold firm today and for which we will con-
tinue to fight.
2010 is past. We walked through this year
full of gratitude, with appreciation for the peo-
ple for their support, encouragement, tolerance,
and hope. The DPP cannot keep the Taiwanese
people waiting too long. We must do what
must be done, we must do what touches the
hearts of the people, and we will do so by go-
ing all out in this new year.
“The biggest difference we have
with the KMT is that the KMT says,
‘Without the ROC there is no Tai-
wan’. We believe, ‘Without Taiwan
there is no ROC’.”
- DPP Chair Tsai Ing-wen
PAGE 2

DPP’s legislative caucus seeks to establish truth
commission
Recent polls conducted by the DPP show that the
public is unclear regarding the truth behind the
shooting incident involving Sean Lian Sheng-
wen, son of former Vice President Lian Chan. The
polls also show that the public is dissatisfied with
the way the investigation has been conducted. A
month having passed since the incident, there has
only been speculation, without any clear reports
on the issue.
Director of the DPP’s Survey Center, Chen
Chung-Lin said that, based on their survey, close
to 70% of the public did not believe the shooting
to be a “single incident”. Chen also said that even
more, 74% of the public, said they believed that
this was a “major incident, and that the investiga-
tion reports as well as all the evidence must be
publicized in order to quell any suspicions from
the public”.
DPP former election candidates issue statement
concerning election invalidation
On Dec. 31, DPP candidates from the Big-5 Elec-
tion for Taipei City, New Taipei City and Greater
Taichung, Su Tseng-chang, Tsai Ing-wen and Su
Chia-chuan announced their start of legal pro-
ceedings to request an invalidation of the election
results for these three districts. In a DPP state-
ment, the candidates said that the main purpose
for the DPP in these legal proceedings is to clarify
the truth behind the Sean Lian shootings so that
the victims and the public remain satisfied with
the results and to avoid hurting Taiwan’s democ-
racy.
Below is the full text of the statement:
“We believe that going through the legal proc-
ess, a review of the truth and influence behind the
shooting incident will strengthen Taiwan’s demo-
DECEMBER 2010
The survey also reported that 56.1% of the
public were dissatisfied with the progress of the
shooting investigation made by the police, and
only 19.2% said they were satisfied with the po-
lice investigation.
DPP Spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang announced
that the DPP Legislative Caucus will request the
establishment of a truth commission to review the
police investigation. Tsai said that the Ma Admin-
istration must also strongly urge the police to pub-
lish the facts behind the incident so that the public
can remain clear and calm on the subject.
cratic system. If the truth is fuzzy or the case is
closed hastily, the foundation of trust in the com-
munity will collapse and it will lead to more con-
frontation and damage.
“After the shooting, many crossed the legal
line and sent out wrong information to voters, and
this in reality affected voter behavior. In order to
maintain election fairness and in order to prevent
future similar occurrences, we believe that not
only all candidates deserve the right of litigation,
but it also conforms to the majority of public in-
terests.
“Originally, the DPP chose not to get involved
in the case, hoping to give space for prosecutors
and the police to handle the investigation. How-
ever, the results of the case presented have not
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DECEMBER 2010

...election invalidation DEMOCRACY &

PROGRESS
only been vague, but there have been many different versions.
There have been instances where important information has been
PUBLISHED BY:
blocked and even deliberately concealed. It is even more outra-
geous that no one in the Administration has taken political re-
sponsibility. Department of International
“The DPP’s position is extremely clear. We hope that all in- Affairs Democratic
Progressive Party
formation pertaining to the shooting should be reviewed by the
public. The DPP Legislative Caucus has demanded to establish
the Fact-Finding and Truth Commission based on the Legislative 9F, No. 30, Pei-Ping East
Yuan’s powers of exercise. Nevertheless, the KMT has set out to Road, Taipei, Taiwan
block this demand and to delay the establishment of such a
commission, and for this reason, we must go through the judicial Tel: 886-2-2392-9989 ext. 306
process to seek for the truth and to prevent the Executive Yuan
from interfering. Fax: 886-2-2393-0342
“During the shooting and its aftermath, the DPP did not take a
position or jump to conclusions. However, the KMT campaign
Email: foreign@dpp.org.tw
team, including the involvement of many KMT legislators, ex-
pressed or implied during pre-election rallies and media pro-
grams that the shooting had a link with the DPP, giving the Website:
wrong impression to the public. By demanding voter sanction http://www.dpp.org.tw
and the wide publicizing of the media, from the end of election
activities to the day of the election, created an unfair election en-
vironment. In regards to exaggerating the incident through the DIRECTOR:
media, there is sufficient evidence to show that in fact it influ-
Bikhim Hsiao
enced election results. We therefore believe that in raising an
election invalidation demand through the legal process has its
legal rationality and political legitimacy.” DEPUTY DIRECTORS:
Hsieh Huai-hui
Tsai Meng-chun

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Michael J. Fonte

EDITOR:
Ping-Ya Hsu

PAGE 4
 DECEMBER 2010

Rejection of an ECFA referendum creates

public mistrust

In early January, the Executive Yuan’s Referen- ECFA from both sides, the DPP opposes such an
dum Review Committee rejected the TSU’s pro- organization standing independent of legislative
posal for a referendum on ECFA, which the DPP supervision.
supported. This is the fourth time that the Refer- Cheng said that the DPP has made its position
endum Review Committee has rejected the re- clear to the government regarding establishing an
quest for a referendum on ECFA. organization for the execution of ECFA, with the
In a press conference held at the DPP head- DPP’s opposition based on that organization
quarters, DPP Spokesperson Cheng Wen-chang showing no sign of transparency or being subject
said that the recent decision by the Referendum to supervision.
Review Committee confirms a regression of de-
mocracy, and that the Committee is impeding the
public’s right to exercise a referendum. Cheng
said that it is imperative that ECFA goes through
legislative review and then allow the public to de-
cide through a referendum whether or not ECFA
is beneficial for them.
“It is extremely regrettable that for the fourth
time and after gathering more than hundreds of
thousands of signatures, we are now allowed to
have a referendum on ECFA,” Cheng said. “This
just proves that from beginning to end, the Ma
Administration refuses to give the public the right
to decide on ECFA.
“And it is ironic that in his 2008 campaign vi-
sion, President Ma promised to let the 23 million
people in Taiwan decide their own future.”
Cheng expressed that the DPP continues to
mistrust the Ma Administration on ECFA, and the
KMT must make it clear to the public once again
their cross strait actions. He said that both sides of
the strait have signed fifteen items in the agree-
ment, none of which have gone through legisla-
tive supervision, twelve of which are self-
executing, and two of which are bundled together
and allowed to be voted on as one, which is ut-
terly ridiculous, he said.
Furthermore, in regards to the establishment of
an organization that will oversee the execution of

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