The stage is set for the election to be a vote of confidence on the Democratic Progressive Party’s record in office.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/11/22
By: Yu-tzung Chang
Credit: CC by MiNe/Flickr.
International news reporters visiting Taiwan to report on elections for the first time will certainly be amazed by the variety of large-scale campaign activities. Normally, when a competitive authoritarian state is transitioning to democracy, we would expect large numbers of people to take to the streets. But Taiwan’s democratization began three decades ago and these are only local elections. Is the large-scale electoral mobilization a sign of the deficiency of Taiwan’s democracy? The answer to this question should be, no. Instead, the frenzy can be explained by the controversial reforms implemented by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after it came to power in 2016, producing a major counterattack from opponents of the reforms (or reform losers) in this election.
Opposition to reform of benefits
Like many European countries, Taiwan’s government is heavily burdened by a large welfare budget and has therefore attempted to reduce welfare expenditures to achieve fiscal balance and sustainable development. However, resistance to reform is greater than in other countries. The distribution of welfare benefits in Taiwan has long been unbalanced.
Photo Credit: Reuters / TPGProtesters try to pull down the gates of the Legislative Yuan building during a rally against overhaul of the military and civil service pension funds in Taipei, Taiwan April 25, 2018.
The social welfare benefits of former public employees, in particular military veterans, are much higher than those of other groups. After the DPP came to power two years ago, it proposed to reduce the welfare benefits of retired public employees, leading to widespread protests. Ultimately, the DPP was able to use its majority in the Legislative Yuan to force through the pension cuts. Since then, the losers of this reform have continued to protest, targeting public events attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). [FULL STORY]
