Kuomintang's landslide victory in Taiwan

It was predicted by political analysts that the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, in Taiwan would do well in the January 13, 2008 parliamentary elections over the incumbent party, the Democratic Progressive Party. However, the landslide victory with which the Kuomintang won astounded even most liberal forecasters. According to the National Post, the Kuomintang won almost 75% of seats in the 113-member body, compared with only 27 for the Democratic Progressive Party. As a result of this shocking political defeat to the Democratic Progressive Party, the current president of Taiwain, Chen Shui-Bian, has resigned as the head of the Democratic Party; however, he will still carry out the remainder of his term as president. There are three primary reasons why the Kuomintang did so well.

First, one reason why the Kuomintang did so well was because of Taiwanese people believe that the Democratic Progressive Party has lost touch with the people of the island. According to the Asia Times of January 15, 2008, many Taiwanese felt that that Democratic Progressive Party no longer served the needs of the people. The New York Times of January 14, 2008 attributes this feeling of discontentment partially to the corruption scandals involving President Chen-Shui-bian and his advisors. Furthermore, the Financial Times of January 15, 2008 adds that many Taiwanese people felt that the very campaign strategies of the Democratic Progressive party showed that it had lost touch with the people. The Democratic Progressive Party’s strategy worked in the 2004 presidential election when Chen Shui-Bian attacked the Kuomintang as a Chinese puppet and to rally for more moves towards eventual Taiwanese independence. However, it did not work this time because most voters felt that there were more important issues to address. In an interview with the Financial Times, Sandy Chow, a Taipei student, stated "I need to worry about whether I will find a job after I graduate. I really do [love Taiwan], and of course Taiwan must be independent but, meanwhile, let's move on and get some work done." In fact, Hsu Yung-ming, a professor of political science at Soochow University, stated that the election results reflect the fact that "the DPP [is] losing touch with the voters". Although the Kuomintang has not held majority power in the parliament for eight years, many Taiwanese in this election voted for the Kuomintang because of its appeal to the “common man.”

Second, the economic policies of the Democratic Progressive Party have upset the Taiwanese. A major reason why many Taiwanese voted against the Democratic Progressive Party in this election is because of the failing economy. Although Taiwan’s economy is growing, it is much slower than was previously expected. Part of this reason, as the Houston Chronicle of January 14, 2008 reports is that current president Chen limited “the size and type of Taiwanese investments on the mainland” and reduced trade between Taiwan and China by preventing direct trade between the two. As of right now, China and Taiwan can only trade through intermediaries, like Hong Kong or the likewise. As a result, economic growth has slowed down under Mr. Chen’s rule, which many voters link to the Democratic Party’s unfavorable economic policies. The Houston Chronicle further elaborates that “Taiwan's economic growth averaged 3.8 percent annually during Chen's years in office… The rate [for the past decade]… was 6.5 percent.” The Kuomintang is an exact opposite to this policy. The Kuomintang wants to reopen direct trade between the two countries and reverse the economic policies of the Democratic Progressive Party. Therefore, another major reason why the Kuomintang won was because of the Democratic Progressive Party’s unfavorable economic policies.

Lastly and perhaps more importantly, Taiwan wants to make reconciliatory moves towards mainland China. The main stance that separates the Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang is their stances towards mainland China. The Democratic Progressive Party favors independence whereas the Kuomintang, according to the National Post of January 15, 2008, supports “close economic and cultural ties with China and [is] not ruling out eventual reunification.” Many people voted in favor of the Kuomintang because they want to see better ties with China, especially since China has a booming economy. It is clear that the issue of China is big because immediately after Chen Shui-bian resigned, the new leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, Frank Hsieh, even conceded to tone down his anti-China stance and promised to be less confrontational to China to try to appeal to voters. Jing-dong Yuan of the Monterey Institute of International Studies noted that the results of the Taiwanese parliamentary elections indicate that "after 60 years of hostility and alienation, a new era of reconciliation and rapprochement between the mainland and Taiwan may be in the offing;" and this peace is exactly what the Taiwanese want and have voted for in this past election.