AUGUST 2008

300,000 PLUS PROTEST AGAINST MA…..1

O 


DPP HOSTS 12TH DIPLOMATIC TRAINING
CAMP……………………………………….2


MA YING-JEOU’S FOREIGN POLICY LACKS

VISION………………………………………3

Democracy &
A LOOK AT MA’S 100TH DAY IN OFFICE....4



A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE DPP’S

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Progress
300,000 plus protest against Ma Administration’s first 100 days

On President Ma Ying-jeou’s 100th day in office, more than three hundred thousand people marched on the
streets of Taipei to express their frustration and disappointment with the poor and feeble performance of Ma’s
administration.

The rally, initiated by the Taiwan Society, quickly drew a life of its own with many supporters and
organizations signing on to join from all across the nation.

The objective of the rally was to force Ma to amend his ill-thought economic and cross-strait policies. Massive
crowds demanded that Ma improve the economy, protect Taiwan’s sovereignty, and push for a transparent
judiciary.

Ma’s campaign promises have already been discredited, as the country’s economy has weakened significantly
under his administration. Ma’s promise of boosting the economy by further relaxing trade relations with China
has proved to be disastrous. The number of Chinese tourists is consistently dropping, despite Ma’s promise of
more than 3,000 visitors a day through direct chartered flights. Additionally, Taiwan’s stock market continues to
underperform, plummeting by more than 2,000 points.

Ma’s China policy has led to a further erosion of Taiwan’s sovereignty, with few benefits to show. Additionally,
Ma has made various concessions to appease the Chinese at the expense of Taiwan’s sovereignty, including the
adoption of unilateral decisions for a diplomatic truth.

The KMT government has also failed to uphold its promise to pass the “sunshine laws”, which were drafted to
enhance the transparency of government officials’ actions. With more than 3/4th of the Legislative Yuan now
controlled by the KMT, they have no excuse to continue to prolong the passing of the sunshine laws.

Chairperson Ing-wen Tsai joined the rally, showing her support for the people of Taiwan. She said that the DPP
will work even harder to pressure the KMT government to correct its flawed policies while also promising to
deliver a better DPP that will fulfill the people’s vision for a better, stronger Taiwan.
2 DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS

DPP hosts 12th Youth Diplomatic Training Camp

DEMOCRACY &
PROGRESS
Department of
International Affairs
Democratic Progressive Party
8F, No. 30, Pei-Ping East Rd.
Taipei, Taiwan
t. 886-2-23929989 ext. 306
f. 886-2-23214527
After a hiatus last year due to the legislative and presidential elections, the
DPP’s Youth Diplomatic Training Camp returned again from August 29-31st.
This year thirty-five participants from all over Taiwan attended the training
camp, and came from various academic backgrounds and trainings. This is the
12th time that the Department of International Affairs has organized this
diplomatic training camp, and remains to be one of the most popular activities
sponsored by the department.

e-mail: foreign@dpp.org.tw
Director Lin Chen-wei welcomed the participants and gave a background on
web: http://www.dpp.org.tw
Taiwan-Japan relations, as well as an analysis on the current situation in East
Asia. This was followed by two more days of interaction and first-hand accounts
Director:
Lin Chen-wei by former diplomats and officials, including first hand accounts given by former
representative to the US Joseph Wu, and former government spokesperson
Deputy Director: Hsieh Chih-wei.
Huang Chih-ta
The three day camp concluded with Chairperson Ing-wen Tsai giving words of
Editor-In-Chief: encouragement. She concluded the event by challenging the participants to
Roger Lee Huang become more involved and responsible in the social and political affairs of
Taiwan.
Editor:
Mike Fonte
3 DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS

Ma Ying-jeou’s foreign policy lacks vision, threatens status quo

Since President Ma Ying-jeou’s inauguration, Taiwan’s foreign policy has seen a dramatic shift that could
seriously endanger Taiwan’s national security and interest. Most importantly, Ma’s proclaimed “modus
vivendi” diplomacy could alter the balance of power in East Asia tilting it in China’s favor, thus changing the
status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

According to Ma, his foreign policy follows a ‘pragmatic’ approach to end diplomatic competition against
China. Following this logic, neither Taiwan nor China would actively seek to convert one another’s diplomatic
allies. President Ma further added that it was acceptable for Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to develop a more
mature economic relationship with China.

Unfortunately this foreign policy lacks vision and has serious long-term consequences for Taiwan’s security
and interests. Under Ma’s proposal, Taiwan’s diplomatic relations will rely entirely on the goodwill of China.
Not only will this give conflicting signals to the international community, this could also threaten the trust and
support of our current diplomatic allies. When Ma seeks further opening of trade relations with China, and
makes repeated concessions in order to create the illusion of warming ties, our diplomatic allies will
undoubtedly worry. If the Ma administration is willing to downgrade Taiwan’s sovereignty and status
internationally, why then would Taiwan’s allies continue to defend or support Taiwan’s representation in the
international community?

It is unfortunate that Ma has placed cross-strait relations above all other diplomatic considerations. With an
affinity to China alone, relationships with the US and Japan are in obvious imbalance. His concept does not
rely on Taiwan’s active participation in the international community, but rather on how much space China is
willing to yield to Taiwan. As a result, Taiwan’s diplomatic strategies are passive and directionless. The result
is a further push for Taiwan to become dependent on China, thus altering the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Ma’s proposal has so far failed to translate into any concrete improvement in Taiwan’s level of participation
on the international stage. In addition, he has not said a word on important global topics such as climate
change, national security, human rights, or economic development. It is regrettable that Ma, after already
being in office for more than three months, only proposes empty diplomatic rhetoric, with a narrow vision for
Taiwan on the international stage.

Now that the Olympic Games are over, China has again taken its diplomatic offensive. In a recently released
news report, China’s ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya wrote to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon,
once again rejecting Taiwan’s right to participate in the UN in any form. It appears that Ma’s ‘pragmatic’
diplomacy is not so realistic after all. Now whether Taiwan’s relationships with its diplomatic allies will
remain stable and whether Taiwan will gain membership in the WHO early next year, will all be important
tests for Ma’s overall foreign policy.
4 DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS

100th Day in Office: Ma Ying-jeou’s policy fails to impress

At the 100 day mark of his administration, President Ma Ying-jeou’s policy of further integration of Taiwan and
China’s economies has proven to be hollow and flawed. Despite Ma’s various relaxations on cross-strait trade,
economic exchange between the two sides has failed to boost Taiwan’s economy.

During the eight years of the DPP administration, the DPP was able to maintain the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
on average at 1 percent annually, according to director of the Policy Research Committee Chuang Suo-hang.
However, since Ma’s administration took over, the CPI has been soaring, reaching as high as 5.92 percent in
June. Statistics also show that more than 9,000 factory workers lost their jobs during the same period.

Director Chuang added that not only has Ma failed to fulfill his campaign promises, but his policies have also
led to the deterioration of Taiwan’s sovereignty and national security. Director of the Department of Culture and
Information Cheng Wen-tsang added that instead of the “100 golden days” promised by Ma, Taiwan has instead
suffered 100 days of recession.

Since Ma’s inauguration, the stock market has plunged by more than 2,000 points, with the total value of the
stock exchange dropping by 5.74 trillion Taiwanese dollars.

Questions or comments? Feel free o

email them to foreign@dpp.org.tw or

dppforeign@gmail.com

Democracy & Progress is a monthly electronic newsletter published by the Democratic Progressive Party’s Department of International
Affairs. Please note that articles in this publication should not be used as direct quotation unless with the explicit permission from the
editor.