Conference host Michael Hsiao opened the proceedings by asking, "What lessons does Taiwan's democratic experience offer the rest of the world, China in particular? Some may feel that Taiwan's government is chaotic. While it may be, it is also very democratic." Hsiao listed the achievements of Taiwan's democracy movement over the last 20 years-the opposition party became the ruling party, there is a diverse opposition, people gained the right to vote for all significant government offices, and fully democratic processes were put in place. Hsiao then remarked that "small is beautiful," and wondered if Taiwan's experience might help shorten and smooth the transition of other Southeast Asian nations to more democratic forms of government.
According to Tan Kok Wai, a member of the Malaysian parliament, when the DPP became Taiwan's ruling party two years ago, Chinese communities around the world all desired the same things of it: that it would contribute to peacemaking with mainland China, stimulate Taiwan's economy and continue the development of democracy on Taiwan. They believed the DPP was concerned about Chinese communities overseas, and hoped it would not be overly focused on the Taiwanese identity issue.
Tan argued, "Regardless of our nationalities, we are all part of the Chinese community. China wants to promote a one country, two systems approach, yet itself operates a single-party system. Overseas Chinese can't expect much enlightenment from there. Some governments in Southeast Asia have exploited the notion of 'Asian values' to resist the trends to universal human rights, freedom and democracy. Some countries even retain strongly racist views about ethnic Chinese. All of these factors work against democratization." He went on to say that Taiwan's experience of democratization was priceless and that Taiwan possesses more social capital than any other Chinese society in the world. Tan suggested that Taiwan could put together international organizations, such as human-rights watch groups, to assist in the building of democracies around the world, especially in places such as Southeast Asia and Latin America where Chinese communities are still subject to the threat of racism.
A completely Chinese democracy
Professor Tim Beal of Wellington, New Zealand's Victoria University also praised Taiwan's transition of power to the opposition party. He stated that the Taiwanese example proves that democracy can be established in Chinese societies. "In the past, Taiwan's leaders had claimed that they wanted to establish a democratic system, but that the time was not right. But democratization should not be put off to the future; it should be implemented now. Taiwan's example shows that the external environment and cultural baggage are not a valid excuse for rejecting democratization."
Commenting on the praise Taiwan has received from its friends abroad, Shih Cheng-feng, an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration at Tamkang University, stated that while Taiwan's nonviolent transition to democracy and the incremental development of that democracy were indeed successes, Taiwan continues to face serious challenges, including ethnic tensions and the island's inability to rejoin the United Nations or participate in the international community. Shih further stated that Taiwan is still a mess, unable to achieve a consensus even after seven sets of constitutional amendments. For Shih, these are the major issues that Taiwan must address.
Joanne Chiou, a research fellow with the Academia Sinica's Institute of European and American Studies, argued that Taiwan's democracy could be improved upon. "We should not be so self-centered as to believe we are the model for everyone. But we do have experiences we can share." She noted that Taiwan's step-by-step reform over the last several decades had allowed former dissidents to attain leadership positions. She proposed that the greatest difference between Taiwan and the overseas Chinese communities was that the latter are largely apolitical.
David Schak, director of the Taiwan Studies Unit of Australia's Griffith University, used several anecdotes to illustrate how Chinese have integrated into non-Chinese communities. Schak related that Brisbane first held a Dragon Boat Festival celebration in 1984. And now religious organizations such as the Tzu Chi Foundation and Fo Guang Shan are providing services not just to the Chinese community, but also to mainstream Australian society. He argued that the best way to promote mutual understanding was to promote helpful, sustainable communities that become a part of the mainstream.
Having successfully taken its first steps toward full democratization, how does Taiwan now go about building a truly democratic society?
According to Gerard Delanty of the University of Liverpool, with the ever-growing complexity of decision-making, the challenge for democratic societies is to create a space for debating public issues and to deepen democratic thinking in all institutions. Delanty argued that one solution is good media. "Democracy is not just about solving problems; it's about articulating issues, defining problems and giving voice to the hidden. Media is important to that."
Chiou contended that we need a dynamic, active civil society. She further argued that the deepening of Taiwanese democracy required the emergence of a middle class, a free press and international cooperation through NGOs to help other nations build democratic governments and mature democratic societies.
Media at the crux
There was strong agreement among conference participants about the role of the media in a democratic society.
Michael Hsiao observed that there is an urgent need for greater professionalism on the part of Taiwan's media. A democratic society must respect other viewpoints. Taiwan's media, however, is obsessed with gossip. Hsiao suggested that the Taiwanese audience must monitor the quality of its media.
Tan Kok Wai remarked that the Malay media in Malaysia is similar to that of Singapore in that both are largely under the control of the government. He noted that in spite of having served four terms in parliament (as a member of the opposition), he has yet to appear on local TV. "I'm here to promote the participation of the Chinese community because the ethnic Chinese media helped us a great deal. They are much more democratic than the Malay media."
If free and democratic Taiwan were interested in fostering democracy in Vietnam, North Korea and mainland China, how would it go about doing so?
Griffith University's David Schak, who speaks fluent Chinese and frequently visits the mainland, said that he had heard of many young people in the mainland voicing the belief that a multiparty government would emerge there. They said that one should not focus only on where the mainland is now, but where it had come from.
Joanna Chiou stated, "Taiwan is an example to China's 1.3 billion people that democracy can be achieved through peaceful means. A democratic China must be built from within, but Taiwan's experience provides a model for consideration."
Wayne Hudson, director of the Asia Department of the Key Center for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University, reminded everyone that people had suffered to establish democratic institutions on Taiwan and that they must hold to this course in spite of its difficulty. He urged Taiwan to come up with new ideas to create a new and better form of democracy.
In his concluding remarks, Michael Hsiao remarked that without dissatisfaction, there is no improvement, and that in every society, disagreement is an unavoidable part of the democratic process. He noted that people from Australia and New Zealand were not completely satisfied with their democratic systems, but pointed out that the heart of democracy is the voice of the people. Only by vigorously participating in the process can people improve it and make it meet the needs of society. Hsiao and the other members of the conference all expressed the hope that Taiwan would interact more with the international community, that it would be allowed to fulfill the responsibilities of a member of that community, and that it would continue to improve the quality of life of its people.
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Dr. Hsin-huang Michael Hsiao,
Chairman of the Board,
Institute of National Development
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Dr. Cheng-feng Shih,
Associate Professor,
Department of Public Administration, Tamkang University
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Hon. Tan Kok Wai, MP,
Malaysia
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Dr. David Schak, Senior Lecturer and Director, Taiwan Studies Unit, Griffith University, Australia
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Dr. Tim Beal, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
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Dr Wayne Hudson, Griffith
University, Australia
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Dr. Jaw-ling Joanne Chang,
Research Fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica
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Dr. Tim E.M. Wu,
Executive Director, APPAF
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Dr. Gerard Delanty, Department
of Sociology, University of Liverpool, UK
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