People not like us?

Just when it seemed the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ couldn't run a worse Taiwan-related article than the piece it carried by Ralph Cossa last week, Japan's finest English-language newspaper managed to top itself with today's issue. Commentaries on Taiwan don't get much more biased than "With Chen behind bars, Taiwan set to heal" by one Sin-ming Shaw:

"Last week, a Taiwanese court sentenced Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁, Taiwan's president from 2000 until 2008, to life in prison for corruption. Chen had embezzled millions of dollars of public funds. He did not act alone. His wife, children and other relatives all helped to hide the stolen loot in overseas accounts. Taiwan's former first family turned out to be a den of common thieves."

Right off, the astute reader will already know that Shaw is not going to mention any of the disturbing aspects that have surrounded the Chen case, particularly the denial of basic civil rights to the defendants and the crass Mahathir-like manipulation of the legal system that has gone on all throughout the proceedings. Things quickly get worse after the less-than-promising introduction above:

"Chen and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 camouflaged their personal and parochial financial interests behind the patriotic mask of ensuring the survival of a democratic Chinese society in an independent Taiwan. For years, Chen was perceived as a brave David fighting the communist Goliath, and attracted many admirers around the world. Presenting himself and his party as champions of democracy, Chen sought to create the impression among Taiwan's voters that their freedom would perish in the hands of the Nationalist Party (KMT) 中國國民黨 or any party other than his own. But in fact, it was the late President Chiang Ching-kuo 蔣經國, the son of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek 蔣中正, who instituted the unprecedented democratic reforms that paved the way for the eventual electoral triumph of Chen's formerly banned DPP."

In fact, Chiang put in place those democratic reforms only under great pressure from dissidents who would eventually form the DPP, including Chen, who first came to prominence defending the accused in the Kaohsiung Incident 美麗島事件. Shaw says nothing about the political murders that continued up until Chiang's death, and completely ignores Lee Teng-hui 李登輝, the man who did more than any other to move Taiwan away from its KMT-established authoritarian system and into the democratic state it is today.

"...Chen was always more concerned with consolidating his own power than with defending Taiwan. His most controversial political moves were aimed at his domestic opponents, not the Chinese government on the mainland. He led a vicious campaign to portray all Taiwanese with mainland Chinese roots, even if born and bred in Taiwan, as untrustworthy carpetbaggers or 'not native people' — as if they were aliens from a different culture."

These "aliens from a different culture" arrived in Taiwan in 1945, and found an island that was quite different from the mainland as a result of 50 years of Japanese administration. They responded by massacring the elite of Taiwanese society, and instituting a repressive security system that was to last for more than 40 years.

"This official effort to portray native 'Taiwanese' as a separate ethnic group, with scant relation to Chinese culture, was extended to language, as Chen favored using the Fujian dialect in lieu of the Mandarin spoken by 1.3 billion Chinese and taught all over the world. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education 中華民國教育部 sought to expunge all references to China in school textbooks."

Of course Shaw neglects to inform his readers that hardly anyone on Taiwan spoke Mandarin before the KMT arrived, nor does he mention how students were punished if they spoke Taiwanese (or any of the other local languages) at school. He also omits the fact that the KMT-controlled education system emphasized a China-centric curriculum, with the end result being that most people on Taiwan probably know more about Chinese history than about what important events occurred on their own island.

"So insistent was Chen's campaign that it reminded some people of Mao Zedong's毛泽东 Cultural Revolution 文化大革命, a time when Chinese were divided into 'us' and 'them.' Indeed, under Chen's policy, Taiwan nearly became a rigidly divided society, where 'local' and 'not native' Chinese lived as potential enemies."

As opposed to the good old days, when mainlanders were placed in all important positions of power, and "locals" were relegated to the margins. The KMT often plays the ethnic card when it finds itself forced to face its murderous, corrupt past, but Shaw seems to forget that a kind of apartheid system existed for many years here.

"In the end, Chen's effort was as futile as it was foolish. The Chinese culture embodied in the daily lives of 23 million Taiwanese of whatever political beliefs was not so easily eliminated by decree. Moreover, the attempt to do so angered the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, who finally understood the stupidity of Chen's policy, particularly how it led to economic stagnation at a time when China was booming."

Paeans to the greatness of the Middle Kingdom and its people aside, Shaw seems to feel that the Chen years, a time when the economy was still growing, were a time of hardship, unlike the booming economy everyone has been enjoying since Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 took over the presidency in May of last year.

"Indeed, Taiwanese capital and know-how built much of China's high tech industries, and well over a half-million Taiwanese live and work near Shanghai 上海 in a virtual replica of Hsinchu 新竹, Taiwan's Silicon Valley. But in Chen's Taiwan, domestic squabbles took precedence over economic development. Chen invariably blamed the KMT for blocking sensible economic plans, but even some of his moneyed supporters knew better."

Yes, Taiwanese capital and know-how did much to help China reach the place where it is now, but at what cost to the domestic economy? Chen "stupidly" attempted to get Taiwanese companies to look towards places like Vietnam when it came to making investments, and Shaw doesn't seem to be bothered much by the hollowing out of Taiwanese industry, and the growing dependency of Taiwanese manufacturers on the Chinese market. ECFA 海峽兩岸經濟合作架構協議 is coming, and life is going to be great!

"When it was finally proved that power had turned Chen into a common criminal, the KMT was voted back into power. But, while Chen's legacy of lies and corruption has ended, the reborn KMT under President Ma Ying-jeou has much to do to convince a cynical public that Chen's ways, reminiscent of KMT's own darker past, have not become embedded in the system. Chen's jail sentence should also serve to remind the DPP that it must become a party for all Taiwanese, 'local' or not, if it is to have any chance at a revival. Taiwan's people know that they cannot prosper as a democracy if ethnic divisiveness is allowed to hold sway."

Shaw shows he has a humorous side in his reference to the KMT's "darker past", as if the party is now squeaky-clean. The system that he refers to in the paragraph above was set up by none other than the KMT. Shaw is correct in observing that the DPP must become more than a party for Taiwanese speakers, but the reality is "ethnic divisiveness" in terms of Taiwanese politics often becomes a smoke screen to prevent reformers from delving into the authoritarian (KMT) past, and creating a truly democratic system that can deliver justice for all its citizens. And that includes even those such as Chen who find themselves on the wrong side of the political divide.

You can place Sin-ming Shaw in the same file as the likes of Frank Ching - ethnic Chinese commentators looking forward to the day when Greater China returns to its rightful position of dominance in Asia, and scornful of any of their brethren who have been contaminated with "Western notions" like "democracy". In some respects, the hatred the pro-blue crowd has always shown towards Chen is reminiscent of the lunacy being exhibited by some in the United States in regards to Barack Obama.

Only in Taiwan's case, however, the lunatics have won.

Is history repeating itself?

It was an afternoon of tarantula-paralyzing wasps, slithering gray snakes, jumping green grasshoppers and dilapidated Taoist temples in the hills of Hsint'ien 新田 this afternoon.

The Senkaku Islands 尖閣諸島 are back in the news again, and the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 has the AP story ("Japan arrests Taiwan captain in disputed waters"):

"Japan's coast guard has arrested a Taiwanese fishing boat captain who refused an inspection and sparked a six-hour chase through disputed waters in the East China Sea 東シナ海, officials said Monday. Wang Wei-shin, 44, was taken into custody late Sunday on suspicion of illegally fishing and violating Japanese waters near a chain of disputed islands claimed by Japan, Taiwan and China, according to Japan Coast Guard 海上保安庁 spokesman Shinichiro Tanaka. Japanese authorities took Wang to nearby Ishigaki island 石垣島 for questioning after negotiations with Taiwan's coast guard, Tanaka said, adding that a crew member was also being held as a witness. The boat was also carrying nine people Tanaka referred to as 'fishing tourists' and they were released to Taiwanese authorities. Patrol vessels spotted the 50-ton Formosa Chieftain No. 2 just off the northern coast of Japan's Minna island 水納島, a tiny southern island about 110 miles (175 kilometers) southeast of uninhabited disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu 魚釣 in Chinese. 'Had the skipper stopped his boat at our request, the case wouldn't have become such a big deal, and he might not even have to be arrested,' Tanaka said. In T'aipei (Taihoku) 台北, a Taiwan Coast Guard Administration 行政院海岸巡防署 official acknowledged that the fishing boat ventured into disputed waters and tried to head back to Taiwanese waters after being spotted by Japanese personnel. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry 中華民國外交部 Spokesman Henry Chen said his ministry planned to offer the captain assistance and 'negotiate with Japan on the matter.'"

A Taiwanese fisherman is caught fishing where he knows he shouldn't, tries to make a run for it, and gets caught, sparking an international incident. At least this time the boat wasn't sunk. It should be interesting to see how the new cabinet led by Wu Den-yih 吳敦義, handles this matter. The last one, under Liu Chao-shuan 劉兆玄 , did a pretty inept job of things, going so far as to threaten war. More rational heads hopefully will prevail this time.

ファミリーサービス

This weekend was spent in service to the family, and to my daughter in particular. On Saturday Amber and I went to Chung-cheng Park 中正公園 in Fengyuan 豐原 to do some hiking in the hill above the park. In the past, I've had to use a child carrier to help Amber on some parts of the hikes we've gone on, but on this day she was able to complete both the ascent and descent without hitching a ride on her father's back. Below are a couple of photos of Amber celebrating reaching the top on her own:

Today, we returned to Chung-cheng Park, with my wife in tow, to give Amber the chance to play on the slides there and give her tricycle a spin. In addition, she had fun feeding some fish, and digging into the Taiwanese version of shaved ice カキ氷 (azuki bean アズキ in this case}:

It's weekends like this one why I hope it never becomes financially necessary for me to work on Saturdays again.

Knowledge be good་

It doesn't need to be said that these days one can't get far in this world without a college education, and the higher the level, the better. What does need to be said, though, is that having academic qualifications doesn't automatically mean you know what you are talking about. Take Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS, please...I mean, for example. According to his bio, he has a B.A. in international relations from Syracuse, an M.B.A. from Pepperdine and an M.S. in strategic studies from the Defense Intelligence College. You would assume, therefore, that this is a man who knows what he's talking about when it comes to the political and diplomatic scenes in East Asia. Reading his opinion piece "DPP scoring political points at Taiwan's expense" in today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ, however, one is left wondering how such a highly-educated person can be so far off the mark when it comes to what should be a simple analysis on Taiwanese affairs (UCLA Professor Tom Pate is another case in point). PhD candidate Michael Turton puts his high degree of academic experience to good use in taking apart Cossa's column on his excellent blog The View from Taiwan (see "Our Predictable Establishment Commentators: Cossa in SCMP"). I'm merely going to add my two cents' worth below.

"What's going on in Taiwan? A year ago, there were serious concerns about the viability of Taiwan democracy. The Nationalist Party (KMT) 中國國民黨 had achieved an overwhelming majority with a sweeping victory in Legislative Yuan 立法院 elections and had regained the presidency as a result of a landslide victory by its chosen candidate, former T'aipei 台北 Mayor Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九. Many expressed concern that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) 民主進步黨, embarrassed by corruption scandals and branded as inefficient and incapable of governing, would fade into the background, with the KMT running roughshod over the political process, implementing its policies at will."

Isn't that what has actually been happening since May of last year?

"What a difference a year makes! Today, the DPP is resurgent and seems to have the Ma administration and KMT on the ropes. It may not have been very good at running the country, but it has proven itself to be a formidable force when it comes to its more traditional opposition role. One is tempted to tip one's hat to the DPP, except for one slight matter: its success is increasingly coming at the expense of Taiwan's economic recovery and potentially at a risk to its security as well."

First of all, taking into the account the fact that I actually live here and follow the news on a daily basis, I have to disagree with Cossa's statements about the "resurgence" and "formidableness" of the DPP. The party struggles to make itself heard in the media, and has yet to formulate clear policies on how it would govern the country were it to retake the presidency in 2012 (an unlikely occurrence, in any event), other than to oppose the KMT's efforts to bring Taiwan further into China's orbit. What is disturbing, however, is Cossa's assertion that the DPP, by acting as an opposition party in a democracy should, is somehow going to bring disaster down upon this island both economically and militarily.

"Take its latest political maneuver, for example. In the wake of Typhoon Morakot 颱風莫拉克, local DPP political leaders from the seriously stricken region decided to invite the Dalai Lama ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ to come and provide comfort to the victims of this devastating natural disaster. The DPP's central leadership quickly — and disingenuously — called on President Ma to approve the visit and 'not to politicize the event.' All well and good, except that the DPP leadership was fully aware that the mere invitation of the Dalai Lama, seen as a 'dangerous splittist' by Beijing, would invoke the ire of its giant neighbor and create a lose-lose situation for Ma. Either Ma gives in to predictable Chinese objections and denies the Dalai Lama a visa or he allows the visit and awaits Beijing's anticipated retribution. Politically speaking, this was another stroke of genius for an opposition party that seems to have the majority running scared, especially in the wake of negative publicity over its initial handling of typhoon recovery operations."

Of course, the DPP saw a chance to use the Dalai Lama, and acted. That's what politicians and parties do in a democracy. What I find disturbing is that Cossa appears to accept that it is only natural for China to pressure other countries when it comes to the free movement of Nobel Peace Prize winners, and he fails to inform us that Ma stated last year that the Dalai Lama was basically not welcome in Taiwan, an amazing act of acquiescence to Chinese "sensibilities" that would be hard to find in any other democratic country (with the possible exception of Venezuela!).

"Ma had little option other than to approve the Dalai Lama's visit. Beijing, for all its anger and complaints, was likely to be more understanding and forgiving than the Taiwan electorate. The Chinese leadership has figured out what the DPP is up to, but finds it hard to resist reacting. What it has not yet figured out is that it is China's predictable protests against any action, however benign, by the Dalai Lama that makes his visits the politically charged events that they have become. Thus far, the Chinese response has been muted: ritualistic protests and the cancellation of a number of events aimed at highlighting improved cross-strait relations. But there is a real danger that Beijing will at some point reach the conclusion that the Ma administration is too weak and incompetent to deal with and revert to its old tactic: marginalizing Taiwan and limiting its political and economic opportunities."

Cossa seems to sympathize with Beijing's (and Ma's) "predicament" over allowing a figure revered the world over to enter Taiwan for a few days to conduct prayer services on behalf of some disaster victims. At no point in his analysis does Cossa view Taiwan as a sovereign state that is capable of making decisions on its own to promote its national interests. With the exception of agreeing to Taiwan's observer status at the World Health Organization (and with a number of conditions attached at that), what has China done in the past year to allow Taiwan to pursue greater political and economic opportunities? Cossa doesn't seem to have followed local political developments since Ma came to power in 2008, for he appears unaware of the numerous steps taken by this island's own elected representatives to marginalize Taiwan in the international arena.

"This coud put at risk Taipei's attempts to negotiate an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) — in effect, a cross-strait Free Trade Agreement (FTA) — with China. Such an agreement is not only significant in its own right, as a boost to Taiwan's economic recovery, but is expected to open the door for similar FTAs between Taiwan and many of its Southeast Asia neighbors and, perhaps, even with the United States."

Nobody, Cossa included, knows what the final form an ECFA/FTA will take because the Ma administration hasn't given out any details (though some Chinese officials have bluntly stated that such a pact will help to speed the process of "reunification"). I'm left scratching my head at Cossa's belief that China holds the power to prevent Taiwan from negotiating FTA's with other countries. Taiwan has concluded a number of agreements over the years with many countries that don't recognize the Republic of China 中華民國 as a sovereign state, and it wasn't necessary to get approval from China first before doing so. It appears that Cossa is repeating Ma's line on ECFA when, in fact, it could be argued that Taiwan should be aggressively pursuing such free trade agreements now instead of placing all its eggs into a Chinese basket. Or is Cossa overlooking the possibility that ECFA isn't meant just an economic agreement, but also a further step in the process of making it impossible to disentangle Taiwan from its dependence on the Chinese market?

"Unnecessarily and deliberately antagonizing Beijing just to score political points in Taiwan may have its domestic political benefits, but it could end up costing Taiwan dearly, both economically and in terms of cross-strait political stability. Perhaps the time has come for the DPP to understand that the role of a responsible opposition is not just to oppose everything for the sake of embarrassing the party in power but to craft policies that serve both the party's and the people's interests."

Where was Ralph Cossa while the KMT was playing the role of a "responsible oppostion" - preventing important legislation from being debated in the legislature, refusing to fund some parts of the central government, continually threatening to impeach a DPP president and taking part in street protests designed to circumvent the democratic process? Perhaps the time has come for ignorant "experts" to stop telling the Taiwanese they must embrace the Chinese for the sake of "stability". The DPP has a far better grasp of the dangers facing Taiwan than the likes of Cossa. What could cost Taiwan dearly in the near future is the direction the KMT has been taking Taiwan in, but "people in the know" like Cossa are blissfully (intentionally?) ignorant of what the Chinese Nationalists have been up to in recent years.

"It also seems hard to believe that the KMT, for all its political clout, has been unable to take its case to the people of Taiwan and has instead allowed the DPP to seize and keep the initiative. A more enlightened attitude on the part of Beijing toward the Dalai Lama in the future would also help."

A reduction in the number of missiles pointed at Taiwan, the repeal of the Anti-Secession Law 反分裂國家法 and an acceptance of what "non-interference" actually means would do far more to help than just being nicer to the Dalai Lama. The column concludes by noting that Cossa "has just returned from a weeklong visit to Taipei and Beijing." Apparently, he must have been suffering from jetlag as a result of the long flight from Honolulu.

Next time, Ralph, try actually talking to someone from the DPP before rushing to pass judgment on what you think is the best course for the 23 million people on Taiwan.

Hitting the tourist trail in Taichū

As I did a month ago, I used my one free weekday afternoon today to play tourist in T'aichung 台中. This time I checked out T'aichung Park 台中公園, which I believe was Taiwan's first western-style park (though I could be wrong). Originally called "New Park", it was established by the Japanese in 1903 on the site of an 18th-century military post called Tatun (an old gate is all that remains of the fort in the park grounds). Though some Chinese touches have been added to the park over the years, anyone who has spent time in Japan will probably find Taichung Park to be very familiar-looking. The symbol of the park is undoubtedly the Wang Yueh Pavilion in the middle of a lake. Built in 1908 as a rest house for Prince Kan'in Kotohito 閑院宮載仁親王, who was in town to observe a ceremony celebrating the completion of the Western Line 縱貫線 railway, it's probably the most recognizable symbol of the city of Taichung:

Taichung Park was also the site of Taichū Shrine 台中神社, of which several relics remain. There is the old torii 鳥居 gate, now lying in pieces on the ground:

The stone lantern-lined path to the shrine itself, though now only the bases are still standing:

There are also two pairs of statues left from the shrine, the koma-inu 狛犬 guardian lion-dogs and a couple of horses:

I also came across this monument hidden just outside the park boundaries, behind the tennis courts. It was erected in 1902 to commemorate Japanese soldiers who died during the takeover of Taiwan. I'm surprised it's been allowed to stand all these years:

After leaving the park, I walked east along Tzuyu Road for about one kilometer (0.6 miles). A perusal of the Taiwan blogosphere will no doubt bring up entries from enthusiastic Westerners about the island's "beautiful" Taoist temples. There certainly are a number of such attractive places, but there are also plenty of examples like the house of worship I visited next, the Nant'ien Temple. The draw here is a garish, 48 meter (157 feet)-high statue of the god Kuan Yu 關羽, sitting atop the structure. Truth be told, I've seen velvet Elvis paintings from Tijuana done more tastefully than this representation. Nonetheless, it's worth a visit, as you can climb up to the sixth floor, just beneath the "Beautiful Whiskered One", for a decent view of Taichung.

 

Aerial Bovines

OK, let's dispense with the negatives right away. If you're planning on making a visit to the Flying Cow Ranch Nature Farm in T'unghsiao 通霄, Miaoli County 苗栗縣, be sure to eat something before you arrive. The food at the leisure farm is overpriced, or as my wife put it, we paid high-class prices in return for low-class service. Otherwise, the Flying Cow Ranch is a great place to spend an afternoon at, especially (but only?) if you have children. Amber really enjoyed the opportunities to interact up close with (read "feeding") many different kinds of animals:

I was especially pleased and proud to see my daughter overcoming her fear of getting bitten (after what happened to her at the horse ranch in Houli 后里), and enjoy her first ride on a pony:

Probably the best thing about the Flying Cow Ranch is that it provides kids in heavily urbanized Taiwan a rare chance to enjoy open, grassy spaces. Which begs the question: why is my child growing up in central Taiwan and not in the New England countryside?:

Some of Amber's photos can be seen on her blog.

Sunset in what passes for the countryside in Taiwan; in this case, the town of Yuanli 苑裡 in Miaoli County. If you're hungry and passing through this area, just keep driving: some of the most blandest tasting food in some of the filthiest restaurants I've ever encountered on the Beautiful Island.

The Liberal Democratic Kuomintang Party, or the LKDMPT

It's easy to look at Japan's Liberal Democratic Party 自由民主党 and Taiwan's Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) 中國國民黨, and be tempted to put them together in the same basket. After all, both have ruled their countries for lengthy periods - in the LDP's case, from 1955 until yesterday's historic election (with the exception of a nine-month break from 1993-1994), while the KMT reigned over Taiwan from 1949 (or 1945, depending on how you want to calculate it) until 2000, and then again from last year's presidential election. And it's true that both are riddled with corruption, and have strong ties with gangster elements (as well as the 右翼 in the LDP's case). But in actuality the political, cultural and historical circumstances are very different between Japan and Taiwan, and it's somewhat unfair to the LDP to have itself compared with the likes of the KMT.

The LDP was born of a merger between two conservative parties in the mid-1950's, the Liberals 自由党 and the Democrats 日本民主党. As such, it has never had an all-encompassing goal or ideology, unlike the Kuomintang, with its initial desire to "retake the (Chinese) mainland" and its present effort to return Taiwan to the Chinese fold and thwart Taiwanese independence drives. Rather, the LDP has always been a collection of factions held together by the prospect of power. In fact, in the old days of Japan's multi-member electoral districts, party members competed against themselves more often than they did against candidates from opposition parties. Unlike the KMT, the LDP has never considered itself a part of the fabric of the state - the Japanese nation/state has existed long before there were Liberal Democrats, quite the opposite from the Republic of China 中華民國, which owes its continuing existence to the KMT (and vice versa).

The biggest difference between the two parties, however, is how they managed to stay in power for so long. For the KMT, this meant the imposition of martial law until 1987. Political opponents were imprisoned, tortured and executed in great numbers during the years of the White Terror. After Taiwan's democratization, the KMT was able to remain in control thanks to its deep penetration into local political structures (unlike in Japan, where politics at the local level is organized quite differently). The Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 was only able to win the presidency in 2000 thanks to a split in the Blue camp, and barely won the 2004 race. The KMT refused to accept its new status at the opposition party, and attempted to destabilize the DPP government through impeachment attempts, legislative stonewalling, violent street demonstrations and backroom negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党, finally regaining the presidency in 2008 (and is now in the process of using any and all means at its disposal, constitutional and otherwise, to ensure it remains in power in the future, but that's another story).

It is true that the LDP benefited in the past from an electoral system that gave a disproportionate share of votes to rural districts (a traditional bastion of support for the Liberal Democrats), not to mention an ineffective opposition (meaning for a long time, the Socialists 日本社会党, who seemed to be content being the permanent Opposition). The main reason, however, for the LDP's long ride in the saddle was quite simply that it delivered the goods, economically speaking, from the end of the Korean War to the bursting of the bubble economy バブル経済 at the start of the 1990's. Japanese voters always had the opportunity to remove the Liberal Democrats from power, but chose not to do so, as long as incomes were rising and affluence was increasing. It was only when the economy began to stagnate that they turned against the LDP. The LDP was out of power for a nine-month period in the early Nineties, and had only been able to stay in control since then by forming coalitions (including with the Socialists at one point!), with the 2005 election being an anomaly due to Junichirō Koizumi's 小泉純一郎 personal popularity. When the end came, staring with the loss of the upper house 参議院 of the Diet 国会 in 2007, and followed by yesterday's annihilation at the polls, the LDP bowed out more or less gracefully, as any mature political party should. Say what you will about the Liberal Democrats, for all their faults, they have generally played by the electoral rules and followed the democratic process.

It's often forgotten that Japan had the only democratic political system in place in East and Southeast Asia from the end of the Second World War until the late 1980's. For all its faults and abuses of power, one shouldn't overlook the contribution made by the Liberal Democrats to Japan's postwar political development and yesterday's possible birth of a true two-party system. It's unfortunate that there are few, if any, lessons to be learned, or conclusions to be drawn, from what happened to the LDP on Sunday in regards to the current state of politics in Taiwan.