馬英九當總統滿月了。國民黨奪回政權的夢想實現，照例可以檢驗一下新政府的得失。時間雖短，在一個開放的民主社會不難看出一些跡象。首先，可以肯定的是，台灣沒有發生革命式的變化，沒有推倒一切重行舊制。相反，馬英九在人事和施政上維持著謹慎的平衡和「扁規馬隨」。任用幾位前獨派為高官如賴幸媛主持陸委會是為顯例。引起爭議，卻無礙穩定。因為在實際上馬英九在力推兩岸關係的緩和，並取得進展，透過吳伯雄和江丙坤的大陸行，已達成週末包機與大陸客觀光的初步協議，對此台灣社會並無重大歧異，這是民進黨早就在推動而被中共有意拖延的關係經濟民生的項目，只是要求馬政府在兩岸談判中維護台灣主權和尊嚴。
下野的民進黨方面，雖然在國會與媒體上處於少數，但並未一敗塗地，放棄理想，他們仍有相當空間嗆聲，發揮制衡作用。畢竟，反對黨代表了四成選民的意願和權益，國民黨不可能為所欲為。馬總統就職以來的幾場風波，不僅受到綠營發炮攻擊，藍營也引起非議，馬政府的執政能力受到強烈質疑，道歉連連，不僅民調下跌，股市也下跌。
民進黨敗選後，展開浴火重生的改造工程。引人注目的是選出學者型的蔡英文女士任黨魁，形象清新，專業而執著的議政能力，以柔制剛的風格，給人耳目一新之感。展現了反對黨新的凝聚力和一個新世代崛起的前景。這是許多人沒有估計到的一種趨勢。當民進黨結構的轉型完成之日，蔡英文及新生代菁英的智慧與實力便可以放在不低於馬英九的起跑線上，展開未來兩黨政治的競爭，將台灣民主推進到一個更高更成熟的層面。
民進黨律師世代為代表的民主鬥士群，包括「四大天王」將退居二線，逐漸淡入歷史。雖然陳水扁馬英九同一年齡層，這是民進黨這樣一個年輕政黨的必然。阿扁下臺後，開始他「永遠義工」的人生階段，以前藍媒誣指他不肯交權，下臺就逃亡的讕言不攻自破。
自此可見，台灣第二次政黨輪替已經和平、平靜甚至是優雅可觀地臻於完成。台灣人以二十年功夫在中國人社會作出的民主示範，其光輝遠遠超過一次奧運會的炫耀與傲慢，其價值也大大超過一萬七千億美元的外匯儲備。中國人無需再去哈佛牛津取經，讀民主的ABC，台灣這培植在中華文化土壤上的民主政治就是活生生的演繹與圖文並茂的教材。兩岸人民的交往增加之後，聰明的大陸人一定會透過對比、觀察，作出判斷與選擇。未來兩岸關係不僅不會發生戰爭，還將促進社會的繁榮進步。
Great Progress in Taiwan's Democracy
By Jin Zhong
Ma Ying-jeou has been in place as Taiwan’s new president for a month now, and the Kuomintang’s dream of regaining its political power has been fulfilled. Although only one month has passed, we can still review some gains and losses for the new government and some special phenomena that have become apparent in this open and democratic society.
The first phenomenon is that there will be no revolutionary changes in Taiwan. No existing systems have been demolished, and Ma has been cautiously striking a balance on personnel and administrative matters, following most of the systems established by Chen Shui-bian. The appointment of former independence activists as high officials, such as Lai Hsing-yuan to head the Mainland Affairs Council, is an obviously example. It has aroused controversy, but the stability of the new government has not been affected.
In fact, Ma is now promoting harmony across the strait and great progress has been made. Wu Poh-hsiung and Chiang Pin-kung’s trip to the Mainland consolidated the preliminary agreement on cross-strait weekend flights and open access for mainland tourists. The DPP had previously promoted these projects, even though little progress had been made, so they had already been accepted by the majority of Taiwan’s people, as long as Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity are maintained in cross-strait negotiations.
The Democratic Progressive Party now holds only a minority in Parliament and the media, but it is not defeated. The Party has not abandoned its dream and still can voice its opinion for a balance of power. After all, the opposition party represents the will and rights of 40 percent of Taiwan’s voters, so the KMT cannot afford to ignore them. Disputes arising since President Ma’s inauguration have sparked criticism not only from the green camp, but also from the blue camp, and questions have been raised regarding the capabilities of the Ma government. After several forced apologies, Ma’s popularity has fallen with the stock market.
The DPP launched reforms following its election loss, the most notable being the election of Ms Tsai Ing-wen as party leader. Her academic and professional image and her strong political skills are a breath of fresh air for Taiwan. Her election also reflects cohesion and the prospect of a rising new generation in the opposition party, a trend that few had predicted. Once the DPP’s reform are completed, the wisdom and power of Tsai and other new talents should bring the party into shape for competition with the KMT, and raise Taiwan’s democracy to a higher and more mature level.
The pro-democracy fighters represented by DPP lawyers for generations, including the “Four Heavenly Kings,” will fade into obscurity. Although Chen Shui-bian is still young, belonging to the same generation as Ma Ying-jeou, it is natural for a young political party like the DPP to undergo such change. After leaving office, Chen has turned a new page in his life by becoming a “lifelong volunteer.” The blue camp’s accusation that Chen would be unwilling to hand over his power after stepping down proved untrue.
As we can see, this second change of ruling parties in Taiwan has been accomplished peacefully yet impressively. Taiwan’s people took two decades to demonstrate that democracy is possible in a Chinese society, an achievement much greater than the Olympic Games, and with a value much higher than China’s US$1.7 trillion foreign exchange reserves. Chinese people do not need to go to Harvard or Oxford to study democracy, since Taiwan serves as a living textbook of Chinese democratic politics. As exchange and communication across the strait increases, observation and comparison will lead intelligent mainlanders to draw their own conclusions. There is real hope that no cross-strait war will occur, and that harmonious relations across the strait will promote social development and prosperity on both sides.
(Translated by Isabella Lam)
