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Foremost are the public policies adopted by the Kuomintang, or KMT. The party aims to confine all government efforts to serving the citizens' interests. The KMT was well aware at the beginning of the campaign that the economy would be the greatest concern for the Taiwanese people, therefore it distanced itself from the policies of the DPP, which has used the banner of Taiwan's independence to motivate and attract the populace.
Accordingly, the KMT's strategy revolved around "making Taiwan rich." Candidate Ma Ying-jeou and his party members put Taiwan's welfare as their top priority. They put a lot of effort into promoting the theme of a stronger economy, especially in the less well-off mountain areas.
Second is the flag of peace held up by the KMT. In contrast to the DPP's persistent warnings over threats from mainland China in terms of economic expansion, military coercion, financial interference or even a spy invasion, the KMT adopted a less alarmist approach, downplaying the Taiwanese people's sense of vulnerability.
Even when Ma Ying-jeou made a trip to the United States in 2006, he advocated that a 50-year peace pact be signed between mainland China and Taiwan.
Headed by party Chairman Lien Chan, the KMT took a bold step in visiting the mainland in 2005, formally ending the hostility between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party, which had fought each other for more than two decades in civil wars between 1927 and 1949. In 1949, headed by Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT retreated from the mainland and took up governance of the island of Taiwan. In the same year the People's Republic of China, headed by CPP Chairman Mao Zedong, was established.
Third is the force of pluralism adopted by Ma Ying-jeou. Ma has learned the lessons of his party's old-style authoritarian governance over Taiwan; the new generation within the KMT long ago distanced itself from the dictatorial leadership style of Chiang Kai-shek and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo.
A key issue was the Feb. 28, 1947 incident in which the KMT killed many Taiwanese protestors. Ma himself not only adopted a remorseful attitude toward the incident, paying tribute to the victims, but also reflected upon the KMT's erroneous conduct at the time. In this way he assured the people that the KMT would be more sensitive to the feelings of the Taiwanese people.
Ma Ying-jeou has particularly stressed the importance of Taiwan's identity, in the past and today. He supports the 1992 consensus reached in cross-strait negotiations initiated in 1992 in Hong Kong -- in which both sides agreed there was only one China, but agreed to disagree about the definition of one China. Yet he also does not ignore the desire of the Taiwan people for greater "international space."
For this reason the KMT put forth a referendum suggesting that the "Republic of China" should apply to "return" to the United Nations. This was different from the DPP's referendum, which openly encouraged Taiwan's independence and urged an application to join the United Nations in the name of "Taiwan."
This pluralism was also reflected in Ma's successful effort to get the chairman of the People First Party, James Soong, to resume his membership in the KMT in January, before the election. Soong was ousted by Lee Tenghui, the former head of the KMT, because of his anti-independence policy in 1999. He then set up a new party as an independent candidate in the 2000 election. Soong's leaving largely resulted in the KMT's failure to win the 2004 election.
In addition, Ma's pluralistic orientation was able to attract former supporters of the DPP, as well as KMT supporters and the bulk of overseas businessmen and even artists. His "good boy" image -- especially in light of corruption allegations against members of the DPP -- also helped him win the election.
Last but not least was the "help" given to Ma by mainland China. Drawing from lessons learned in the last two Taiwan elections, mainland policymakers adopted a consistent position toward the island's political situation. In the past four years, mainland policy toward Taiwan has been relatively pragmatic.
On the one hand, China stresses its sovereignty over Taiwan; on the other hand, it shows its "understanding" of Taiwanese fears of losing their identity. Although China has taken ample precautions against any possible declaration of Taiwan independence, in practice it has been quite constrained, merely flexing its muscles rather than exerting a real threat to Taiwan. This tactic has actually proved effective in easing Taiwanese fears and allowing them the freedom to choose their own leaders.
There are other factors that contributed to the KMT's success, such as the positions of the United States and Japan, who have distanced themselves from the DPP's moves toward independence, but these had relatively little impact in comparison to the factors outlined above.
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(Zhang Quanyi is an associate professor at the Zhejiang Wanli University in Ningbo, China, and a Ph.D. candidate at Shanghai International Studies University, studying policy making and collective identity. His research interests focus on conflict management and identity construction. He can be contacted at qyzhangupi@gmail.com. ©Copyright Zhang Quanyi.)
