Green turning Purple

More bad news for Ah-bian after Hualien …

some disappointed DPP supporters want to set up a Pan-Purple Alliance (some call it a Pan-Lavender Alliance) this coming Sunday.
They don’t claim to want a new political party (yet), but they’re all former DPP supporters, so if they do form a party and do nominate a presidential candidate, it’s the DPP camp they’ll be stealing the votes from.
The media here always like throwing names around, so they claim former DPP chairman Lin Yixiong might run on a purple ticket, or at least support it.
That would be really bad for Ah-bian … Lin has a saintly image with DPP supporters and is precisely the anti-nuclear activist Chen has been trying to buy off with his referendum proposal.
Interesting developments ahead in Taiwan politics!

This further illustrates the flaws in the system of nominating candidates in Taiwan. It is done by the party bosses (much like in 19th century America) and not by the rank and file of the party. The DPP has better people than Chen and the KMT has those better than Lien, however, there is no way the cream can rise to the top when the party leaders have the final decision on who is the nominee. This works for ALL levels, and not merely Presidential.

[quote=“enzo+”]some disappointed DPP supporters want to set up a Pan-Purple Alliance (some call it a Pan-Lavender Alliance)… they claim former DPP chairman Lin Yixiong might run on a purple ticket, or at least support it.
That would be really bad for Ah-bian … Lin has a saintly image with DPP supporters and is precisely the anti-nuclear activist Chen has been trying to buy off with his referendum proposal.[/quote]

It’s ironic that it has to be called the “pan-purple” alliance, because Lin Yixiong is one of the true greens in Taiwan. The DPP’s use of the color green and claims to be a “green party” are an offense to Greens everywhere in the world.

Hey Wix, as bad as the DPP is at protecting the environment if you had to support someone, I think you know it should be the DPP as at least they look at Taiwan as their home and not someone elses province. Of the parties they do more for the environment than the KMT and the PFP. How about Chen’s wish to rid Taiwan of nuclear power which he almost got impeached for?

I think the DPP is definitely the lesser of the two evils, but given the choice between the DPP and a party that showed a greater commitment to social justice, human rights and environmental protection the DPP would lose my vote (if I could vote that is).

Many of the DPP administration spent time in jail and made very great personal sacrifices to bring about democracy in Taiwan. Now in office though it seems they are less committed to their ideals and instead content to enjoy the benefits of the power. Admittedly they may have been frustrated by the political process and the stonewalling opposition tactics of the pan-blue camp.

While a nuclear free Taiwan is part of DPP policy, they haven’t displayed a strong commitment to the policy I think. Although it may have been politically impossible to stop construction of the fourth nuclear power plant the DPP and associated groups could have taken a different approach. For example, making a greater effort to educate the public about the dangers of nuclear power and developing renewable energy resources.

These articles from today’s Taipei Times seem to sum up the DPP’s problems:
At 17 years of age, is DPP ship adrift?
Editorial: A birthday with little to celebrate

This is not true of the DPP. In the last parliamentary and magistrate elections, DPP candidates were chosen based on a weighting of their standings in opinion polls and the results of primary votes held among local party members.

In the Hualien by-election the DPP drafted a candidate to run because no one viable expressed interest.