NOVEMBER 2009
DEMOCRACY & PROGRESS
1 2
6 7
11 12
DPP’s 2009 ELECTION BATTLE:
THE CANDIDATES
1. Lin You-Chang - Keelung City
2. Cheng Wen-Tsang - Taoyuan County
3. Liu Jun-Shiu - Hsinchu City
4. Peng Shao-Chin - Hsinchu County
5. Yang Chang-Chen - Miaoli County
6. Weng Chin-Chu - Changhua County
7. Li Wen-Chung - Nantou County
3 4 5
8 9 10
13 14
8. Su Chih-Fen - Yunlin Couty (incumbent)
9. Chang Hua-Kuan - Chiayi County
10.Tu Hsing-Che - Chiayi City
11.Tsao Chi-Hung - Pintung County (incumbent)
12.Lin Tsung-Hsien - Ilan County
13.Liu Chao-Hao - Pingtung County
14. Tsai Chien-Shing - Penghu County
PAGE 1

NOVEMBER 2009

DPP launches national ad campaign highlighting our

founding values
On October 15, the
DPP launched a
national ad cam-
paign highlighting
the revival of the
DPP’s founding
values and show-
casing this year’s
theme for the year-
end elections,
which is “Honesty,
Diligence and Love
for our Native
Land”.
The ad is one
minute long, shot in
and white in order to sharpen the message that
an entirely white setting, and using the song
the DPP is resolved to redeem the DPP’s origi-
with a Latin title “Animosus” as its musical
nal spirit.
background. Chairwoman Dr. Tsai Ing-wen and
The ad ends with all the candidates, along
the 14 election candidates are the main protago-
with Dr. Tsai, making a bow of respect, showing
nists of the ad, portraying the DPP’s show of
that the DPP promises to fulfill the expectations
unity and solidarity.
of the people, and it also appeals to the public to
Hsiao Bi-khim, spokesperson at the ad
support the DPP in facing these future chal-
launch press conference and director of the
lenges.
DPP’s Department of International Affairs, said
The ad was launched at a press conference
that the Latin meaning of ‘animosus’ is coura-
at the DPP’s headquarters, and it was widely
geous and pas-
publicized through
sionate, which
various media outlets
represent ex-
online such as You-
actly the mean-
Tube, Facebook,
ing of the DPP’s
Plurk and the candi-
founding values.
dates’ individual
In the ad,
blogs, among others.
Chairwoman
The ad may be
Tsai and the
viewed on YouTube
election candi-
through the DPP’s
dates appear to
YouTube channel,
engage in the
‘dppsng’, or at
task of cleaning
http://www.youtube.com/user/dppsng.
up an old building with dirty windows and
walls. The participants are all dressed in black

PAGE 2

Consistently Progressive
Statement from the Oct. 18 National Party Congress
After going through more than a year of hard
lessons, the roughest period the DPP has faced
since our founding, we are moving away from
past setbacks and starting off with new and solid
steps. In the DPP’s 23 year history, we experi-
enced victories and defeats, but relying on the
power of reflection, we haven’t given up, de-
spite our ups and downs, on our consistently
progressive spirit .
Being consistent progressives is our only
road to success. We must have confidence in our
ability to be modern day revolutionaries. We
must have the faith and mission of social
movements. We must use our ability to think
rationally and persuasively to break out of the
old blue and green straightjackets and focus our
society’s energy, and we must be leaders and not
simply parrot nice words. This requires selfless-
ness and a spirit of sacrifice.
At the same time, we must keep preserving
our ideals, tolerance, discipline, cooperation,
confidence and diversity. We must be able to
convince the public that the DPP is a stabilizing
force for Taiwan - the most reliable political
team and Taiwan's most loyal defender.
When preparing for this task, we must ac-
knowledge that achieving political power means
carrying out societal change, and not the enjoy-
ment of power. If we cannot acknowledge this
and forget the basic principles of "Honesty,
Diligence, and Love for our Native Land", we
are no different that the KMT.
Standing on the platform of “Honesty,
Diligence and Love for our Native Land”, we
can set in practice the DPP’s ultimate values,
which are: securing Taiwan, societal change and
care for the people:
• We must ensure that, given the volatile
international situation in which Taiwan
finds itself, we protect the independent
development and the dignity of our coun-
try, maintaining our power to have critical
NOVEMBER 2009
influence and absolutely refusing to tilt
towards China.
• We must let Taiwan’s democratic system
gain strength and consolidation. We must
allow fair political competition, allowing
the achievement of direct people’s power,
provide for balance between the Executive
Yuan and the Legislative Yuan and for the
judicial process to become independent
without any political interference.
• We must allow for Taiwan to become
modernized with a competitive governing
system. We must grant local governments
fair distribution of resources and the
autonomy to fulfill their responsibilities,
and we must also improve local govern-
ment competitiveness.
• We must empower Taiwan to achieve fair
and sound economic governance that is
capable of sustaining long-term durable
economic and industrial strategies, clarify-
ing China’s role and weight in Taiwan’s
economic development. This plan would
transform Taiwan into a modernized wel-
fare state that is capable of fairly distribut-
ing financial resources and protecting dis-
advantaged groups at the same time.
Even though the KMT’s failures have led
people to be disappointed, we must fully under-
stand that this does not necessarily mean a trans-
fer of the people’s support towards the DPP. The
people expect the DPP bring a measure of hope
and good guidance, to move Taiwan along the
right path and do so with honesty and compe-
tence. This time we must seize the opportunity
to prove our worth and not let this fleeting op-
portunity slip away.
Under the Ma administration, the people
have already suffered greatly. The DPP vows to
take on these challenges and to continue moving
in a progressive direction, to prove itself once
again capable, putting an end to chaos and injus-
PAGE 3

DPP statement regarding American beef imports
The DPP, after consultations with the DPP Leg-
islative Caucus on October 26, issues the fol-
lowing positions concerning the import of U.S.
beef.
The disappointing negotiations on US
beef imports have exposed our citizens to seri-
ous health risks. As the decision was made
above ministerial levels, we believe President
Ma, Premier Wu and the Secretary General of
the National Security Council must bear the
greatest responsibility. In particular, we believe
that the National Security Council, which has
shown, starting last year when it yielded time
and again on cross-strait issues, through the
mistakes it made during the typhoon disaster
relief efforts, to gratuitous concessions made
on beef imports that it lacks the ability to cope
with pressure and is not capable of protecting
national interests as well as the security of the
people. We believe that the Secretary General
of the National Security Council must step
down.
The DPP asks for renewed negotiations
between the U.S. and Taiwan, and that each
side respect expert opinions based on scientific
evidence in order to protect the health of the
people. We firmly oppose liberalizing the im-
port of beef parts that are at a high-risk for mad
cow disease, such as ground meat, the spinal
cord and internal organs. Furthermore, we re-
quire that for those beef parts allowed for im-
portation, U.S. cattle producers undergo cattle
management that meets our inspection certifi-
cation standards to ensure that their production
processes meet our health requirements. Even
more, our Department of Health must be ac-
countable to our Legislative Yuan, and it must
be able to prove to the public that they are ca-
pable of handling quality assurance and risk
management.
Regarding our demand for a renewal of
negotiations, we will circulate a petition seek-
ing the support of members of the Legislative
Yuan across party lines, to produce a resolution
NOVEMBER 2009
to restrain the Executive Yuan. The DPP ex-
pects that legislators from other member par-
ties will join together to protect the health of
the people.
Within a few days, this issue has gener-
ated widespread public discontent. The DPP
believes that the Ma administration should
withdraw the decision. If the Ma administration
fails to meet these expectations, the DPP will
boycott the budget reviews of the National Se-
curity Council, the Presidential Office and the
Department of Health as well as other relevant
units. The DPP will also combine social forces
and DPP governing counties and cities to mo-
bilize our action, so as to hold politically ac-
countable those making policy decisions
DPP Public Survey
Date: October 27-28, 2009
Sample size: 901
‣ 72% of those interviewed said the extent of
the Taiwan government’s liberalization on
American beef import is too broad and it’s an
inadequate policy, especially with regard to
allowing the importation of beef parts that
are at a high-risk for mad cow disease, such
as ground meat, the spinal cord and internal
organs.
‣ 71% said they do not trust the govern-
ment’s promise that the strictest import
safeguard measures will be placed on those
beef products that could cause a public
health hazard.
‣ 82% think the government should renew
negotiations with the American government.
(To renew trade negotiations on American
beef has become a bipartisan consensus in
Taiwan, with support from 89% of pan-green
supporters as well as 80% of the pan-blues
and 79% of swing voters.)
PAGE 4

Liberal International passes resolution urging Ma Ying-
jeou to promote bipartisan politics, respect for human
rights
Liberal International, the international associa-
tion of liberal and democratic parties world-
wide, passed a resolution appealing to President
Ma Ying-jeou to start a bipartisan dialogue and
to promote multiparty democracy and human
rights.
The resolution, titled “The World To- that there could only be “peace talks when the
day”, included appeals from different regions of
the world with a focus on issues important to
the development of democratic values and re-
spect for human rights. The World Today Reso-
lution was passed unani-
mously during Liberal In-
ternational’s 56th Congress,
held in Cairo, Egypt from
October 28 to 31.
      In the World Today
resolution, Liberal Interna-
tional specifically ad-
dressed three issues that
have raised Liberal Interna-
tional’s concern about Tai-
wan. The first issue ad-
dressed the lack of biparti-
san politics in Taiwan. It
noted, “with concern, that open, democratic so-
ciety, together with civil liberties and the rule of
law are under pressure in Taiwan due to the fact
that party politics are given priority over the
general interests of the country and people.”
The resolution also mentioned that Tai-
wan was clearly lacking a bipartisan consensus
on cross strait and international relations as well
as the rule of law. Liberal International ap-
pealed for Taiwan to implement the instruments
of ratification of two covenants on human rights
enacted this May. These covenants are the In-
ternational Convention on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Convention on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
NOVEMBER 2009
      The second issue the World Today Resolu-
tion addressed was a congratulatory welcome to
the talks held between Taiwan and China, but it
urged that the dialogue be conducted in a trans-
parent manner and on the basis of mutual re-
spect and benefit. The resolution further stated
Chinese government removes the 1,400 missiles
targeting Taiwan”. Liberal International added
that any change in the status quo could only
take place with the consent of the people of
Taiwan through their democratic
institutions.
      The World Today Resolution
additionally mentioned Liberal In-
ternational’s grave concern over the
fact that Former President Chen
Shui-bian was given a life sentence.
It lastly appealed to President Ma
to “guarantee that during President
Chen’s appeal there would be no
political interference and that For-
mer President Chen would get all
necessary medical attention and
would be granted the freedom to
read and write.”
      Hans van Baalen, Member of the European
Parliament and President of Liberal Interna-
tional, delivered a speech urging member par-
ties to support Taiwan, which was struggling to
strengthen its democracy in the face of pressure
from neighboring China.
      Overall the World Today Resolution called
for world leaders to emphasize the crucial role
of education for the realization of a liberal soci-
ety. In the resolution, it said that education “fa-
cilitates progress for a society as a whole.”
      For the whole text of the resolution, please
visit www.liberal-international.org. 
 
PAGE 5

NOVEMBER 2009

...Consistently Progressive
DEMOCRACY &
... continued !om pg. 3
PROGRESS
tice, bringing back a happy Taiwan for our peo-
PUBLISHED BY:
ple, a Taiwan that is a country filled with hope.

Department of International
Affairs Democratic
Progressive Party

9F, No. 30, Pei-Ping East

Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Tel: 886-2-2392-9989 ext. 306

Fax: 886-2-2393-0342

Email: foreign@dpp.org.tw

Website:
http://www.dpp.org.tw

DIRECTOR:
Bikhim Hsiao

DEPUTY DIRECTORS:
Huang Chih-ta
Hsieh Huai-hui

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Michael J. Fonte

EDITOR:
Ping-Ya Hsu

PAGE 6