What has DPP brought to Taiwan recently?
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A notice pasted on the wall of a once-popular restaurant in Taipei reads: Thanks to our 鈥渂enevolent鈥 administrators, we will be shut down from May 25.
A wave of similar closures have occurred over the past year in Taipei, Kaohsiung and many of the other destinations across the island once frequented by tourists. The whole tourist industry in Taiwan is struggling.
At the popular attractions of Ali Mountain and Sun Moon Lake, favorite haunts for Chinese mainland tourists, the paths are empty, boats are stationary, and many vendors have seen few or even no customers the whole day.
On the road, nearly one-third of the 17,300 tourist buses in Taiwan stand unused, with over 3,000 for sale at a loss.
The lull follows the election of Taiwan鈥檚 new leader Tsai Ing-wen, who assumed office last May. Tsai has refused to adhere to the 1992 Consensus, angering people on both sides of the Strait.
Data from the island鈥檚 immigration department showed that mainland visitors dropped by 50.2 percent in the first four months this year, with group tours plummeting 61 percent yearly.
It is estimated that this has resulted in losses of at least 50 billion new Taiwan dollars (US$1.7 billion) in tourism revenue for the island.
Taiwan鈥檚 current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration had rolled out incentives to attract visitors from Southeast Asia, but the gap left by the mainland has been almost impossible to fill. 鈥淭hey did not help at all,鈥 Cheng Yu-ping, chairman of YUYUPAS Ltd., which sells Oolong tea and coffee, two of Ali Mountain鈥檚 major products, told Xinhua.
鈥淭he increase in the number of Southeast Asian tourists cannot make up the gap left by Chinese mainland tourists, but the DPP is ignoring this state of affairs and argues that the 鈥榪uality鈥 of tourism has increased and the air has become cleaner with fewer mainland visitors. This kind of attitude is worrying,鈥 said Chiu Kun-shuan, professor at the Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies in Chengchi University, Taipei.
The tourist industry is not the only one feeling the pinch. In late April, a statue in Yangminshan Park, Taipei, of late Taiwan leader Chiang Kai-shek was beheaded and covered with red spray paint. A pro-independence group released a statement claiming responsibility for the act, saying it was in response to a similar beheading of a statue of Japanese hydraulic engineer Yoichi Hatta in Tainan on April 16.
Over the past year, the DPP administration has not ceased its promotion of de-sinicization and 鈥淭aiwan independence鈥 activities in the island鈥檚 cultural sector. Taiwan鈥檚 education authority last year abolished a draft that proposed changes to the wording of some textbooks to better reflect history by altering 鈥淛apanese governance鈥 to 鈥淛apanese colonization鈥 and 鈥淸Chinese] takeover of Taiwan鈥 to 鈥渢he recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan.鈥
Last September, two statues donated by actor Jackie Chan to a new museum in Taiwan were splashed with paint and daubed with anti-China vitriol.
Celebrations to commemorate the aniversary of the birth of Sun Yat-sen, who led the revolution that ended imperial rule in China, as well as Zheng Cheng-gong, a Ming dynasty warlord that 鈥渞ecovered Taiwan鈥 from the Dutch were also downgraded, or canceled, triggering strong backlash from the public.
鈥淎ll of the DPP administration鈥檚 cultural and educational policies are based on 鈥榯ransitional justice鈥,鈥 said Hu Yu-wei, professor at the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan.
鈥楾ransitional justice鈥
鈥淭ransitional justice鈥 refers to efforts to reverse what the DPP describes as the 鈥渓egacy of injustices from the period of authoritarian KMT rule over Taiwan.鈥
Kuomintang legislator Chen Shei-saint slammed Tsai for being incapable of solving problems. 鈥淭ake education for example, the DPP abolished the textbook draft as soon as they took power, and they still haven鈥檛 offered an alternative. Taiwan is tearing apart,鈥 Chen said.
According to a poll conducted by Taiwan鈥檚 policy foundation think tank, 42 percent of the 1,074 respondents, age 20 and above, were dissatisfied with the DPP administration鈥檚 transitional justice drive, while only 15.7 percent were satisfied. In terms of youth-related policies, 64.9 percent are unhappy, in contrast to the 13.5 percent who are satisfied.
The DPP administration has put forward multiple bills to 鈥減romote reform鈥 since it took charge in May last year.
However, most of the bills, such as those to reform the pension program, new work rules, judicial reform as well as 鈥渇orward-looking infrastructure investment program,鈥 have all wound up in endless chaos.
Since September, there have been multiple protests against the proposed pension reform. The draft proposes that the age for a full pension should be increased from 60 to 65, alongside a gradual increase of the insurance premium to about six percent, with military personnel, public servants and teachers expected to see their pension benefits greatly shrink should the proposal be approved.
The new work rules have been met with an even stronger backlash. Multiple polls indicate that as many as 70 percent of Taiwanese workers were dissatisfied with the new work rules, which mandate a regular day off and one flexible rest day per week. In the meantime, employers are also complaining of the higher costs caused by the rigid new work rules.
Tsai and the DPP administration鈥檚 approval rate has therefore continued to fall. Even a poll by pro-DPP media showed that for major issues including pension reform, new work rules and energy policies, the administration鈥檚 approval rate was only 20 percent.
Almost 60 percent of Taiwanese are unhappy with the performance of the current administration, according to a poll released by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in April.
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