Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04TAIPEI3647
2004-11-17 00:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:  

A DPP PERSPECTIVE ON TAIWAN ETHNIC POLITICS

Tags:  PGOV TW 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003647 

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2014
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: A DPP PERSPECTIVE ON TAIWAN ETHNIC POLITICS

REF: TAIPEI 3604

Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason 1.4 (B/D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003647

SIPDIS

STATE PASS AIT/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2014
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: A DPP PERSPECTIVE ON TAIWAN ETHNIC POLITICS

REF: TAIPEI 3604

Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) Summary: The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
believes it could benefit in the December legislative
election from its efforts to define and build a Taiwan
identity that is "multi-cultural," and it aims to broaden the
appeal of the DPP beyond its traditional ethnic Taiwanese
base of support. Long seen by the Taiwan electorate as a
party representing primarily ethnic Taiwanese (benshengren)
interests, the DPP is increasingly trying to appeal to Hakka
and Aborigine minorities. DPP outreach to the Hakka and
Aborigine populations -- estimated at 22 per cent of Taiwan's
total population -- were effective in garnering support for
President Chen Shui-bian during the presidential elections
this spring. DPP officials say their party continues to make
inroads into the grass-roots organizations of these minority
ethnic groups that traditionally had been heavily
pro-Kuomintang (KMT) and are projecting that the DPP will
expand its support in those constituencies. Most DPP
strategists, however, are content with playing the Taiwanese
versus Mainlander ethnic card and painting the opposition
Pan-Blue camp, especially the People First Party (PFP),as
dominated by Mainlander Chinese. End Summary.

Building a Taiwan Identity for "Everyone"
--------------


2. (C) DPP Director for Ethnic Affairs Yang Chang-cheng told
AIT on November 8 that President Chen articulated in his May
20 and October 10 speeches a vision for a more open,
tolerant, and unified society with deeper roots in Taiwan.
Chen's aim, according to Yang, is to lay a foundation from
which to reconstruct Taiwan's national identity. Yang
asserted that such a project will entail redefining Chinese
culture and its role within a new Taiwan national identity.
He said one of the key challenges would be going beyond the
narrow vision many Taiwanese intellectuals present of an
ethnic Taiwanese-centric identity and to avoid continuing to
alienate ethnic Mainlanders from the DPP cause.

Wooing the Hakka Vote
--------------


3. (C) The more pragmatic side of the DPP offers a vision of
a "multi-ethnic" Taiwan identity in order to expand the DPP's
appeal to Taiwan's Hakka population, which comprises about 20
percent of the island's inhabitants and is key to the DPP's

efforts to build a lasting majority. Yang said that that DPP
expects to pick up 30 to 40 percent of the Hakka vote in
Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli counties where Hakka make up 40,
70, and 67 percent of the population, respectively. He
projected that support levels for DPP candidates as a whole
in these areas are unlikely to exceed the 40 percent mark
reached in the 2004 presidential election. Yang attributed
growing DPP support among Hakka communities to the extensive
attention President Chen has paid to promoting Hakka issues
and interests, both at the local and national level, such as
the promotion of Hakka language, television shows, and
cultural activities. Hakka leaders have been "pleasantly
surprised" with Chen's support for the Hakka since 2000.
Yang stated that DPP-backed Hakka candidates are unlikely to
run campaigns exclusively along ethnic lines for fear of
alienating potential support from ethnic Taiwanese.

Making Inroads with Aborigines
--------------


4. (C) The DPP's outreach efforts to Taiwan's aboriginal
peoples have enjoyed less success. Yang highlighted DPP
difficulty in penetrating the existing tribal-based
grassroots political networks that largely continue to feed
into the Pan-Blue camp. Nevertheless, Yang projected that
the DPP is sure to pick up one aborigine seat from the plains
districts and has a good chance of picking up another seat
from the mountain districts. Any gains among the aborigine
vote would be a big achievement since the DPP currently has
no legislators from the aborigine districts.

But Writing off the Mainlanders, For Now
--------------

5. (C) The DPP rhetorical appeal to a more inclusive Taiwan
identity and national polity has largely failed to win much
support with the ethnic Mainlander electorate or even among
DPP campaign officials. Yang said most of his colleagues
planning DPP election strategy do not actively discuss how to
win over the ethnic Mainlander vote, which they see as a lost
voting block. In many areas, the DPP continues to promote
subtle "ethnic Taiwanese-first" themes to draw attention to
the Mainlander-dominated leadership of the Pan-Blue. For
example, during the presidential campaign many DPP posters
urged voters to "elect a Taiwanese (Taiwanren) president,"
playing on the popular perception that KMT candidate Lien
Chan, who was born on the Mainland to a Taiwanese father and
Mainland mother, is at best only a "half-Taiwanese." Senior
ethnic Taiwanese KMT officials regularly complain to AIT that
the DPP is increasingly successful in eroding the KMT's
ethnic Taiwanese base. However, many KMT moderates assert
that the anti-mainstream policies of the KMT leadership
contribute at least as much to this trend as divisive DPP
ethnic appeals (Reftel).


6. (C) While the DPP has generally written off Mainlanders
for the December election, the party will be sponsoring a
series of conferences next year to start a dialogue with
ethnic Mainlanders so as to not alienate them permanently
from the DPP or marginalize them from participating in the
national polity. Yang said he expects President Chen to
renew his efforts to appeal to Mainlanders after the December
elections. Separately, Taipei County Magistrate Lin Hsi-yao
told AIT that the DPP will at least try in the medium term to
minimize hostility among ethnic Mainlanders to the ruling
party. Lin, a confidante of Presidential Office Secretary
General Su Tseng-chang, asserted that Su has already decided
that when (and if) he is appointed Premier, he will choose
ethnic Mainlander Finance Minister Lin Chuan as his deputy to
demonstrate that the DPP is not only a party of and for
Taiwanese. Lin's moderate DPP New Tide faction has been
particularly aggressive in promoting Mainlander members. The
faction's current leader, Tuan I-kang and DPP Deputy
Secretary General (and New Tide member) Chung Chia-bing, are

SIPDIS
both ethnic Mainlanders.

Ethnic Politics: The Final Frontier
--------------


7. (C) Comment: The DPP's push to win over ethnic minorities
is a major change from its past "ethnic Taiwanese-first"
focus and a key element of its plan to establish a
sustainable ruling base. Minority politics used to be the
preserve of the KMT, which effectively used resources and
personnel appointments to secure support from aborigine and
Hakka communities. As in many other areas, the DPP is taking
a page out of the KMT's book, lavishly spending government
funds to promote Hakka and aboriginal culture and appointing
minorities, like Hakka Vice Premier Yeh Chu-lan, to senior
positions in government. While this approach seems to be
showing some results, especially with the Hakka community,
Mainlanders will remain a hard target. For many Mainlanders,
aversion to the DPP is not only a matter of ethnicity but
extends to the DPP's core Taiwan-first ideology.
PAAL