[3066] Editorial: Two thumbs up for the new election culture

3066 Edition
November 29~December 5, 2010
Editorial

Editorial: Two thumbs up for the new election culture

Translated by Lydia Ma

The 5 Special Municipality Election is finally over and we can rejoice in seeing the efforts of many Taiwanese pro-democracy advocates finally pay off.

Even though the election campaign was marred by the last-minute shooting of Sean Lien, son of former Vice-President Lien Chan, the night before election day, we’ve seen breakthroughs in DPP campaign strategies. Not only did the party try to help citizens understand its platform, it also refrained from attacking KMT opponents. This change of atmosphere is a positive step in the development of Taiwanese election culture.

On the flip side, we’ve also witnessed how mere “informational accuracy” and “human rights advocacy” isn’t enough to make things right when there is an obvious imbalance in the degree of access to information that political parties and media outlets receive.

A biased media that favors a certain party coupled with the technological edge it possesses and a celebrity’s face, will oftentimes deliberately feed the public inaccurate information resulting in the violation of the public’s rights to know the truth and impair the public’s ability to think critically – especially when the issue is about a party, a candidate, or a fringe person

Therefore, fighting for human rights and informational accuracy is a goal we must continue pressing toward on this road to full democratization. Perhaps we won’t see significant improvements in the near future because personal and social values are shaped over a long period of time. But this year’s campaign sure deserves our two thumbs up.

If we merely focus on the “results” of this year’s election – who won or who lost – and forget that, more importantly, the process ought to reflect human rights and justice, then, free elections will not improve Taiwanese society. It may merely cause division and fighting over and over again.

But we are confident that as long as our governments and political parties are willing to side with Taiwan and commit themselves to making Taiwan better, we can continue to work together in improving the current election culture. 

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