The Su Family of Yunlin: The Ideological Spark that Transforms the DPP?

The Su Family of Yunlin: The Ideological Spark that Transforms the DPP?
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
January 18, 2010

Su Chih-hao is the executive director of the Su Tung-chi Foundation. On the 12th of this month he published a newspaper article entitled, "Liberation from the Insular Mentality." He appealed to the Democratic Progressive Party to forsake its self-imposed isolation and seek peaceful contacts with the Mainland, in order to create a win-win situation. Su Tung-chi is Su Chih-hao's father. Su Chih-hao is Su Chih-fen's brother. When a family with a long history of Green Camp political activism makes such an appeal, it is definitely an attention getter.
Su Tung-chi's son in law, i.e., Su Chih-fen's husband, is a mathematics professor Huang Wu-hsiung. By coincidence, about the same time last year, Huang published a proposal entitled, "Seeking Fifty Years of (Cross-Strait) Peace," and initiated an online signature drive. He proposed "maintaining the status quo for fifty years, no reunification, no independence, and Republic of China demilitarization written into the Constitution." Huang Wu-hsiung's cross-Strait views overlap with President Ma Ying-jeou's "no reunification, no independence, no use of force." If anything, they are more radical than Ma's. calling as they do for a constitutional amendment.

The cross-Strait situation is changing. On Taiwan the Blue and Green camps are locked in a fierce struggle. Could the son in law of the Su Family be the spark that transforms the DPP's thinking about cross-Strait relations?

The Su Family in Yunlin was among the few families on Taiwan active in the resistance movement during the Japanese occupation. During the Japanese occupation Su Tung-chi went to Mainland China to participate in the Sino-Japanese War. Following retrocession he joined the Youth League. He ran for County Councilor and County Executive. He helped Lei Chen organize the "China Democratic Party." He was also involved in the Taiwan independence related "3/9 Incident" and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was only 39 years old when he entered prison. He was granted amnesty due to the passing of President Chiang Kai-shek and released from prison. Su Tung-chi's entire life reflects the best traditions of the democratic and opposition movement on Taiwan. Meanwhile Yunlin, Taiwan's most "native" agricultural county, best reflects Taiwan's grass-roots character. The son in law of the Su Family has made a cross-Strait proposal quite different from that of the Green Camp and the DPP. The Su Family's influence may not be fully realized, but the Su Family has a long history in the opposition movement. One seldom encounters such a capacity for transcendence. The Green Camp and the DPP should settle down and carefully consider the views expressed by the Su Family's son in law. His views may become the basis for future cross-Strait policy.

The United Daily News analyzed Huang Wu-hsiung's "Proposal for Fifty Years of Peace" in a newspaper editorial published on February 10, 2009. Su Chih-hao's article was not as specific as Huang Wu-hsiung's. But in terms of reasoning and emotion, it was equally moving.

Su Chih-hao wrote that for the DPP, cross-Strait relations, reunification, and independence were blind spots. The times are changing. The tide is changing. Mainland China is changing, The world situation is changing. The Democratic Progressive Party must adapt to a changing world. It must remain responsive to public opinion. It must move closer to the center.

Su Chih-hao has offered some sobering thoughts about democracy on Taiwan. He said that the era of democratic reform and liberalization may be mere illusion. Winning elections, expediency, and short-term advantage are everything. An insular mentality is bedeviled by amnesia. The economy may be first rate, but politics are third rate. Internal bickering is eroding the island's foundations. But the KMT and DPP can offer no solutions.

Su Chih-hao has a rather positive evaluation of Deng Xiaoping. He has high praise for Deng's "wisdom, foresight, self-confidence, perseverance in the face of overwhelming opposition." He also had positive things to say about Chiang Ching-kuo. "(Chiang Ching-kuo's) one small step for a man sounded the bell for cross-Strait peace. It created an opportunity for peaceful cross-Strait interaction." Remarks such as Su Chih-hao's are rare within the Green Camp.

Su Chih-hao exhorted the Democratic Progressive Party. He said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have the same culture and belong to the same race. They are connected by an umbilical cord. They are brothers, and ought not to be hostile nations. The DPP need only set aside disputes and seek common ground in its referendum on self-determination. "Great wisdom," it is said, "often appears foolish." The DPP can be reborn. It can engage with the Mainland. It can demonstrate greater goodwill. Lien Chan and James Soong broke the ice during their Journey of Peace. The DPP can follow suit.

Su Chih-hao exposed the hollowness of democratic politics on Taiwan. He said, "democratic reform and liberalization may be merely an illusion." Politics on Taiwan is "third rate politics that offers no solutions." He noted that cross-Strait relations are at a critical juncture. The so-called "bottom line referendum on self-determination, " overlaps with the "referendum on reunification" promoted by Tsao Hsing-cheng and others, including this paper. In sum, Su Chih-hao's proposals have much in common with mainstream thought on Taiwan. Democracy on Taiwan should be used to protect the Republic of China in cross-strait interactions. It should not be used to divide Taiwan. It should not blindly oppose globalization and insist on hostility toward the Mainland.

Su Chih-Hao wrote that the times are changing, the tide is changing, Mainland China is changing, and the world situation is also changing. Chiang Ching-kuo saw this 20 years ago. Twenty years later, apart from the blind, and liars committed to self-deception, everyone sees it. Are the Su Family of Yunlin really the only people in the DPP and Green Camp able to see it? Are Su Chih-hao and Huang Wu-hsiung the only ones able to see it? Are these people blind, or merely engaging in self-deception?

Are cross-Strait issues and democratic politics on Taiwan merely "third-rate politics that offers no solutions?" What sayeth the DPP?

雲林蘇家是民進黨思想轉型的火種？
【聯合報╱社論】
2010.01.18 04:11 am

蘇東啟文教基金會執行長蘇治灝，十二日在本報發表《擺脫島國根性症候群》專文，呼籲民進黨勿再自我封閉，應尋求與大陸和平接觸、共創雙贏。蘇東啟是蘇治灝的父親，蘇治灝是蘇治芬的哥哥；綠營政治世家中人有此呼籲，殊值正視。

無獨有偶。去年約莫亦在此際，蘇東啟的女婿，即蘇治芬的丈夫，數學教授黃武雄也發表《尋找太平歲月酖酖（兩岸）五十年維和方案》，在網路上徵求連署；他主張，將「五十年維持現狀，不統不獨，台灣非軍事化」入憲。黃武雄的兩岸論述體系，其實與馬英九總統的「不統／不獨／不武」有許多交集；且較馬更激進，主張入憲。

在兩岸情勢丕變，而國內藍綠惡鬥難分難解之際，雲林蘇家婿子相繼發出的呼籲，有否可能成為民進黨兩岸思考轉型的火種？

雲林蘇家是台灣少數幾個自日據時代至今仍活躍的反對運動的政治世家。蘇東啟在日據時代曾赴中國參加抗日戰爭，光復後參加青年黨，積極參與縣議員及縣長選舉，並聲援雷震組織「中國民主黨」，又捲入「三九事件」的台獨案，一度被判死刑，覆判為無期徒刑，入監時僅三十九歲，嗣因蔣中正總統逝世特赦而出獄。蘇東啟的一生，可謂即是台灣民主運動及反對運動的一脈傳統，而雲林亦是最能反映台灣草根特性的地區，迄今仍是最「本土」的農業縣。現在，蘇家婿子相繼對兩岸論述提出相當不同於綠營及民進黨的見解，若就蘇家的影響力而言，或許尚有未逮，但以蘇家在台灣反對運動上的代表性而言，卻可謂已罕有能超越者；綠營及民進黨應當沉澱下來，好好細思蘇家婿子的觀點，做為未來重新架構兩岸政策的重要參照。

對於黃武雄的《五十年維和方案》，本報社論曾經作過析論（二○○九年二月十日）；此次蘇治灝的專文，雖然未見如黃武雄一般的具體方案，但在論理及抒情上，同樣有感人動人之處。

蘇治灝說：兩岸問題、統獨辯論……一直是民進黨的盲點。時代在變、潮流在變、大陸在變，世界局勢也瞬息萬變，民進黨要能順應變局，以民意為依歸，向中間選民靠攏……。

蘇治灝對台灣民主政治的思考確是發人深省。他說：民主改革開放年代可能只是假象。選舉掛帥、操短線、急功近利、健忘的島國根性症候群，一流的經濟、三流的政治，內耗，侵蝕台灣的根基。……但國民兩黨只會虛耗內鬥，開不出藥方。

蘇治灝對鄧小平頗有正面評價，讚為「睿智、遠見、自信，雖千萬人吾往矣」；對蔣經國亦有佳評，「（蔣經國）個人的一小步，敲響了兩岸和平的鐘聲，開啟了兩岸和平互動的新契機」。蘇治灝這樣的言論，在綠營的紀錄中可謂是絕無僅有。

接著，蘇治灝期勉民進黨。他說：兩岸同文同種、臍帶相連，是兄弟之邦，不應是敵對的國家。……民進黨當下只要能在公投自決的底線下，擱置爭議，求同存異，「大巧若拙」就可脫胎換骨，與大陸展開全面接觸，釋放更大的誠意善意，不讓連宋破冰之旅專美於前。

從兩岸關係的角度言，蘇治灝點破了台灣民主政治的虛假空無。他說，「民主改革開放年代，可能只是假象」，台灣的政治是「拿不出藥方的三流政治」；他也指出了兩岸關係的肯綮，所謂「守住公投自決的底線」，其實與本報一向倡議而有曹興誠等人推動的「統一公投」，亦有交集之處。歸結而言，蘇治灝的主張，與台灣主流社會的思想實有極大的共同點，那就是：台灣的民主政治，應當用來在兩岸積極互動中守護台灣；而不是用來撕裂台灣，一味在違反全球化的舉世潮流下與大陸敵對鬥爭。

蘇治灝說：時代在變、潮流在變、大陸在變，世界局勢也瞬息萬變……。蔣經國在二十幾年前就看出此點；在二十多年後的今天，除了瞎子，及自欺欺人的騙子，恐亦無人看不出此點。民進黨及綠營中，難道只有雲林蘇家看得見？難道只有黃武雄及蘇治灝看得見？那些看不見的人，究竟是瞎子，還是自欺欺人？

就兩岸問題而言，台灣的民主政治，是不是「拿不出藥方的三流政治」？民進黨有無答案？