Ko Wen-je: A Lion Agrees to be Caged

Ko Wen-je: A Lion Agrees to be Caged
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China)
A Translation
December 20, 2013

Summary: For the DPP, Ko Wen-je did not represent a chance to win, but a model for reform. Alas, the DPP has missed the mark. Ko Wen-je had an opportunity to throw open the DPP's cages. Instead he chose to walk into them, shattering his "Ko Wen-je as lion" myth. for Taipei voters, Ko had an opportunity to rise above stereotypical Blue vs. Green conflict, to wage a different kind of election campaign. Now alas, everything has reverted to the same tired old form.

Full text below:

Ko Wen-je may not deserve to be perceived as a lion. The DPP may not deserve to be perceived as a cage. But in order to run in the Taipei Mayoral Election, Ko Wen-je has been forced to join the DPP. Malleable clay has been forced into a standardized Green mold. Ko has now lost his grass roots appeal as a non-partisan doctor and political outsider.

Ko Wen-je resisted joining the DPP. He asked, "Why must a lion be shut up in a cage?" But after some persuasion and waffling, he chose to enter the cage. The lion compromised. Worse, inside and outside the cage, numerous lion tamers stood, whips in hand, ready to teach him the rules he would have obey within the cage.

Consider the DPP perspective on Ko Wen-je becoming a party member. Every day, they were forced to watch him being touted as the ideal challenger among the political opposition. Everywhere he went, Green Camp voters flocked around him. Even more embarrassingly. Ko Wen-je had charisma. Declared candidates such as Ku Li-hsiung and Annette Lu were resentful and unhappy. Other party comrades were humiliated. To them, party nomination rules designed to ensure fairness had been ignored. Ko Wen-je donned Green Camp garb. This at least eliminated one tough to swallow objection. Internal regrouping may still enable the DPP to wage a successful Taipei mayorial campaign.

In fact, the DPP primary nominations for Taipei City and Xinbei City suggest no grander strategic plan. Inviting Ko Wen-je to run was clearly more a means of pacifying internal dissent than a mens of allowing outside participation. Its purpose was to win by not losing face. Its purpose was to avoid fielding a DPP candidate who might lose to a Pan Green comrade as an independent. By caging the lion, the DPP avoided a future debacle.

Can Ko Wen-je win on behalf of the DPP? Consider his recent poll numbers. He has provided the DPP a mirror by which it can reflect on itself. Consider his political orientation. Ko Wen-je clearly belongs in the Green Camp. Other DPP politicians are veterans. As a political outsider, Ko Wen-je paradoxically appeals to more voters of all ages in the capitol city.

Consider this from two perspectives. Consider Ko Wen-je's personal qualifications. He has certain specific political attributes. But when commenting on politics, he is not overly dogmatic. He supports Ah-Bian, but criticizes him as well. He criticizes the Blue Camp, but not to the extent of blasting Ma at every available opportunity. He is a doctor and a politician, but more doctor than politician. This is the source of his appeal as a political outsider. Ko Wen-je is reportedly an Asperger's Syndrome sufferer. Perhaps because of this, Ko Wen-je differs from most DPP politicians, and comes across as somewhat exotic.

Consider the DPP's own characteristics. Two ruling party changes have taken place. During its time in office, the DPP wallowed in corruption. In the eyes of the public, the DPP's image is fixed. DPP obstructionism worsens by the day. DPP opportunism leaves the impression that it has no principles whatsoever. DPP populism may still give it some influence at the local level. But Taipei is a major metropolis. Its voters are more rational. To them the DPP long ago lost any charm it might have had. This is why the DPP did not field any strong candidates for Taipei City and Xinbei City. This is why Ko Wen-je is so popular. He has yet to be tested in the field. In any event, his speeches and his responses, unlike those of DPP insiders, defy stereotyping. For moderate voters weary of Blue vs. Green political struggles, this offers considerable appeal.

In short, Ko Wen-je has the appeal of a political outsider. He is an atypical candidate. He could have been an inspiration for DPP reform. He could have been an "improved model" for the Green Camp as it moves toward the political center. Unfortunately the monolithic DPP refused to have anything to do with "exotic." It refused to accept the notion that it must reform itself. Instead, Ko Wen-je has been forced to join the Green Camp, to wear the same uniform, to march to the same drummer. Only by doing so, was he able to win the blessing of the Green Camp. Now consider Ko Wen-je. The more he campaigns, the more he becomes assimilated by the DPP, the more he adopts the outmoded habits of the Green Camp. As a result, his personal charisma, his uncensored declarations, his onstage performance are likely to suffer.

For the DPP, Ko Wen-je did not represent a chance to win, but a model for reform. Alas, the DPP has missed the mark. Ko Wen-je had an opportunity to throw open the DPP's cages. Instead he chose to walk into them, shattering his "Ko Wen-je as lion" myth. for Taipei voters, Ko had an opportunity to rise above stereotypical Blue vs. Green conflict, to wage a different kind of election campaign. Now alas, everything has reverted to the same tired old form.

柯文哲命題：獅子選擇走入鐵籠
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.12.20 01:57 am

柯文哲未必稱得上是「獅子」，民進黨當然也不能說是「鐵籠」一個；但是，柯文哲為參選台北市長被逼著加入民進黨，就如同一塊可塑的黏土被送進綠模子壓製成統一規格，正好讓他失掉無黨籍醫師及政治素人的親切感和想像力。

柯文哲曾經極力抗拒加入民進黨，他說：「何必一定要把獅子關進籠裡？」但經過一番勸誘和拉鋸，現在是他自己走進籠子裡，獅子畢竟妥協了。不僅如此，籠子內外還有許多馴獸師站在那裡，手持皮鞭，準備隨時教導他一點籠子裡的規矩。

對民進黨而言，若不要求柯文哲入黨，每天卻看著他以在野「最佳挑戰者」的姿態趴趴走，到處接受綠營支持者的簇擁，其實更加難堪。柯文哲的活躍，除了已表態參選的顧立雄和呂秀蓮等人忿恨不平，許多黨內同志也覺得顏面無光，黨內提名規則的公平性及神聖性更受到嚴重挑戰。因此，讓柯文哲披上綠袍，至少先減去一個心腹之患，再透過內部的整合，或者能徐圖台北市長之役的翻盤也說不定。

事實上，民進黨在北二都的初選提名，皆看不出積極的布局意圖；可見，要求柯文哲入黨基本上是「安內」的成分多於「攘外」，打的是「不丟臉為贏」的戰術。其目的，是避免民進黨自己提出正式人選，最後卻敗給單兵作戰的泛綠戰友；於是，引獅入籠，至少可免後患。

無論柯文哲最後能不能披綠袍代表民進黨出征甚至取勝，以他近期在民調上的表現看，恰好提供民進黨一面自我檢視的鏡子。就政治取向看，柯文哲歸屬綠營自無疑義；但比起其他民進黨資深政治人物，作為「政治素人」的柯文哲為何反而能獲得更多首都選民的青睞，則耐人尋味。

這或可分成兩方面來談。就柯文哲本身的條件看，他雖有其特定政治屬性，但在評論時政時，他不會過度「教條化」，他挺扁也能批扁，批藍卻不致逢馬必反。在「醫師」與「政治人」之間，他保存的醫師成分似乎多一些，這是他「政治新鮮人」的紅利所在。據稱柯文哲是亞斯柏格症患者，或許正因如此，柯文哲不像一般民進黨人物那樣裝模作樣地雕塑角色，反而能顯現出一種「異類」的特色。

就民進黨本身的因素看，歷經兩次政黨輪替及執政貪腐，民進黨留給社會大眾的角色形象已經極為固定，甚至可以說它的在野杯葛立場一天比一天狹隘，有時甚至投機到毫無原則的地步。這種民粹訴求，在地方上或仍具有一定影響，但對大台北都會區的理性選民而言，則已完全失去魅力。民進黨在雙北推不出強有力的人選，這正是主要原因。柯文哲的高人氣，主要是仍未經深入檢驗所致；但無論如何，他的言語和應對，比起民進黨?面人物均相對不刻板，這對厭倦了藍綠惡鬥的中間選民而言，自然有其吸引力。

簡單地說，柯文哲所展現的素人魅力，基本上營造的是一種「非典型」的想像，原本可當成民進黨轉型的啟發，作為綠營朝政治中間地帶推進的一種「改良模式」。遺憾的是，鐵板一塊的民進黨，既拒絕與「異類」為伍，也拒絕接受自己必須改良轉型的想法；在這種情況下，柯文哲被迫必須加入綠色軍團，和其他人穿一色的軍服、受一樣的軍規管束，才能贏得綠袍加身的祝福。反觀柯文哲，他愈投入選戰，也就愈受到民進黨的同化，愈走上綠營經營布局的老套。如此一來，他擁有的個人魅力、不受框架的發言，表演空間至此大概也就難有可觀了。

對民進黨而言，柯文哲代表的其實不是一個贏的機會，而是一個轉型的指標，但民進黨卻錯過了這個標誌。對柯文哲而言，他本來有機會打開民進黨的鐵籠閘門，但他最後卻選擇自己走進去，塗銷了自己的雄獅神話。對台北市民而言，本來有機會跳脫刻板的藍綠對決，來場不一樣的選舉，現在全部想像又都落回舊軌道上了。