Taiwan elections a global model, but campaigns lack substance: Scholar

Washington, April 15 (CNA) Despite labeling Taiwan's elections as a model for the world, American scholar Michael Cunningham said the candidates' campaigns had lacked substance on policy and that this was impeding the country's ability to tackle challenges.

In an article titled "Taiwan's Elections Are a Model for the World, but Its Campaigns Lack Substance" published on Monday by the Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank, Cunningham said he was impressed by the quick, orderly way Taiwan's 2024 elections were run and the efficient and transparent way votes were counted and a winner was announced.

The scholar, who lived in Taiwan for years and is currently a research fellow at the foundation's Asian Studies Center, said he observed the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections in person.

Despite the praise, he also criticized what he called a lack of "substantive policy debate ahead of the vote."

"While the international praise that Taiwan's election garnered was well-deserved, the lack of substance in its presidential campaigns stifles the young democracy's progress in confronting an array of socioeconomic and security challenges," he said.

Cunningham said the democratic transaction in Taiwan was inspiring but incomplete.

During the election campaigns, Cunningham said he met with the three presidential candidates privately and found they all understood the challenges facing Taiwan well and had clear policy ideas regarding how to address them.

"But they rarely mention them on the campaign trail," Cunningham said. "It's as if they purposely conceal their policies in favor of carefully stage-managed events and vague campaign slogans."

"Even televised debates -- ostensibly intended to help voters understand candidates' policy positions tend to focus on personalities, mutual allegations of untrustworthiness, and scandals involving real estate and other issues," he said.

Cunningham said Taiwan's elections were still fought on personality rather than policy.

"Victory goes not to the candidate with the most compelling plan for fixing the island's problems, but the one whose image sustains the least damage from the relentless political mudslinging and appeals to the greatest number of voters."

He said the reason for such a "puzzling" political phenomenon in Taiwan has not yet been examined.

In the presidential vote, ruling Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) secured 40.05 percent of votes to win the election, beating the opposition Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) and Taiwan People's Party's Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who took 33.49 percent and 26.46 percent, respectively.

Citing Gunter Schubert, a scholar from Germany, Cunningham wrote: "It's better to be an all-encompassing figure who tells everyone what they want to hear. Adopting a clear policy stance is perilous; mastering the art of ambiguity is key."

Cunningham said such a phenomenon was not good for Taiwan because the country faced daunting challenges, including decades-long wage stagnation, sky-high housing costs and a shrinking population.

In terms of policies on China, candidates only used broad terms such as "deterrence," "preservation of sovereignty," and "de-escalation through dialogue," and accused each other of being too friendly or confrontational with Beijing, Cunningham added.

"The next step should be to develop a political culture in which substantive debate helps drive policy forward," Cunningham said. "Such a cultural overhaul will not be easy and requires persistent effort from media, academics, debate monitors, and ultimately the public."

For as long as voters remain uninformed on policy options and candidates fail to hold substantial debates, Cunningham said, the challenges can be expected to worsen.

Cunningham's article was first published on the website of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs based in Christchurch, New Zealand, on April 7.