Wave Makers captures the zeitgeist of election campaigns in Taiwan

The Netflix series Wave Makers (人選之人 造浪者) is a behind the scenes look at election campaigns in Taiwan. It is set in the office of the Justice Party (公平正義黨) who are currently in opposition and campaigning to win the presidency from the incumbent Democracy and Peace Party (民主和平黨).

The parties are fictional, but the Justice Party most closely represents the pan-green camp while the ruling Democracy and Peace Party is a stand in for the pan-blue camp. However, the series studiously avoids the Taiwan-China cleavage that dominates politics in Taiwan. Some might feel it lacks something for avoiding this issue but instead it focuses on grassroots campaigning. The campaign staff are more intent on winning the election than engaging in global power politics. Organising rallies and countering the latest scandal in the tabloids or social media are what dominate the daily cut and thrust of the campaign.

Instead of the tension between Taiwan and China the series focuses on some other more local, but equally perennial, issues in Taiwan politics such as corruption, pollution and the death penalty. The key theme is gender politics with sexual harassment, homophobia and the power dynamics of office relationships examined in detail.

Given its feminist intentions it is fitting that the star of the series is Weng Wen-fang, played by Hsieh Ying-hsuan (謝盈萱). She is the deputy director of the public relations department of the Justice Party. She is from a political family and has her own electoral aspirations but she has a troubled relationship with her politician father who cannot accept that she is in a same-sex relationship. Weng acts as a mentor for Chang Ya-ching (Gingle Wang; 王淨) who experiences an incident of sexual harassment in the office and also deals with the consequences of a previous relationship with a powerful politician. The power dynamics of that relationship blurred the lines of consent and continue to have ramifications that play out through the series.

Both the incumbent president and the opposition’s presidential candidate in the series are female. Women are shown to be active participants and leaders in politics but it is also clear that they face extra challenges in achieving success and there is still an unequal power balance between the genders in decision making.

Another sub-plot in the series is the relationship of Chen Chia-ching (Jag Huang; 黃健瑋) with his wife. Chen is so dedicated to his job that he fails to devote enough time to his wife and young son leading to a difficulties in their relationship. Chen makes efforts to repair the relationship but it is clear that the demands of his work take priority.

Overall, I found the series wonderfully portrays the back office workings of an election campaign. It shows both the exuberance and disappointment; the compromise between living up to one’s ideals and doing what is necessary to win an election. It also doesn’t shy away from addressing critical social issues and gives a strong female perspective of sexual harassment in the workplace. For anyone familiar with Taiwanese politics it is a must watch. However, I am not sure how well it will resonate with viewers unfamiliar with the languages and culture of Taiwan. Still it serves as a great portrayal of the vibrant spirit of Taiwan’s democracy.

New book: Taiwan Since Martial Law

Taiwan Since Martial Law: Society, Culture, Politics, Economy
David Blundell (Editor)
NTU Press, Taipei, 2012

A few days ago I received a long awaited package from Taiwan in the mail. It contained copies of a new book, Taiwan Since Martial Law: Society, Culture, Politics, Economy.

I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the book because it contains a chapter I wrote titled, “Nation vs. Tradition: Indigenous Rights and Smangus.” The chapter is based on the research I did for my thesis in the Masters of Taiwan Studies program at National Chengchi University (NCCU).

While it is great to finally hold the book in my hands it is important to acknowledge the great amount of work that went into its production. Thanks must go to David Blundell for his tireless work as the editor. Many others were also involved in the project. The quality of the final product shines through in the beautiful artwork and design on the cover.

I feel quite honoured to have my work published alongside well known Taiwan scholars including Michael Hsiao, Ann Heylen and Jon Sullivan. Several of my classmates from the Taiwan Studies program at NCCU also contributed chapters to the book.

25 years have passed since the end martial law in Taiwan. In more human terms this period of time is a generation. The most obvious development in this time is Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. Taiwan’s democratic trajectories are outlined by Bo Tedards in the opening essay of the book. Tedards writes that “the process has not been a linear one, and nor is it quite complete.”

The process of democratisation is further explored in articles such as Jonathan Sullivan’s on election campaigning and Gary and Ming-yeh Rawnsley’s article on the media in democratic Taiwan. Human rights are addressed in Daniel Bowman’s chapter comparing the human rights policies of Ma Ying-jeou and Chen Shui-bian. Janet Tan looks at the need for a civil rights protection system.

The lifting of martial law not only created the political space for democracy to develop; it also brought about a renaissance as peoples rediscovered their identities and relocated themselves in the environmental space of Taiwan. Ann Heylen’s chapter discusses the “greening” of Taiwan history – the emergence of new historical narratives based around Pingpu identity, and the 228 Massacre and White Terror. Al Chung-chieh Wu looks at the emergence of a Hakka ethnic movement. Constance Woods details the resurgence of local identity in her case study of the Beitou Hot Springs Museum.

The book also contains several chapters on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. In addition to my chapter on Smangus, Jackson Hu looks at how the Yami of Orchid Island have used memory of place to revitalise their cultural knowledge. Yayoi Mitsuda describes how the Thao people were the first new indigenous group to gain official recognition in 2001 ending the “nine tribes” classification that had dominated for almost a century.

I have not mentioned all the contributors and will leave it to those who read the book to discover more. My recommendation is of course biased, but I hope this book will help people better understand the diverse and vibrant society of contemporary Taiwan. It will also serve as a useful textbook for any student of Taiwan Studies.

The Story of Smangus at Students of Sustainability

This morning I gave a presentation about Smangus at the Students of Sustainability (SoS) conference. This year the conference is being held in Bendigo, which is not far from where I live in Australia. I attended because it was a good chance to reconnect with the academic world and activists in Australia. It was also the first time I have done a presentation about my research in Taiwan for an Australian audience.

SoS is an annual conference organised by the Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN) which connects campus environment collectives from around Australia. I first attended SoS in 2004. Incidentally the 2004 conference was also the first time I met John Seed. I later had the chance to travel around Taiwan with John and visit some indigenous communities including Smangus.

My presentation, titled “The Story of Smangus: Indigenous Rights in Taiwan,” started with some background information about Taiwan and its indigenous peoples. I then followed this with some discussion of the Smangus community and the legal case about the right to use wood from a wind-fallen tree. As the key theme of the conference is sustainability I wanted people to know more about how the people of Smangus have used their traditional knowledge as the basis for a sustainable community. The word sustainability is often misused, but I think the people of Smangus and other indigenous peoples around the world have practiced sustainable ways of living for hundreds or even thousands of years. There are many lessons that can be learnt from them.

Indigenous issues are a major theme at SoS. The plenary on the first day of the conference was on sovereignty. Grassroots Aboriginal activists spoke about the topic. Their perspectives presented a radical challenge to the mainstream discourse on this issue in Australia. This afternoon I had the chance to further explore some of these issues in a workshop about working with indigenous communities. The workshop talked about the need for “decolonising our minds” in order to work effectively with indigenous peoples for justice.

Smangus presentation – Students of Sustainability [pdf file]

Youth can change Taiwan!

My recent letter in the Taipei Times ended by saying that youth must speak out to protect freedom in Taiwan. After I posted a link to my letter on Facebook Michael Turton commented that the youth also need to vote.

It seems very timely that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) just released a campaign video featuring rapper Dog G* (大支) titled “Change Taiwan” (改變台灣). The DPP writes in the description (see full text and translation below) of Dog G’s video that they want youth to actively participate in and contribute their ideas to the election campaign. They go on to write, “the DPP wants to promote an overall increase in the youth vote. It is not just concerned with the overall breakdown of votes between the parties. The key point is that youth should play a key role in this election!”

The description also says that the video seeks to overthrow older people’s stereotypes about the younger generation. The lyrics intend to highlight how young people are actively engaged in society. For example, mobilising to help after the Typhoon Morakot floods and their role in the Dapu Land Grab Incident.

The video is also interesting because although it was created for the DPP, it doesn’t actually mention the DPP anywhere in the video. This follows an earlier campaign video from the DPP which also appealed to the centre ground. Peter Martin at Sinocentric noted the earlier ad, “pitches strait to the political centre-ground and tries to talk past the highly partisan debates which often characterize Taiwanese politics.”

The lyrics of the song represent a paradigm change from the ethnic-based politics of the past to a younger generation who have gone beyond ethnicity to just identify with Taiwan. Dog G sings:

我們不管藍綠綠藍這些

[We don’t care about blue versus green and green versus blue]

我們很簡單就是關心台灣，關心社會

[We just simply care about Taiwan and care about the society]

我們也沒有什麼族權問題總總

[We also don’t have a problem with different ethnic groups]

The V-sign in the video represents the word “vote”. I also suggest that V can represent “voice”. The combination of youth using their vote and their voice can change Taiwan.

*At the time this article was published rap artist 大支 used the English name Dog G. He now goes by the name Dwagie.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Chinese-language text from the video description. English translation by David.

年輕選票成為這場選舉的關鍵力量！

Let the youth vote become this election’s key power!

對於台灣的未來，年輕人應該擔當的是有主導權的關鍵者，而不該是在一旁唱唱跳跳的旁觀者。因此選戰以來，民進黨不僅鼓勵年輕人主動參與、規劃各項競選事務，由他們按著自己的想法來主導，對於青年族群在選舉中的影響，民進黨更關心的是整體青年投票率的提升，而非僅僅於政黨的得票比例。重點是年輕人要在這場選舉裡扮演關鍵角色！

Regarding Taiwan’s future, youth are taking on a key leadership role and not just standing on the sidelines as spectators. Hence, since the election campaign began the DPP has not just encouraged youth to participate in planning every aspect of the campaign, it has also let their ideas lead the way. Concerning the influence of youth groups on the election the DPP wants to promote an overall increase in the youth vote. It is not just concerned with the overall breakdown of votes between the parties. The key point is that youth should play a key role in this election!

這首[改變台灣]由知名的HIP HOP歌手大支創作，MV則由來自五都，包括多個大學HIP HOP社團學生、運動員、藝術工作者等各行各業超過150位年輕朋友在月前透過網路揪團拍攝。[改變台灣]歌詞推翻年輕人被大人世界加上的[草莓族]、[政治冷感]刻板印象，特別以88水災時年輕人發動比政府更有效率的救災行動、日前成功爭取社會注目，最後逼得馬政府退讓的「大埔農地」事件為例，強調年輕人不僅不是冷漠的旁觀者，更有領導時代，改變台灣的雄心與能力。而改變台灣的方式，mv當中則以[v]手勢，作為年輕族群揪團投票(vote)的默契，邀請所有年輕人用選票打造自己的理想五都。

The song “Change Taiwan” was created by well known hip hop artist Dog G. In the music video there are students from university hip hop clubs, athletes, artists and workers of every kind from all five cities* who seized the chance to film last month. The lyrics overthrow older people’s stereotypes of the youth as being the strawberry generation or indifferent to politics. The lyrics especially mention the youth response in providing disaster relief during the Typhoon Morakot floods was more effective than the government’s response. The way youth argued with the Ma government over the Dapu Land Grab Incident is another example. This emphasizes that youth are not just indifferent spectators. They are leaders with ambitions and potential to change Taiwan. The V-sign in the video means “vote” and signifies youth recognising the power of the vote. We invite every young person to use their vote to create their ideal “five cities”.

*Five cities refers to the five cities holding elections: Taipei City, Xinbei City (Taipei County), Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung.