by Brian Hioe
語言:
English
Photo Credit: Green Party Taiwan/Facebook
GREEN PARTY TAIWAN: THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS, co-authored by Dafydd Fell, Peng Yen-wen, and Wang Yan-han, is an insightful look at the history of one of Taiwan’s most influential third parties. The book combines analysis, history, and inside perspectives on the development of the party, while drawing from and building on the research in Fell’s previous English-language monograph, Taiwan’s Green Parties: Alternative Politics in Taiwan.
The book situates the rise of the Green Party Taiwan in the democratization of Taiwan. True to social movement origins, the notion of forming a Green Party in Taiwan, in fact, starts at a discussion in the rock bar Roxy 4.
As an environmentally oriented party, it may not be surprising to note that the Green Party’s origins are deeply tied to campaigns opposing nuclear energy. Yet it is also of great interest to trace the process by which the Green Party Taiwan became affiliated with certain issues, such as preservation efforts for historic trees outside the Taipei Dome, or advocacy for sexual freedoms, ranging from LGBTIA identity to BDSM. In this, one sometimes has a sense of the Bohemianism of the early Green Party.
From such origins, the book then goes on to trace the Green Party Taiwan’s development out of this history–in which the Green Party Taiwan was also contending with its identity as a pan-Green party in a larger political camp dominated by the DPP–and into contemporary times. The Sunflower Movement saw the rise of “Third Force” parties such as the New Power Party, Social Democratic Party, and Taiwan Statebuilding Party, with the Green Party partnering with the Social Democratic Party to form a coalition.
This development took place in the wake of efforts to streamline the party into a more effective political machine. Yet the public identity of the Green Party Taiwan then came to become tied to that of influencer personalities, such as Taoyuan city councilor Wang Hao-yu, who frequently baited controversy, as well as later party chair Zoe Lee, a human rights lawyer known for her cannabis decriminalization advocacy.
Even as some of the dilemmas that the Green Party Taiwan has historically faced still impact it today, the book then goes on to detail the links between the Green Party Taiwan and the Global Greens, and international Green Party groupings. Apart from that such international links provided it a boost in morale and legitimacy, this also contextualizes Taiwan’s Green Party in the wave of regional green parties, which were often also a product of Third Wave democratization.
Rich in detail while still highly readable, Green Party Taiwan: The First Thirty Years provides a helpful historical overview of the Green Party’s history in Taiwan, making the text especially valuable reading for those who did not experience Taiwan’s democratization and may only know the contemporary Green Party. But, to this extent, the book shows the dynamics of third-party politics in Taiwan among a progressive third party, as well as how the Green Party has sought to carve out a place for itself amidst the many political changes–inclusive of democratization–that Taiwan has seen in past decades, which have created but also foreclosed political openings for third parties. In this sense, Green Party Taiwan: The First Thirty Years is recommended reading for anyone not only interested in the history of third parties and progressive political parties in Taiwan, but also for a sense of the historical dynamics of elections in past decades.