时论广场》台湾前总统们的政党角色（方恩格 Ross Darrell Feingold）

国民党近来可能是为了帮主席朱立伦的访美行程铺路，特别高调亲近美国执政的民主党与拜登政府。国民党驻美副代表黄裕钧日前发布了他在白宫记者协会晚宴上与隶属民主党的国务卿布林肯以及也是民主党的德拉瓦州参议员康斯的合影，但并未发出任何与美国共和党人士的合照。

儘管国民党多么努力，朱主席即将进行的这趟华府之旅，大概很难让国民党获得拜登政府或美国国会的芳心，毕竟民进党在这场亲美的角力赛中已远远胜出。

除了与美国拜登政府交好之外，蔡政府也与日本执政的自民党建立了良好的关系。其中有趣的是，无论是就美国共和党或日本自民党而言，民进党与他们的情谊几乎只建立在中国议题上，就其他的政策如死刑、LGBTQ议题、核能等政策上，民进党与他们在其他主张上可说是没有什么交集点。

安倍执政期间与蔡政府就两国灾害相互支援等议题，频频在社交媒体上有良好互动。他卸任之后，民进党与日本自民党仍继续一连串友好互动，如2021年台日执政党的立委、议员们所召开的2＋2党际会议，以及安倍致台湾政府所举办的玉山论坛贺函。他在国策研究院举办的「影响力论坛」视讯演讲、以及今年3月他与蔡英文总统的视讯会议等。

2021年9月，蔡总统与当时安倍力推的首相候选接班人高市早苗进行了视讯会谈。这样的举动本可被解读为外国势力干涉日本政党内部选举，基于安倍在自民党的地位，以及他们对台湾元首的尊重，加上自民党与民进党本身已建立了良好关系，这个会谈几乎没有受到什么舆论批评。

近日日本自民党青年部部长兼眾议院议员小仓将信率团4名眾议员进行5天的访台行程，就如同来台访问的美国、澳洲、欧洲和非洲的政治参访团一样，蔡政府也给了他们一般外国旅客未享有的入境免隔离行政特权。

热爱使用「老友」（这次他们用日文的「旧友」）一词的国民党在官方推特上宣告，他们也会见了来访的自民党代表团「老友」。儘管也沾上一点光，国民党得到了自民党的加持，自民党想必也不会力挺国民党再度拿下台湾的执政权。

自民党代表团此趟行程的亮点之一是到前总统李登辉的陵墓献花。李登辉于2020年逝世，他在日本殖民的背景下成长，从小说日语，后来也到日本留学，他在卸任后多次访问日本，他的人生与日本的关系可说是渊远流长。这次自民党青年代表团首开先例到了李登辉陵墓奠祭，想必未来会成为日本的政治人物访台的惯例。笔者猜想很有可能在近期访台的前首相安倍晋三也将会有此行程。

我们可以思考的是，外宾对于前总统李登辉的追思活动，是否被政治化了？

国际间，无论是现任或卸任政要进行对外访问时，行程通常会安排造访当地纪念重大歷史事件的纪念景点、或拜访具有特殊贡献的人物，例如美国位于华盛顿特区近郊着名的阿灵顿国家公墓，或欧洲诸多博物馆、纪念馆、世界大战遗址等，也是许多外国政客的必访之地。而这次李登辉的女儿李安妮也陪同自民党代表团前往其陵墓，可见李登辉前总统家人也间接表达了他们对于民进党安排日本外宾进行此活动的认可。

换个角度而言，在二战时期蒋介石率领中华民国与同盟国一同对抗轴心国。但当现今美国政要访台时，蔡政府并未安排当时也身为同盟国的他们来台参访慈湖的蒋公陵寝。毕竟，台湾执政政府与过去卸任后总统的往来歷程与交集仍少。

其中前总统蒋介石和蒋经国的遗产、以及国民党党产有诸多争议。加上他们对台湾施行的专制统治，以及台澎的主权是否从日本移交给中华民国等长期分歧的议题，让蔡总统于2022年在台北市蒋经国故居图书馆开幕致词激怒了许多绿营人士，这个故居图书馆虽然是在蒋经国逝世34年后才开馆，仍然引惹诸多争议。而同时台湾仍存在着许多对于拆除中正纪念堂大型的蒋介石雕像的正反辩论，这说明了台湾民眾对于蒋故总统评价与定位缺乏共识。

前民进党总统陈水扁与前国民党总统马英九均在低支持率的情况下离任，也都于在任期间面对了刑事调查和指控。陈因贪污而入狱服刑，目前保外就医中，而马虽然在开庭后被判无罪，但出于政治考量，我们很少看到蔡政府对这两位仍在世的前总统安排为他国访问政要的优先行程。

为了更加拉近与日本以及自民党的关系，追思台湾前总统李登辉的政治化目的很可能会持续下去。如果民进党推出的总统候选人在 2024年再度赢得总统大选，蔡总统可能会在 2024年5月21日卸任之后便很快开始出国参访，她将扮演民进党与欧美、澳洲、加拿大等政府与当地政党的重要桥梁角色。至于国民党，由于内部存在的分歧，他们仍在世的前总统马英九很难为国民党达到类似的角色功能。

即使在民主环境之下，台湾的前总统们也仍然只能受限于政党环境之内扮演其政党功能角色，他们若要晋升成为让台湾人民达到共识、一致认可与尊敬的形象，还需要很长的一段时间，或许需要交由歷史来评断。（作者为前美国共和党亚太区主席）

英文全文：

The Politicization of Taiwan’s Former Presidents

By Ross Darrell Feingold

Former Asia Chairman, Republicans Abroad

Twitter: @RossFeingold

Recently this author opined on the “Democratic Partyization” of Taiwan’s Chinese Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, as it tries to endear itself to the Biden Administration and create a favorable environment in Washington DC for Chairman Eric Chu’s upcoming visit. The Kuomintang continues to make such efforts, with its deputy representative to the United States recently posting to his social media account photos of himself at the White House Correspondents Dinner with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, both of the Democratic Party, and no photos of himself at the dinner with Republican Party politicians. Regardless, Chairman Chu’s visit to Washington DC is unlikely to endear the Kuomintang to either the Biden Administration or to Democrats and Republicans in Congress, as the Democratic Progressive Party is too currently far more capable at this game than the Kuomintang is.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has also successfully executed a strategy to build a strong relationship with Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Similar to the DPP’s relationship with the Republican Party in the United States, the DPP-LDP relationship is an oddity given the two party’s views on issues other than China diverge so much. The death penalty, the rights of sexual minorities, and the use of nuclear power are but a few examples.

Dialogues between legislators in 2021 branded as party-to-party events, former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s letters to Taiwan government-affiliated forums, videoconferences with government-friendly audiences in Taiwan, and a videoconference with President Tsai Ing-wen followed years of social media messages exchanged between President Tsai and then-Prime Minister Abe in response to natural and manmade disasters in Japan and Taiwan. In addition, President Tsai held a video conference in September 2021 with Takaichi Sanae, Abe’s preferred candidate in the LDP president election. Although this might seem like foreign interference in a political party election, in a sign of the LDP’s strong relationship with the DPP and esteem that the LDP holds both Abe Shinzo and Tsai Ing-wen, the videoconference received little criticism.

In recent days a delegation led by LDP Youth Division head and House of Representatives member Masanobu Ogura, which included four other House of Representatives members visited Taiwan for a five-day trip. As the Tsai Administration has done for similar delegations of visiting political dignitaries from the United States, Australia, Europe and Africa, the LDP delegation received a waiver from Taiwan’s inbound traveler quarantine requirement that is not available to other inbound travelers.

The Kuomintang tweeted that it met the visiting Liberal Democratic Party delegation and called them “old friends” (even though they are the Youth Division leaders), though the Kuomintang’s aspiration for friendship with the LDP does not signify that the LDP wants the Kuomintang to once again rule Taiwan.

One stop on the LDP delegation’s itinerary received significant media coverage, the visit to Lee Teng-hui’s grave in New Taipei City so that the delegation members could pay their respects to the former president who died in 2020. Having been born in Taiwan when it was a Japanese colony, Lee grew up speaking Japanese and had studied in Japan. His many visits to Japan after his presidency are a testament to a relationship with Japan that lasted throughout his long life.

With the precedent having been set by the recent LDP Youth Division delegation, it is likely that in the future when Japanese politicians visit Taiwan, including the likely visit of Abe Shinzo, the itinerary will also include former president Lee’s gravesite to pay their respects.

Does this politicize Lee Teng-hui’s gravesite and memory?

In fact, when dignitaries such as politicians (whether currently in office or a former officeholder) visit a foreign country, their itinerary often includes sites that memorialize significant historical events or individuals. In the United States that includes Arlington National Cemetery, and Europe has numerous similar sites from the world wars. Lee Teng-hui’s daughter Annie Lee accompanied the LDP delegation to the gravesite, which demonstrates that former President Lee’s family approves.

On the other hand, when United States politicians visit Taiwan, the Tsai Administration does not arrange for them to visit the Cihu Mausoleum of Late President Chiang in Taoyuan, even though Chiang Kai-shek led one of the Allies in World War II against the Axis of Germany, Italy and Japan.

The reality is that Taiwan has limited experience with the role in society of former presidents. Former Presidents Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo’s legacies are disputed because of the authoritarian nature of their rule and the ongoing disagreement as to whether sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu passed to the Republic of China upon signing the Treaty of Taipei with Japan. President Tsai’s speech at the opening in 2022 of a library at Chiang Ching-kuo’s former residence in Taipei City angered many DPP politicians and voters, and the opening of the library only occurred 34 years after his death. Disagreement over proposals to demolish the large Chiang Kai-shek statue at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall further illustrates the lack of consensus for former president legacies.

Former DPP President Chen Shui-bian and former Kuomintang President Ma Ying-jeou left office with low approval ratings, and in their post presidencies confronted lengthy criminal investigations and charges. Chen is currently on medical parole from his jail sentences for corruption and Ma is usually acquitted at trial, but for political reasons, the Tsai Administration does not typically make the two living former presidents a priority itinerary item for visiting dignitaries.

The likelihood is that the politicization of Taiwan’s former president Lee for the purposes of improving relations with the LDP and Japan will continue. Should a DPP candidate win the presidency in 2024, permission for President Tsai to travel overseas will likely be granted soon after May 21, 2024, and she will become a crucial tool for the DPP’s relations with national governments and political parties in Australia, Canada, the United States and Europe. The Kuomintang’s disunity will ensure its one living former president Ma does not serve the party in a similar role.

Rather than serve as unifying figures, Taiwan’s former presidents even in its democracy era will continue to be partisan figures.