用選票向政商勾結的私利集團嗆「不」！

政黨應該是具有相同理念的政治人物，聚合在一起，共同追求理想的團體，卻常淪落成沒有是非，不會維護人權和公義，只會爭權和奪利的私利集團。

財團看清政治人物的競選需要，重金投資他們（不分藍綠），為的是引他們入甕，而後才能左右政府金融與財經政策。政客與財團形成剪不斷理還亂的共利集團。

以美國為例，政府和國會每天有成千的遊說人群進出，他們代表不同利益團體，企圖影響政府與議員制訂或推動特定法案。公益團體如環保，疾病的防治和研究，慈善機構等有其存在的正當性和必要性。資金雄厚的，只為財團和少數大股東效力的私利集團，如煙草和軍火工業，銀行和保險業等，只在乎通過私利法案，他們得不到選民認同，遊說之外再用鉅額政治獻金與政客共舞。

民主政治候選人必須以服務國家人民為號召，然而沒被選上還能談什麼服不服務。即使不談個人有無貪瀆心，競選實在太花錢，經費往往必須向富有財團招募，但財團不可能忘記這筆債，當然財團還控制著政客想要的大量員工選票。

台灣比正常民主國家多了兩個強有力的私利集團，即擁有龐大黨產的執政黨和人數眾多的投資中國台商。很多政客因需靠黨產資助競選，妥協個人理念，盲目服從黨政高層。黨更利用長期執政優勢，設計不符合社會公義的優惠條款收買軍公教人員，製造大量鐵票，扭曲民主，成為私利威權集團。台商也與部分官員結合成共利集團，忽視民意，推動只對集團有利的親中政策。

正常民主國家選民對用鉅額獻金，制約議員與官員的財團極為厭惡，候選人只好一再強調不會與財團掛勾。歐巴馬總統便是以網路募得無數小額獻金，證明團隊的自主性，深獲選民信任而大勝。可惜台灣民眾對政商私利集團的勾結警覺心不足，有些社會賢達更不忘攀龍附鳳，不但不為弱勢團體發聲，還當起私利威權集團傳聲筒。

選民，請快覺醒，團結用選票向政商勾結的私利集團嗆「不」！，唯有如此台灣才有可能逐步邁向正常民主國家的行列。（作者為澄社社員）（4/3/09自由廣場）

Private lobbyists hobbling nation

By Tsong Tien-tzou 鄭天佐

Taipei Times Tuesday, April 07, 2009, Page 8

A political party should consist of like-minded politicians working together in pursuit of certain ideals. However, political parties often degenerate into groups concerned with their personal interests that cannot tell right from wrong, fail to protect human rights and justice and get caught up in pursuing power and profit.

Corporations in Taiwan are well aware of what politicians need for their campaigns and invest large amounts of money in both pan-blue and pan-green parties to gain power to control the government’s financial and economic policies. Politicians and corporations have intricate and complex relations and do what is best for reaching their goals.

In the US, for example, the government and Congress each day receive visits from thousands of lobbyists who represent different interest groups and try to influence how the government and senators draw up and promulgate legislation. Public interest groups dealing with issues like environmental protection, disease prevention and research or charity are both legitimate and necessary. Private interest groups that represent industries such as tobacco companies, the military-industrial complex, banks and the insurance sector, use their huge funds to push legislation beneficial to the interests of their own corporation and their shareholders. They need not win the support of voters and rely on political contributions to curry favor with politicians.

Candidates in a democracy should hope to serve the public, but all talk of service is useless if a candidate fails to get elected. Even if a candidate is not greedy and corrupt, political campaigns cost large sums of money and political candidates often have to acquire funds from wealthy corporations. Corporations always remember the debts candidates owe them. Candidates need votes and of course, corporations may also have some control over how their employees will vote.

Compared with other democracies, Taiwan has two additional powerful private interest groups. The first is the ruling political party with its huge assets, and the second is the large number of China-based Taiwanese businesspeople. Many politicians relax their personal ideals because they need the party’s assets to fund their campaigns. By doing so, they end up blindly following the senior party and government officials.

The ruling party has also used the advantages gained from its long time in power to draw up socially unjust clauses aimed at benefiting the military, civil servants and teachers to guarantee a large number of sure votes. This has distorted democracy and turned the party into an authoritarian private interest group. Taiwanese businesspeople in China have also teamed up with certain government officials, forming common interest groups that ignore public opinion in promoting China-leaning policies beneficial to themselves.

Voters in other democracies despise corporations that use huge contributions to control senators and officials. All a candidate can do is promise time and time again that they will not develop disputable relationships with corporations. US President Barack Obama received large campaign contributions via the Internet. This proved the strength and autonomy of Obama’s team, which eventually managed to win the trust of voters and come out victorious. Unfortunately, Taiwanese citizens are still not wary enough of the collusion between politicians, business and private interest groups. Even some “community leaders” try to work their way up the ladder to gain position and power and in doing so not only neglect to speak up for the disadvantaged and minority groups, but also play the role of a mouthpiece for the private interests of authoritarian groups.

It is time that we voters wake up and combine forces to say no to collusion between business, the government and private interest groups with our votes. This is the only way Taiwan has any chance of becoming a normal democracy.



Tsong Tien-tzou is a member of the Taipei Society and a research fellow at the Institute of Physics at the Academia Sinica.

TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON