HONG KONG -- Lord Acton's maxim that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" has just been proven true again in Taiwan, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party -- which had won power five years ago on a campaign promise to stamp out corruption -- was swamped in recent local elections by the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) now under the chairmanship of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou.
In the short space of five years, the DPP has been transformed from a party known for being clean to a party that faces numerous allegations of corruption.
The election results are likely to put pressure on President Chen Shui-bian to soften his anti-China stance and to lessen cross-strait tension, which has been high ever since the pro-independence Chen won the presidency in 2000.