Li Boyi: The test and responsibility of the second generation of politicians

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If time stopped in 2018, Li Boyi might be regarded as a model of Taiwan’s political transition from generation to generation. In September 2017, Li Xin fell to his death. The following year, Li Boyi took over his father's political path and ran for the Taipei City Council election and was successfully elected. Li Xin's death has aroused huge political and social attention. "Who fell to death Li Xin", produced by Li Xin's girlfriend Guo Xinzheng and narrated by Sheng Zhuru, has also caused related political grievances to continue to be discussed in society. For the voters at that time, voting for Li Boyi had some emotional and political memories of Li Xin. If the story stops here, this can indeed be called a beautiful transition of power between the second generation of politicians.

Li Xin's death has attracted widespread social attention. "Who Falls to Death Li Xin", produced by Li Xin's girlfriend Guo Xinzheng and narrated by Sheng Zhuru, has also caused related political grievances to continue to be discussed in society. (Extracted from Who Fell to Death Li Xin Facebook)

But time has not stopped in 2018. Li Boyi was re-elected with a high vote in 2022. Now he is no longer a young politician who can only rely on his father's halo to run for office, but a current public opinion representative with his own political resume. Recently, Jiang Wanan's son, Jiang Deli, was involved in a student exchange controversy. Li Boyi defended Jiang Wanan and his son on a political commentary program. A few days later, he accompanied his daughter to the emergency room and had a dispute with medical staff over medical procedures and medication. He admitted that he did raise his voice and publicly apologized. The two incidents are seemingly unrelated, but they both make us rethink the issue of the second generation of politicians entering politics.

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It is not the original sin for the second generation to enter politics. In a democratic society, there is no reason to prohibit the next generation from participating in politics just because their parents are in politics; but the second generation of politicians are more likely to inherit popularity, connections, organizations and political resources than ordinary people, so they should accept stricter rather than looser public inspections. Others must accumulate voters' trust from scratch. The second generation of politicians often have a recognizable political surname before they enter politics. There is nothing wrong with these resources per se, but what they should bring with them is greater responsibility. Political families can be inherited, but voters' trust cannot be hereditary.

Especially the emergency room incident. Any parent who brings an unwell child to the emergency room will feel anxious. It is human nature; no one requires politicians not to have emotions. But the difference between ordinary people and current public opinion representatives is that the latter’s identity inherently carries public power and social influence. Politicians can certainly question medical treatment, but the more public a person is, the more they should know what external effects their words and deeds may have. This is not only a matter of personal cultivation, but also a matter of how public power controls itself.

KMT Congressman Li Boyi recently escorted Jiang Wanan's son in "News Face to Face". (Reproduced from YouTube)

The same standard should also be applied to the exchange student dispute involving Jiang Wanan’s son. Of course, children of politicians can go abroad and participate in exchange programs, but society has doubts about whether the children of politicians receive special treatment, which is also a reasonable oversight in a democratic society. In the face of such doubts, the best way is not to ask society to stop discussing it, but to put the system, qualifications and procedures in the sun and let society judge for itself. This set of test standards must be applied uniformly to all political families. This is true for the next generation of the Jiang family, and the same is true for the next generation of the Li family.

When Jiang Wanan faces the controversy over his son's overseas exchange this time, the best way to deal with it is to expose the system, qualifications and procedures to the sun and let society judge. (File photo)

Therefore, when we talk about Li Boyi again today, we are no longer discussing "whether Li Xin's son did well", but asking "whether Li Boyi himself did well." Voters in 2018 can vote for his son because of their feelings for Li Xin; voters in 2022 have also given Li Boyi enough time and opportunities to build his own political resume. Today, he should be tested as an independent political figure. The second generation of politicians can inherit political capital, but they still have to rely on their own performance to win the trust of voters. From Jiang Wanan to Li Boyi, what we should really think about is not whether the second generation of politicians are qualified to enter politics, but whether they have the ability to prove that they are worthy of this opportunity after getting a better starting point than others. Parents can hand over the baton, but voters always retain the power to take it back. This is the true inheritance of democratic politics from generation to generation.

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(The author is a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Taiwan History, National Chengchi University)