The green tablecloth in the auditorium makes lecturer Lin Yishi uncomfortable. This year in Taiwan, the universal colors blue and green already have too many associations.

As vice-chairman of the Central Committee for the Nationalist Party, he's naturally partial to blue. Once, while fielding questions on television, his accidental wearing of a light-green colored tie resulted in the vocal disapproval by many "blue" supporters. One can well imagine how he responds to green now.

Lin Yishi uses the word “polarization” to discuss contemporary Taiwan. The use of politics to create social, ethnic, and even domestic fracturing has become a widespread disease. It has led to many onlookers to worry about the prospects of Taiwan's democracy.

Both the blue and the green have built up their ranks, exposed each other's previous misdeeds, and even gone so far as to physically fight at public political events. What comforts Lin is that, at 212 kilograms, the "heavyweight" of Taiwan lawmakers doesn't have to worry about someone sparring with him.

"Taiwan should not become a bad example of democracy," says Lin. But he simultaneously recognizes that this is a phase that the young democracy must go through; where political forces use ethnic and social conflict to propagate antagonism in order to make political gains. He believes that the solution to this is in the hands of the youth: "They have no right to be pessimistic," he says.

Born in 1968, Lin himself is just such a "youth". In politics he has already set many age-related records—as Taiwan's youngest legislator, youngest chief clerk of the Legislative Yuan, and the youngest middle-member of the Nationalist party's standing committee, among others. For him, increasing the youth’s awareness of democracy is a key to its maturity.

Speaking bluntly, Lin says that those being most affected by the Democratic Progressive Party are the least educated rural youth. For example, the Democratic Progressive Party claims that if the "three exchanges" (direct postal, commercial, and transport connections between the mainland and Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu) are implemented, then cheap products and unemployed immigrants will flood into Taiwan, greatly influencing Taiwan's rural lifestyle. Lin says that from an economic perspective, these views are all nonsense, but in the rural areas they are well received. Thus, in 2008, before Taiwan's general election, strengthening the Nationalist party's influence among the youth, fighting for their votes, has become an even more important task for Lin.

Says an impassioned Lin: "We are of the same language and the same race, like brothers running ahead together. In deciding the fate of the Chinese nation, why can't we sit together? Why do we want to beg the West for anything?” He believes that the youth of both sides of the strait should take a certain degree of responsibility, improve democratic awareness, internationalize their field of vision, and foster understanding in order create a key to future cross-strait relations.

A few days ago Lin gave a speech at Peking University under the invitation of professor Zheng Xueyi, director of the Peking University Continuing Education Department. After the lecture, he sat down with the Economic Observer for an interview.

The Economic Observer: You've mentioned that the youth on both sides of the straight are experiencing change. How will this influence future cross-strait relations??

Lin Yishi: I think it will be positive. The youth are more and more open, their burdens less and less. The limitations placed on them are also decreasing… With this, as the mainland develops its economy more, as there is more space for economic cooperation, I think that more youth will invest themselves. So in this way I think that we can expect progress [in the cross-strait relationship] for the future.

EO: In your speech you said you had strong feelings regarding the weakening of China's traditional influence over Taiwan. As China develops in the future, what role will China's traditional value systems, ethics, morals, and social norms play, and how will they influence cross-strait relations??

Lin: Cultural commonality is an extremely important element influencing the cross-strait relationship, as intrinsic cultural norms differentiate ethnic groups. Today, Chinese and Americans, Europeans and other East Asians—are different because Chinese traditional culture has been passed down [to modern generations], leading to the creation of a special Chinese quality. The mainland and Taiwan, although politically different, are culturally identical. They can never be separated naturally. So I've consistently held that the maintenance of this kind of traditional culture is an extremely important element of the cross-strait relationship. As long as we are growing with the same cultural backdrop, our relationship can be maintained. But if today there was some change in the value system, it would then be conceivable for a qualitative change to take place. So to this end I still think that our traditional culture should be staunchly protected.

EO: Do you think a qualitative change will occur??

Lin: Of course there's this danger, so we should work hard to reverse this trend. If we're fully aware that a crisis is occurring then we cannot turn a blind eye. For tradition, I believe what's most important is making the person and the family the most basic units. How to develop a society that puts an emphasis on one’s humanity and moral principles is a difference between Chinese and other ethnic groups. So I take changes in these morals and value systems very seriously, and worry about them.

EO: The crisis you mention possibly occurring in Taiwan-- what aspect would that be in??

Lin: the break up of the family unit into smaller units to the point where many people now don't even want to start their own small families. Traditional respect of the elderly and their teachings, the five cardinal Confucian relationships, filial piety, and good parenting, are all gradually being overlooked. Look at Taiwan’s constant family violence, with parents abusing their children and children bullying their parents. If these can't be solved with education or other hard work, it's a huge problem for the entire ethnic population.

EO: How do you interpret the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan's "De-sinicize, Indigenize" way of going about things??

Lin: Each ruler has the right to rule... [and] the right to take people down whatever road the see fit... But the core of the problem is that after you and I go "de-sinicize", what will we get after all? Don’t forget that everything the ruler does should be in order to protect the welfare of their citizens, and when the whole world is studying Chinese, why would we want to give it up?

Before, why did Taiwan want to study English? Because the US and UK and other English-speaking countries were the world's strongest, and in order to make money they studied English. Only in this way they could be competitive on the world stage. But now that everyone is learning Chinese, to tell people to not go and study Chinese, isn’t that contradictory?

Furthermore, while you’re “de-sinicizing” and “indigenizing”, what are you supposed study? I still don’t know. If you make Taiwanese students study more Taiwanese history than Chinese history, more Taiwanese geography than Chinese geography, fine. But what’s the curriculum going to be? If you haven't prepared a program and "indigenization" still doesn't have a concrete advocacy and foundation, then that isn't a direction. It's just a war of feelings. When a direction has obviously not emerged, and you’re simply rejecting certain views, you're not being constructive. You’re being deconstructive. That has no benefit for the people.

EO: Taiwan's democracy has been around for many years, and people have been targeting it with increasing criticism-- namely, that Taiwanese society is polarized, or that democracy has fractured society. How do you feel about this??

Lin: This is a process that will inevitably arise out of the growth of a democracy. But it's this generation of youth that should think of a way to break out of this. In reality, many other places have been hard pressed to avoid this. But after it does emerge, should we just ignore it? Should we intervene and willfully go and consolidate things? …The emergence of this kind of phenomenon is not strange, but how to pull out of it, this is something that we should be thinking about. While unavoidable, our democracy can finally become mature if we can get passed it. If not, things could revert back to a dictatorship. This is why I say that the question is what direction the youth go.

EO: You mentioned "pulling out" of these circumstances. How exactly do you think that should be done??

Lin: Of course, the most important thing is the resolution of conflict, and the ballots in peoples' hands. Why are things so polarized? There are some people who have the need to create conflict in order to get votes. If through conflict they can’t get those votes, then they won’t go and create conflict. So today, if you don’t vote for them then they won’t create conflict in the future. Of course, some people are still tricked, and because they haven’t experienced this kind of thing before they have a different perspective. But after these past few years of lessons, there should be a lot of people who've woken up. Now, when we disseminate information and persuade each other, it should be easier than before.

I think the ballot in the hands of the youth is what's most important. The old generation's model has already been set-- blue is blue, green is green. What is constantly changing is the ballot in the hands of the youth. If that ballot is cast, I think it would rectify what’s wrong today.

EO: How do you view the political situation in the run-up to the next election??

Lin: The youth still should maintain an optimistic attitude. The youth don't have the right to be pessimistic. If you think there will be no change in the 2008 election, that the result is inevitable, then I think Taiwan has no future. The youth must be optimistic. If you ask me, I'll tell you that things are going well but that we must work hard for it to stay that way. If we don't, things will worsen.

EO: As a vice-chairman of the Nationalist Party, what do you plan for the next year??

Lin: Of course, the most important thing is passing measures to make the youth come out and vote. This includes hosting all kinds of activities, forums, and other related publicity events. I want to use a kind of positive, optimistic attitude to persuade the youth.

This is an unavoidable phase for an immature democracy. During it, there will be political forces taking advantage of conflict between ethnic groups and different segments of society, creating antagonism, intensifying disputes, and sharpenening conflict in order to make political gains. Solving this lies with the youth, and they don't have the right to be pessimistic.