Hsieh, the underdog in this week's presidential election, has made the KMT's lopsided majority in the Legislature one of his three major campaign issues against rival Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT. The other two are: 1) the KMT's "one China market" policy, and 2) the trespassing into his campaign headquarters by four KMT lawmakers, an incident his campaign has likened to Watergate.

Why yidang duda can become a campaign issue? Hsieh argues that a KMT-dominated parliament must be checked by a DPP presidency that controls the Executive Yuan. It is "too dangerous" to let the KMT control both the executive and legislative branches of the government, he warned. He called on voters to elect him president to provide checks and balances.

Few can see any logic in Hsieh's argument, which is specious at best and deceptive at worst. This is because the maligned yidang duda is in fact the mandate of the people, who were disappointed and disenchanted by the DPP's corruption and inept rule. Hsieh should blame his own party for making the KMT yidang duda. Or, he should blame the voters for deserting the DPP.

Just because the KMT is in firm control of the Legislative Yuan should by no means become the rationale for giving the DPP the presidency, for the sake of checks and balances. The presidency must be earned from the people. Unfortunately, the DPP's eight years in power have left nothing to the people except misery. The once-famous Taiwan miracle is gone, and the former top Asian Tiger is lagging behind its peers.

It must be pointed out that there is nothing wrong with yidang duda. It should not become a campaign issue in the first place. Look at Singapore, now the leader of the four Asian Tigers. Singapore's ruling People Action Party controls 82 seats of its 84-member legislature. Singapore's voters trust the PAP and give it the mandate to rule the city state continuously since its independence. The PAP is truly yidang duda. So what? Singapore is affluent, prosperous and a leader in global competitiveness.

The argument that the yidang duda is dangerous is a fallacy. It spreads unfounded fears to hoodwink gullible voters. Fear-mongering, after all, is a major election tactic employed by the DPP. The fact is, a dominant KMT that controls both the Legislative Yuan and Executive Yuan is a boon for Taiwan because of enhanced legislative efficiency.Examples abound in history. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was U.S. president from 1933 to 1945, his Democratic Party was yidang duda, dominating both houses of Congress. FDR is one of the greatest American presidents in history. He rescued the country from the Great Depression with his New Deal and made the U.S. a world power. He led the Allies to winning WWII. Roosevelt made America great, thanks in part to the dominance of his Democratic Party.

In most Western countries that adopt the British system of government, the legislative and executive branches are always controlled by the ruling party. The head of government is the leader of the party that wins parliamentary elections. The DPP's argument about balance of power just doesn't hold water. When people cast their vote, their major concern is to elect a government that works and delivers, that makes their lives easier and better. Those candidates who failed the voters' expectations will be punished at the polls. In Canada's 1993 federal elections, for instance, the ruling Tories headed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney won only two seats in the 295-member House of Commons. Voters were ruthless when they settled scores with politicians at the polls. Taiwan's Jan. 12 legislative election was also an example.

Looking at Taiwan's history over the past six decade, its heydays were in the 70s and 80s, and the early 90s, when the KMT was the single dominating party whose lawmakers worked in tandem with the executive branch to facilitate Taiwan's economic development and infrastructural buildup. In these good old days, the economy grew at an explosive speed, averaging 10 percent per annum, making the erstwhile economic backwater and economic showcase and the envy of the developing world.

So, what's wrong with yidang duda? Nothing, as far as the KMT is concerned. It is a boon for the country, not a bane. Now, on the eve of the election, many voters are poised to give the KMT a new mandate -- to make Taiwan great again by reviving its sputtering economy giving the 23 million people a new hope for a better life. No wonder the DPP, and Hsieh in particular, is nervous and desperate. They know their days are numbered and must launch an all-out attack on yidang duda, hoping to garner some votes with a fallacious, misleading message.