The opposition camp often jeers at President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), saying that he looks more like a presidential candidate than a president, given that he so frequently bases his decisions on considerations for the next election. However, this is really a matter of the pot calling the kettle black, since the opposition has long since started campaigning for the presidential election.
The kneeling act of PFP chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) during Taipei's mayoral election campaign stirred a great deal of conjecture. Observers have good reason to believe that Soong's act was meant to give the KMT some face and appease Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) -- whose popularity appears to be soaring -- in the hope that Ma might not compete against him for the top job in 2004.
Even though KMT-PFP cooperation has become the pan-blue camp's key note in the run-up to 2004, the question of who will run for president has caused much consternation in the KMT. The endless backroom maneuvers and rumors coming from the party's aristocrats now make for the most intriguing show in Taiwan's political arena.
First came former Kaohsiung mayor and ex-KMT legislator Wu Den-yih
Recently, KMT Legislator John Chang
It is no wonder that, during a speech last weekend, former president Lee Teng-hui
One after another, these middle-aged politicians have denied they have any presidential ambitions. We do not know whether these rumors were part of party chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) pre-emptive strategy for subduing potential rivals, or whether any KMT politicians of a younger generation are in fact quietly building the momentum for a presidential ticket.
The dark maneuvers in the KMT also remind one of what happened within the DPP in the run-up to the 2000 election. Former party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang
In his pursuit of the presidential dream, Hsu ran as an independent candidate and did not hesitate to team up with then New Party Legislator Josephine Chu (朱惠良), so as to seek the support of his erstwhile opponents in the New Party.
That the presidential ambitions of a politician could cause a DPP man -- one who had advocated Taiwan's independence for all those years -- to make such an about face overnight and make friends with the New Party, makes a big joke of all he had stood for.
This makes one wonder whether there is anything more worthy of pursuit in Taiwan's political arena than becoming president. Politicians motivated by their own personal ambitions instead of the people's welfare will be dumped by voters. The 2004 election will attest to that.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
On April 19, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave a public speech, his first in about 17 years. During the address at the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei, Chen’s words were vague and his tone was sour. He said that democracy should not be used as an echo chamber for a single politician, that people must be tolerant of other views, that the president should not act as a dictator and that the judiciary should not get involved in politics. He then went on to say that others with different opinions should not be criticized as “XX fellow travelers,” in reference to
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