After the demonstration on Saturday in support of the commonsense move to change Taiwan's name to, well, Taiwan, pro-China so-called experts were quick to claim that the turnout for the rally marked some kind of maximum mobilization support for the pro-independence camp. This was of course ludicrous, as if pro-independence supporters numbered only the 150,000 who turned out on Saturday. Since we are not as stupid as these "experts" we will not suggest that the 7,000 who turned out yesterday exhausted the support for reunification and the maintenance of the absurd "Republic of China" title. We will, however, note, with thanks to the rally's organizers, that the two rallies appear to demonstrate that people having pro-Taiwan nationalist sentiments outnumber the pro-China reunificationists by 20 to one. Hoist by their own petard, the reunificationists have demonstrated by this show of weakness the size of the mandate for change in Taiwan. Thanks.
Saturday also saw the KMT formally endorse the pan-blue joint presidential election ticket. And this raises an issue of how seriously the DPP wants to win next year's election and to what degree it is prepared to use the flaws in Taiwan's legal and constitutional framework to get what it wants. For it should be remembered that at present it is not legal to field an election ticket with candidates from different parties. "Why on earth not?" ask civil libertarians. "Who cares?" we answer; the reason for this bizarre rule is lost in the history of KMT one-party hegemony. The point is that the pan-blue camp is relying on the law being changed.
Currently the necessary amendment to the Presidential Election and Recall Law is crawling through the legislature and there is little doubt that the blue camp, with its control of that body, will make sure that it is passed in time. But passage of a law does not guarantee it will be enacted. A law passed by the legislature can always be vetoed by the Cabinet. Such a veto can be overturned, but this requires the support of two thirds of the Legislative Yuan, a majority that the pan-blues cannot muster.
It thus lies in the power of the government to stop the pan-blue ticket in its tracks. We advise that they do so. This will not mean that the Lien-Soong pairing cannot run. But it would necessitate that the PFP and the KMT recombine into one party. This is something that the KMT is particularly unwilling to do. Having suffered a severe truncation of its wealth since it lost power and thus the ability to shamelessly manipulate the stock market, the last thing the KMT wants is to let the PFP's kleptomaniacs anywhere near its assets. We say tough luck, there's no honor amongst thieves.
We also say that the DPP should stop fantasizing about getting some KMT big shot -- they have their eye on party vice chairman Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) -- onto its own joint ticket. There is plenty of talent in the DPP to provide a capable vice presidential candidate should a change be needed. But when such a perfect opportunity for throwing a spanner in the works of the blue-camp campaign presents itself, the DPP should use it.
There will be the usual hypocritical squawks from the blue camp about undemocratic behavior. The answer to this is that the DPP legislative program for the past three years has centered on a number of issues that almost everyone in Taiwan wants, such as greater social welfare provision, legislation against corruption and the referendum law, and which the blue camp has shamelessly blocked out of pure self interest. Time for the blue camp to learn that others can act out of self interest too. And if this can derail the pan-blue election campaign, a victory for which would mean the end of Taiwan as we know it, it is in all our interests.
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to