A few days ago, former Judicial Yuan president Shih Chi-yang (
In the face of the pan-blue camp's attempts to deprive the people of their right to vote in the country's first ever referendum, the pan-green camp has also brought together more than 800 legal experts to refute Shih's argument. This group believes the pan-blue camp's claims distort the current situation and ignore the threats posed by China's 500 or so missiles aimed at this country. Taiwan will not have the time to hold a referendum when a life-and-death threat arises. The Referendum Law would be useless at such a point.
The views of the pan-green's experts are valid. After all, the Democratic Progressive Party government has only been in power for less than four years after 40 years of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule. The thorny problems left behind by the old regime, such as its illegally gained assets, the size of the legislature, changing electoral constituencies and the establishment of a double ballot system as well as the creation of a new constitution compatible with the nation's democratic development, all need to be determined via referendums.
Referendums are an expression of the people's power. They also guarantee that this nation's democratic development will be regulated by law. Therefore, the sooner the referendum is held, the earlier the nation's democracy will be deepened.
Taiwan remains under military threat from China. Beijing's missiles are real and so is the threat they pose, as shown by the 1996 missile crisis. At the same time, Taiwan's international space remains limited by China. Fewer than 30 countries recognize Taiwan's sovereign status. Isn't the situation serious enough to merit a referendum?
Taiwan must make its voice heard in the international community and express its people's opposition to China's missile threat and their love for peace. With all the attention focused on the presidential election, it is certainly worthwhile to use this time to make the nation's voice heard in the international community.
The enthusiasm displayed during the hand-in-hand rally on Feb. 28 was proof that public opinion is tilting toward the exercise of referendum rights and saying a loud no to China's military threat. This popular sentiment is a power that any future government must heed. The pan-blue camp should take note of public opinion and try to win the approval of voters by siding with the people of this country and not the leadership in Beijing. They should spend more time explaining China's oppressive acts to the international community instead of blindly echoing Beijing's condemnation of the referendum and trying to disrupt the balloting. The pan-blue camp has just a few days left to try to persuade voters that they have this nation's best interests at heart -- not their own.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS