Three days from now, voters will be making a choice between the ticket of President Chen Shui-bian (
But the significance of this time's vote goes beyond choosing the country's leadership for the next four years.
In light of the differences between the China policies of Chen and Lien, Saturday's vote will determine the nation's future relations with China. It will determine whether Taiwan will leave China's shadow behind and walk its own path, or whether walk backwards to past KMT rule -- and have its Taiwanese awareness suppressed by the pan-blue camp and accept Beijing's manipulation.
The DPP's campaign headquarters also has decided to focus the final days of the campaign on Taiwanese awareness and opposition to "black gold" politics.
Lien and Soong prostrated and kissed the ground last Saturday in an attempt to prove their love for Taiwan and win over the hearts of middle-of-the-road voters. But their pretension was hardly convincing. In its editorial yesterday, the Chinese-language Liberty Times [the Taipei Times' sister paper] minced no words about Lien and Soong's behavior. The editorial asked whether the two men kissed the land of Taiwan, or did they kiss the land of a province of China? Would a politician ever need to kneel down and kiss the ground to show his love for Taiwan if he or she has fought for the construction of Taiwanese awareness, or if he or she has taken to the streets to join hands with others in protest against Chinese missiles?
After 2 million people took to the streets to say no to China on Feb. 28, the KMT-PFP camp immediately began organizing rallies for last Saturday in an attempt to kiss up to China. The message that the pan-blue camp sent to Beijing was: "Master, you need not worry that the Taiwanese people may resist you. Look, we have more people loyal to China. We can show them what we are made of." So they prostrated themselves and kissed the land of Taiwan Province, China; they have always viewed this nation that way.
In another sign of apparent desperation, fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (
Another dubious character who has popped up to back the pan-blue ticket is Chu An-hsiung (
Saturday's election comes down to the choice between a vote for a future for Taiwan or a vote for the past.
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for
RSS