The presidential election is over, but political clouds hover over the country. The stock market has slumped as supporters of the pan-blue camp continue protesting. Anxiety is etched on the faces of many. And all this has pointlessly come about because the losing team will not accept the results of a democratic process.
Perhaps Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
But more sober observers have questions that demand answers: Why have they brought their supporters out onto the streets? Their demands -- a recount of the ballots and an investigation into Friday's shooting -- are already being carried out by the judiciary and the police anyway. And why are they continuing to stir up the emotions of these crowds? Does it befit a would-be leader to fight to the bitter end and force the entire country to pay a painful price for it?
This is not just a matter of unstable people in pan-blue crowds. Lien and Soong are trying to divert the frustrations of their supporters to protect their political careers from slipping into oblivion. They are trying to avoid a repeat of the election aftermath in 2000, in which former president Lee Teng-hui (
Public servants who campaigned for the pan-blue camp must also save face, while those aiming to run in the legislative elections at the end of the year must use this opportunity to fortify support bases. And so, they are taking to the streets in an all-out struggle to save their political lives. For them, the legislative election campaign has begun, long before the dust from the presidential election can settle.
Four years ago, President Chen Shui-bian (
The fuss over this election has taken a terrible toll on the reputation of politicians, significantly affected the lives of ordinary people and caused considerable concern among business and religious groups. This raises several worrying questions about unity and harmony within the nation. In light of this, Lien and Soong should respect the wish of all people for stability, put their trust in the legal system and cease fueling public protests.
Chen should continue to play down his victory and work towards securing harmonious relations between the political parties. The end of the election should be accompanied by an end to the bitterness that is injuring all of us.
US$18.278 billion is a simple dollar figure; one that’s illustrative of the first Trump administration’s defense commitment to Taiwan. But what does Donald Trump care for money? During President Trump’s first term, the US defense department approved gross sales of “defense articles and services” to Taiwan of over US$18 billion. In September, the US-Taiwan Business Council compared Trump’s figure to the other four presidential administrations since 1993: President Clinton approved a total of US$8.702 billion from 1993 through 2000. President George W. Bush approved US$15.614 billion in eight years. This total would have been significantly greater had Taiwan’s Kuomintang-controlled Legislative Yuan been cooperative. During
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in recent days was the focus of the media due to his role in arranging a Chinese “student” group to visit Taiwan. While his team defends the visit as friendly, civilized and apolitical, the general impression is that it was a political stunt orchestrated as part of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda, as its members were mainly young communists or university graduates who speak of a future of a unified country. While Ma lived in Taiwan almost his entire life — except during his early childhood in Hong Kong and student years in the US —
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on Monday unilaterally passed a preliminary review of proposed amendments to the Public Officers Election and Recall Act (公職人員選罷法) in just one minute, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, government officials and the media were locked out. The hasty and discourteous move — the doors of the Internal Administration Committee chamber were locked and sealed with plastic wrap before the preliminary review meeting began — was a great setback for Taiwan’s democracy. Without any legislative discussion or public witnesses, KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), the committee’s convener, began the meeting at 9am and announced passage of the
In response to a failure to understand the “good intentions” behind the use of the term “motherland,” a professor from China’s Fudan University recklessly claimed that Taiwan used to be a colony, so all it needs is a “good beating.” Such logic is risible. The Central Plains people in China were once colonized by the Mongolians, the Manchus and other foreign peoples — does that mean they also deserve a “good beating?” According to the professor, having been ruled by the Cheng Dynasty — named after its founder, Ming-loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功, also known as Koxinga) — as the Kingdom of Tungning,
RSS