If the pan-blue zealots are going to continue to accuse President Chen Shui-bian (
If the pan-blues are going to vaguely accuse Chen of "dirty tricks" and "betraying democracy," I would like to point out that most of my Taiwanese friends have in fact witnessed vote-buying in this election. I have heard of NT$500 gifts for attending Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rallies, offers of free food for KMT votes -- and one friend, who was a pan-blue supporter, explaining how shocked she was when a KMT representative arrived at her company to deliver NT$120,000 to the general manager, money explicitly in exchange for votes.
No wonder KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
I don't need to back up my claims, so I will continue.
The second part of my conspiracy theory is simply that Lien and Soong are trying to ride the collapsing crest of a coup attempt. Had they managed to sustain chaos in the streets and retained their moderate supporters, they seem to have been hoping for a "people's coup," while they waited in the wings to "restore order" by popular demand in the stead of a weakened president, thus saving the country. This would explain Lien and Soong's changing demands and accusations as well as the mixed messages coming from the thuggish legislators on the street. If they can fan the flames the fire may spread.
They may also be jealous of Chen's clean image and after four years of looking for scandal behind every corner, the pan-blues could not wait for Chen any longer.
Although my conspiracies are not as elaborate or dramatic as those proposed by Lien and Soong, they may be more plausible. After seeing how willingly some voters believe everything they hear, I know a bridge in Pingtung that's for sale.
A.D. Kerslake
Seattle, Washington
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