While the violence of the pan-blue rent-a-mob outside the Presidential Office on Saturday night and in the small hours of yesterday morning can only be deplored in the strongest terms, it might in the end have done Taiwan a favor. For it has made it absolutely plain, even to the greatest skeptic, who in Taiwan represents the stability that is necessary for Taiwan's continued prosperity and who represents mob rule, violence and gangsterism.
Of the people arrested Saturday night, half were found to have criminal records concerning involvement with Mainlander-run organized-crime gangs the Bamboo Union and Four Seas Gang. These are the kind of people that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Perhaps we might be glad they have lowered their sights. After all, in the immediate aftermath of the election results the pan-blue leaders made a vigorous attempt to entice members of the armed forces to launch a military coup d'etat in the name of "defending democracy." To the military's credit, it no longer sees itself as the private army of the KMT and Lien and Soong were snubbed. Just as importantly, the message from Washington following the promulgation of the election result contained a stern reminder aimed at the pan-blues that any attempt to go outside the law to solve election disputes would not be tolerated. This punctured the more wildly ambitious plans of the election losers to regain power. Since then they have been confined to ruining the weekends of members of the Taipei City police force with demands that are barely coherent.
First they wanted a recount and foreign investigators brought into the inquiry into the shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (
One aspect of Saturday's events is easily overlooked, namely, what the protesters sought. Answer: the trashing of the Constitution. That is not what they wrote on their placards; there they demanded a legislative committee to investigate the shooting. But the shooting is a criminal case and falls under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Yuan. Now the pan-blues suggest having a referendum on the issue, despite the fact that no referendum result can be valid if it conflicts with the Constitution.
Mob rule, the junking of the Constitution when it doesn't serve their ends, contempt for the legal system, obstruction of the very tasks they have demanded be undertaken, contempt for Taiwan's international reputation and indifference to the very real negative economic consequences of the anarchy they are promoting -- this is what the pan-blues stand for. The irony is that they ran their election campaign on the theme of being able to provide stability and prosperity. It has become obvious now who cares about and can provide stability. Let us hope therefore for an overwhelming pan-green victory in December.
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
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
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS