In light of the social confrontation following the presidential election, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (
Shen's remarks against the DPP have brought criticism not only from the party but also from former president Lee Teng-hui (
Shen's specious remarks have been interpreted as an attempt to curry favor with pro-blue voters in Taipei, so as to pave the way for a bid in the 2006 Taipei mayoral election. An even bigger mistake was the failure to see political realities and to wrongly link loving Taiwan to ethnicity. Who says that loving Taiwan is the preserve of any one ethnic group?
The DPP's traditional supporters are Hoklo -- descendants of immigrants from the southern region of China's Fujian Province, also known as Minnan. There is a clear distinction between the Hakka and the indigenous peoples here on the one hand and the Hoklo on the other, due to their historical conflicts in the early phase of Taiwan's development. Hence, Chinese leaders have always cooperated with the Hakka whenever the Hoklo started a rebellion. The Qing government even granted the title of "loyal citizens" to the Hakka who sacrificed themselves during fights with the Hoklo.
The reason why indigenous peoples feel they have been unfairly treated by the Hoklo is that throughout history, their land has been exploited by the Hoklo, Taiwan's largest ethnic group . This was well understood by the KMT government. When it moved to Taiwan in 1949 and was faced with the Hoklo group, which made up 70 percent of the local population, they made it their strategy to promote people of Hakka descent, secure the support of indigenuous peoples and isolate the Hoklo. The Hakka and the indigenuous peoples thus became part of the KMT's traditional support base.
Taiwanese politics are still troubled by the ethnicity issue. Fortunately, during the recent presidential election, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) nurtured an emerging but still weak Taiwanese national consciuousness in order to oppose China's missile deployment and pro-China politicians in Taiwan. He promoted love for Taiwan and broke down ethnic barriers, thereby gaining more support from the Hakka community.
If we want to thoroughly break the curse of ethnicity and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) strategy of isolating the Hoklo, we need an ethnicity-transcending political platform and mind-set. Only by uniting under the banner of national consciousness can we become one instead of fragmenting into different ethnic groups. The most powerful slogan for crossing the ethnic divide is "Love Taiwan."
But if we believe that loving Taiwan is the preserve of the DPP, which uses it to manipulate ethnic groups, doesn't that mean that no ethnic group but the Hoklo loves Taiwan? Shen is wrong. The Hoklo can indeed love Taiwan, but Mainlander descendants are of course also capable of loving Taiwan. And they should.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then