The swearing in of a new president is a national ceremony that should be wreathed in joy, but on the eve of the May 20 inauguration ceremony, the nation is filled with doubt and unease. Although President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) won with a minuscule margin, the announcement by the Central Election Commission was followed by the pan-blue alliance filing several lawsuits in an attempt to reverse the situation through judicial means. If the recount verifies the election of Chen, the legitimacy of his victory can no longer be questioned.
We have seen, however, several worrying signals, including the formation of a revolutionary group publicly calling for the murder of both former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen, rumors that remotely controlled model planes will break through security arrangements around the Presidential Office and bring destruction, warnings to foreign ambassadors to stay away from the ceremony and pan-blue suppporters saying that they will attack pan-green supporters. As a result, the political situation continues to be unstable.
The problem is not, in fact, that the election result was so close. The real problem is the lack of faith in democracy and distrust of the nation's legal system. The pan-blues, not wanting to concede the election, have instigated street demonstrations, filed lawsuits and tried to overturn the election results through extra-legal means.
Blue-camp politicians and media have also made constant provocations to stir up public dissatisfaction with the president. This confused some radicals to the point where they say they are willing to assassinate the president and "die a martyr's death" if necessary. Not only have the blue camp's unlimited protests endangered core democratic values, but they have also generated an outrageous idea among its supporters, who would rather destroy both their enemies and themselves than concede defeat.
The Taiwan High Court's recount of the ballots will begin on Monday. But the blue camp has never promised to accept the results, because the recount is merely an excuse. If they lose the recount, they will only have lost one lawsuit invalidating Chen's election. They can still continue their second lawsuit to have the whole election invalidated and try to launch constant public protests until the year-end legislative election. This is certainly in the interest of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜). Perhaps such a ploy is also beneficial to the PFP, but it's not necessarily good for the KMT. For Taiwan, it means that almost a full, precious year will be wasted, as everything will go up in smoke in the political war of words. Taiwan's international image and democracy will be damaged. It will even give China a good excuse to not respect Taiwan's democracy, not strengthen Hong Kong's democracy and not tolerate domestic democracy. For the sake of Taiwan's future, let the election dispute end with the judicial recount.
The inauguration will get the attention of the international community. Thousands of citizens, heads of state, and VIP guests will attend the ceremony. If anyone attempts to create commotion and ruin the ceremony, Chen and Lu will not be the only ones insulted -- all of Taiwan will be tarnished. If politicians or parties fail to understand the overall picture and ignore the national interest, they will be despised by the majority of people.
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to