Twenty-five years ago, a group of death-defying tang-wai (outside the party) democracy activists organized a large demonstration in Kaohsiung City to call for democracy and freedom in Taiwan and demand that the government end martial law, lift the ban on establishing new newspapers, end the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (動員戡亂時期臨時條款) and allow a comprehensive re-election of the legislature. Treating the demonstration as a riot, the government suppressed it and sent many of the participants to prison. It became a turning point for democracy in Taiwan -- the Kaohsiung Incident.
Today, 25 years later, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has returned to the site to hold another demonstration. The past democratic demands have now been implemented, making up the backbone of Taiwan's legal and political system. The tang-wai group founded the DPP and has now moved into government, and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) -- at the time one of the defense lawyers for the participants in the demonstration -- has become president. The persecutor, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), has splintered into the KMT, the People First Party (PFP), and the New Party and moved into opposition.
Has the passage of time brought full social justice? No. The KMT is still sitting on over NT$10 billion in party assets resulting from the party's past direct access to the national treasury, and it is still in possession of many media outlets and several enterprises that enjoy special privileges. Lien Chan (
Today, while standing in front of the ballot box, block out the noise of campaigns. Ignore the various deceptive statistics, vote allocation, and the dump-save strategy. Ignore the politician's tricks of "weeping, kneeling and buying votes," and think about which of the politicians in your district has stood out. Whose face do you remember? Whose political background and policy proposals have touched your heart? If you do not have a candidate in mind, then carefully consider the path traveled by democracy in Taiwan, the development of human rights, the contributions of the DPP and the role played by the KMT.
Think about how your life has been in recent years. If it hasn't matched your expectations, is this because the government hasn't worked hard enough on your behalf? Or is it because of obstruction of the government's policies, which has made progress very difficult? In the future, do you want a government that can really rule, or do you want a continuation of a situation in which the government is blocked by a powerful opposition? Do you want a future in which Taiwan consciousness will be emphasized? Or do you want to see Taiwan more and more reliant on China?
The answer should be clear. Taiwan needs a government that is in step with the wishes of the people, that is both efficient and has clear lines of accountability. If this is what we want, then give the green camp a clear majority.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
During the “426 rally” organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party under the slogan “fight green communism, resist dictatorship,” leaders from the two opposition parties framed it as a battle against an allegedly authoritarian administration led by President William Lai (賴清德). While criticism of the government can be a healthy expression of a vibrant, pluralistic society, and protests are quite common in Taiwan, the discourse of the 426 rally nonetheless betrayed troubling signs of collective amnesia. Specifically, the KMT, which imposed 38 years of martial law in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, has never fully faced its
RSS