US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in an interview on Tuesday that a declaration of war in defense of Taiwan is a decision that can only be made by Congress. All Armitage's remarks imply is that the US is a country in which the rule of law is practiced -- really nothing new. His remark about Taiwan being a landmine was more controversial. What he likely meant is that the Taiwan issue is so thorny that it might lead to friction between the US and China, and could become explosive if not carefully handled. This is hardly new either. If this is not what he meant, hopefully he can clarify his meaning more fully to prevent a misunderstanding.
The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) immediate reaction to Armitage's remarks was to speak for the US by interpreting them as a warning that the US would be unlikely to commit forces in the event of war. The KMT's behavior is incomprehensible; on the one hand it says the US will not defend Taiwan, yet on the other, it blocked the military procurement budget that Taiwan needs to defend itself. Such behavior indicates the KMT is deliberately retarding Taiwan's military strength.
Ever since the KMT lost the 2000 presidential election, the party has spoken for other countries as if it were a political prophet. It spoke for China and claimed that Beijing was likely to attack, and spoke for the US, saying that Washington was unlikely to send its troops to assist Taiwan in the event of war. Of course, we understand that the KMT has no cards to play anymore.
On the other hand, Taiwan has maintained its national competitiveness since the DPP came to power, and since the beginning of the year, the economy has also made a comeback. Ironically, the only problem domestically is that the legislature may continue to stagnate after the blue camp won a majority in the legislative elections.
While hampering the government, the KMT is also acting as Beijing's mouthpiece, manipulating the public by fostering fears of war. How can the people of Taiwan tolerate this party which has degenerated from a powerful authoritarian organization into a group of craven weasels, who can do no more than hamper the work of government?
Unless the KMT becomes a normal political party, Taiwan will find it impossible to become a normal country under the combined assaults from it and China, and the US hope that Taiwan will increase its self-defense capability will not be realized.
The worst-case scenario is that the KMT will succeed in unilaterally disarming Taiwan, so that when the massive Chinese military makes its move, the US will face a dilemma as to how to respond militarily. If it mobilizes its forces, the cost is likely to be high; but if it doesn't, it will witness Taiwan being swallowed up by a totalitarian beast. Is this what the US really wants?
If it isn't, then the US, in formulating its policy to aid the defense of Taiwan, must also consider the KMT's "China complex," and avoid allowing it to become a weak link in the defense of the Taiwan Strait.
It is encouraging that military officers will now be posted at the American Institute in Taiwan, and that a security mechanism for the Taiwan Strait has been activated. The US Congress should also amend the Taiwan Relations Act to make it more consistent with the spirit and condition of the times, and block any rash actions by China to annex Taiwan.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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