In an interview Sunday, President Chen Shui-bian (
China believes that the attempt to abolish the assembly and write referendums into the Constitution are part of a plot to achieve de jure independence. It hopes Washington and Taiwan's opposition parties can stop the elections. Through its invitations to opposition leaders, Beijing has them to oppose Taiwan's official policies and foment political chaos. At the same time, it is also trying to influence Taiwan's domestic affairs through international pressure. The use of this two-pronged strategy cannot be overlooked.
In inviting both Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
There is also a rift between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union due to Chen's flipflops in China policy and the DPP's stance on single-district, two-ballot electoral system. Opinion polls show a sharp decline in the DPP's popularity, creating a grave political crisis.
This crisis is the direct result of Chen's failure to maintain a clear line regarding "Taiwan awareness." He broke his campaign promise about changing the nation's name and drafting a new constitution, thereby splitting the green camp. His repeated U-turns on policy have left DPP members at a loss. This has led to internal pressure that could split the party. Chen must take the political responsibility for this.
In a bid to salvage the DPP's chances in Saturday's elections, Chen has been trying to clarify his positions -- even while making yet another U-turn to condemn both Lien and Soong. Whether his efforts at this late date will be enough to help the pan-greens overcome the pan-blue camp and their substantial relations with Beijing is anyone's guess.
Although the DPP and the TSU are divided over "single-member districts," they agree upon the need to abolish the National Assembly, the inclusion of the right of referendum in the Constitution and other major issues. This is relevant to Taiwan's constitutional development. Beijing is greatly concerned over the assembly elections and is using its considerable influence to affect it, so Taiwan's politicians must be wary of China's tricks.
After Chen has rallied his DPP colleagues, the party should engage in high level dialogue with the TSU and bring an end to its current self-destructive conflict. At all costs they must avoid letting constitutional reform collapse in the final stretch.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
Within Taiwan’s education system exists a long-standing and deep-rooted culture of falsification. In the past month, a large number of “ghost signatures” — signatures using the names of deceased people — appeared on recall petitions submitted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) against Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶). An investigation revealed a high degree of overlap between the deceased signatories and the KMT’s membership roster. It also showed that documents had been forged. However, that culture of cheating and fabrication did not just appear out of thin air — it is linked to the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
On April 19, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave a public speech, his first in about 17 years. During the address at the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei, Chen’s words were vague and his tone was sour. He said that democracy should not be used as an echo chamber for a single politician, that people must be tolerant of other views, that the president should not act as a dictator and that the judiciary should not get involved in politics. He then went on to say that others with different opinions should not be criticized as “XX fellow travelers,” in reference to
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