The two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairmen who are regarded as the most likely successors of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
People should realize that the committee members are "old thieves" (
It is therefore not surprising that 22 members of the Central Standing Committee petitioned Lien to remain as chairman for another term. Their first consideration is not the party's best interests, but rather their own. And Lien is also reluctant to step down. So, from a comfortable position of power, they are able to put down Ma -- the upstart who wants to win the chairmanship for himself.
This situation is typical of a Leninist party such as the KMT. Lien has yet to state his intentions, and is clearly assessing public opinion. The chairman, who holds a PhD in political science from the prestigious University of Chicago, has failed to carry the torch of democracy in Taiwan, but instead has become a bastion of reaction, desperately upholding the authoritarian legacy of Chiang Kai-shek (
This is an ideal time to conduct a comparative study of the DPP and the KMT. Neither party has changed much over the years. The KMT's authoritarian tradition is unshaken, and the DPP, while opinionated and feisty, suffers from a fondness for political infighting. Most recently, in the run up to the May 14 National Assembly elections, many DPP members lambasted Chen's moderate policy in his recent dealings with China.
Criticism of Chen has abated since the DPP won the elections. But despite the drubbing he got at the hands of party members, he has little choice but to show them goodwill.
The two parties' political culture is a reflection of the divergent cultures of Taiwan and China. The KMT, which came out of China, maintains a culture of intrigue and secrecy, while the DPP has a spirit fortified by the grassroots vigor of Taiwan's emergent democracy. It will hardly matter whether Ma or Wang takes over, if the KMT does not undergo thorough reform. If they are unable to overcome the party's authoritarian culture, the KMT will continue in its rut.
But the most urgent question now is: Will Lien retire or not? The party's rank and file can't take much more. After Lin Chin-chuan (
Whether Lien will contest the election or not is an internal matter for the KMT. What we are concerned about more is: How can a political party without a democratic culture effectively engage with China -- and how can it represent the people of Taiwan?
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017