Amid what many see as dim prospects for change, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung
Both the timing and the changes made have been quite outside the premier's control. President Chen Shui-bian's
Chang had his own plans, based on the professional skills, performance, popularity ratings and coordination abilities of his Cabinet members. But the reshuffle list obviously has nothing to do with Chang's plan. It tells us nothing about the Cabinet's policy direction. Both Chen and Chang view the economy as crucial, but the premier has not been able to replace any of the economic and financial chiefs because the Presidential Office wouldn't approve such changes. Meanwhile, looking at the profile of the the new Cabinet members leaves us with no clearer idea of the government's policy direction.
If the reshuffle was meant to improve accountability, there is no sign of it. According to Chen, the most inefficient ministry was the transportation ministry. But Yen has retained her job, despite volunteering to go. Instead, EPA chief Lin Chun-yi
If the change was meant to improve consensus within the Cabinet, it will have exactly the opposite effect. Outgoing AEC Chairman Hsia Der-yu
Also, Hau's appointment will not promote harmony between political parties because the New Party will not change its policies just because Hau is now a Cabinet member. That opposition parties do not moderate their behavior when their own are drafted into the Cabinet was quite adequately demonstrated by the melancholy precedent of Tang Fei
The shuffle is perhaps best interpreted as a feeble attempt at crisis management. But this time the crisis is the lack of direction in the DPP government. Like a boat adrift at sea, Taiwan politics is moving beyond the control of the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and the DPP. The boat's passengers can be thankful that they have only encountered small squalls so far. They can only pray that they are not hit with a real typhoon.
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) earlier this month said it is necessary for her to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and it would be a “huge boost” to the party’s local election results in November, but many KMT members have expressed different opinions, indicating a struggle between different groups in the party. Since Cheng was elected as party chairwoman in October last year, she has repeatedly expressed support for increased exchanges with China, saying that it would bring peace and prosperity to Taiwan, and that a meeting with Xi in Beijing takes priority over meeting
The political order of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) first took shape in 1988. Then-vice president Lee succeeded former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) after he passed, and served out the remainder of his term in office. In 1990, Lee was elected president by the National Assembly, and in 1996, he won Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. Those two, six and four-year terms were an era-defining 12-year presidential tenure. Throughout those years, Lee served as helmsman for Taiwan’s transition from martial law and authoritarianism to democracy. This period came to be known as the “quiet revolution,” leaving a legacy containing light
Gulf states did not ask the US to go to war with Iran, but many are now urging it not to stop short by leaving the Islamic Republic still able to threaten the Gulf’s oil lifeline and the economies that depend on it, three Gulf sources said. At the same time, these sources, and five Western and Arab diplomats said Washington was pressing Gulf states to join the US-Israeli war. According to three of them, US President Donald Trump wants to show regional backing for the campaign to bolster its international legitimacy as well as support at home. “There is a wide
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