Zhao Ziyang (
If the Chinese leadership had taken Zhao's advice to adopt a liberal approach in dealing with the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the military would not have trampled over the protesters and China would not have faced an international boycott that hindered its economic development. Moreover, economic reform would have progressed hand-in-hand with political liberalization and the rift across the Taiwan Strait would not be so great. It is even possible that a stable cross-strait security structure would have been developed by now, rather than the two sides of the Strait eyeing each other with armed hostility.
Zhao had been expected to succeed Deng Xiaoping (
Zhao was the party secretary-general for just two years but he pioneered market reforms. During the Tiananmen Incident, he called for things to be dealt with through democratic and judicial means, thereby making a great contribution to his country. The Chinese leadership, however, have relegated Zhao and Hu Yaobang (
Today, China's economic and military might cannot be ignored. Although President Hu Jintao (
Democratic reform in China has stalled for 15 years since Zhao lost power. Although when Hu was preparing to take over the reins of power, he proposed reforms that might have moved the country closer to the rule of law, but these have since disappeared without trace. Last September, during the fourth plenary session of the 16th CCP Central Committee, Hu Jintao criticized former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev for his efforts at political liberalization and recommended adopting the methods of North Korea for the control of democratic sentiment and public opinion. He also called for the drawing up of an anti-secession bill as a weapon to be used against Taiwan.
As a leader of a regional power, Hu Jintao must learn that economic development and democratic reform are the wings of national development. The strength of both wings must be similar if development is to continue over the long term. Beijing can resist the calls of the public in the short term, but cannot ignore them indefinitely. To establish the foundation of long-term growth, to create cross-strait peace and international stability, Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jaibao (
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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