With an outstanding record as Kaohsiung mayor, Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh's minority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government in Kaohsiung City had itself encountered relentless acts of obstruction and boycotts in the city council.
Hsieh adopted a low-key approach and quietly negotiated with the opposition parties. In doing so, Hsieh gradually won over the support of city councilors regardless of affiliation. Hsieh's achievements in Kaohsiung have been impressive, earning him solid support in that electorate, support which should transfer to the national stage.
Chen has stated that the next Cabinet should focus on negotiation, dialogue and stability. This can only impress and benefit a public with political battle fatigue. Hsieh's softer approach, intelligence and sense of humor are the qualities needed for the job, if anyone is going to pull it off.
A number of legislative bills that fueled opposition protests during Yu Shyi-kun's term as premier -- such as the arms procurement package -- have passed through the most difficult phase, and this might allow the government and the opposition to become more cooperative.
The previous Cabinet also failed to adequately sell its well-intended policies to the public and the opposition. This should be avoided by the Hsieh Cabinet.
The Cabinet should also form an administrative team that can implement negotiations with legislators behind the scenes, and so share Hsieh's burden in pushing through policies of national importance.
Over the last three years, the Yu Cabinet has been hamstrung by the DPP's bitter conflict with the pan-blue camp. Members of the Chen administration have been unwilling to communicate face-to-face with hostile legislators and provide a clear explanation of government policy.
The result of this was that negotiations between the DPP and the pan-blue camp were conducted between legislators who were already sharply divided. The result was a repeated breakdown in communication.
To achieve a better result, the DPP should show a sincere willingness to share government resources, releasing a portion of them for use by opposition parties. It should be more accepting of the needs of the opposition.
Only in this way will successful communication and negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties be possible, and only in this way will a resolution of the confrontation that exists in the legislature be found.
Because there is still a minority government, Hsieh must show the political acumen that he displayed as Kaohsiung mayor and develop a good understanding with the members of the new legislature.
In this way he will be able to assist the DPP administration create an atmosphere of detente. Only then will the DPP be in a position to focus on cross-strait issues, promote Taiwan's economic development and assist Chen in building a brighter future for the country.
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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