The "deep green" backlash to the 10-point consensus reached between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) continues. A split between Chen and the rump of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), on the one hand, and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) on the other, seems inevitable unless Chen makes a sincere and immediate effort to account for himself.
Four senior figures in the pro-independence group -- Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), Wu Li-pei (吳澧培), Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂) and Alice King (金美齡) -- have submitted resignations from their posts as presidential advisors, though Wu has had second thoughts.
Even within the DPP, severe criticism has accompanied the signing of the accord. DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (
While Chen personally may not have much to lose, since he will most likely never again run for public office, the same cannot be said about his party.
Yesterday, for example, the chairman of the DPP's Sanchong headquarters, Tung King-hsing (董金興), resigned from the party and said he would join the TSU. It is no secret that Sanchong has a large number of DPP supporters: In December's legislative elections the city contributed more than 100,000 votes to the DPP. Tung said he couldn't stand the pressure and outrage from the grassroots any longer.
This raises the question of whether the DPP's performance in the upcoming mayor and county commissioner elections will suffer as a result.
Chen's behavior in the face of criticism from the pro-independence camp has not helped things. His remarks during a videoconference with members of the European Parliament, in particular, have only increased the anger of the "deep greens." Comments that he would not change the national title during his final term and that Lee would not be able to do so either, were he still in office, are two examples of this.
Equally inflammatory was his description of the campaign to change the title of this country as "delusional."
Chen does not seem to understand the reason for the outrage. As Lee said both before and after Chen's meeting with Soong, reconciliation with the PFP is something to be encouraged. However, what is the point of reconciliation if one's soul and core values are abandoned?
Had Chen always been as "pragmatic" as he is today, he would not have come as far as he has. It is very difficult to believe that Chen became the "pragmatic" man that he is overnight. Does this mean that during the latest legislative and presidential election campaigns when Chen trumpeted these ideals, he never once believed they could be accomplished while he was in office?
There is another question that Chen should keep in mind. If he does not patch things up with the "deep greens," then where will he turn -- who will give him the time of day -- if the agreement with the PFP falls apart?
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
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS