It has been almost one year since the attempted assassination of President Chen Shui-bian (
One of the biggest changes since the assassination attempt is of course the relationship between the KMT and the People First Party (PFP). The PFP was a passionate and enthusiastic participant in the post-election rallies and protests against Chen's re-election. In fact, several PFP lawmakers were even seen spearheading riots in various places at the time.
But this time around, PFP Chairman James Soong (
One year ago, there was still hope of a merger between the KMT and PFP. However, the growing rift between the two parties has made it virtually impossible for the merger to take place. One year ago, Lien, Soong and their supporters did not think they would have to worry about early retirement so soon. After the pan-blue election defeat, Lien put up a fight to maintain his grip on power in the KMT. When the pan-blue camp won a majority in the Legislative Yuan, for a while it seemed that Lien would be able to stay in the leadership throne a little while longer and resist generational succession within his party. Now, with Soong, his sidekick in the presidential election, reconciling with Chen, it will be hard for Lien to run a one-man show.
These days, with the exception of Lien and his cronies, the most important things on the mind of KMT members is the upcoming election of the KMT chairman. With all eyes fixed on the two biggest contenders -- Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
While many people feel skeptical about the recent breakthrough in the investigation of the assassination attempt, it is hard to see what can possibly be accomplished by holding the rally. The investigation is not yet over, and the police are still searching for additional evidence. Even though nobody can deny the fact that the public has a constitutionally protected right to assemble, the mere thought of re-living the chaos and unrest spurred by the massive rallies last year is enough to cause jitters.
If people are really bent on exercising their right to assemble, participating in the planned rally to protest China's "anti-secession" law would most definitely be a more worthwhile cause.
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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