Signs suggest that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
When the KMT first announced that Lien was going to China, many observers began to suspect that perhaps Lien was not quite ready to ride off into the sunset. The fact that he went on the trip despite threats of criminal prosecution for "treason" by the pan-green camp, suspicions and skepticism within Taiwan, and US concerns reinforced this belief. After all, if he was really ready to step down, his time and efforts would be better spent looking for a suitable nursing home.
Lo and behold, before Lien had even returned from his trip, his cronies within the KMT had began to talk about how Lien should stay in the chairman's post. Of course, he needs justification -- serious justification -- for not stepping down. After all, he suffered two devastating presidential defeats. Under his leadership, the KMT shrank from the nation's biggest political party to an opposition party. It would take some really thick skin to hold onto the office without some excuse. Not even Lien could stoop that low.
At first, the justifications offered by Lien's supporters was that the race between Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
It would be naive to think that Lien would want to compete in the chairmanship. After all, he will probably lose the election. So he can stay on in the post only if his current term is extended or both Wang and Ma back out of the election. The second scenario would be a repeat of the last KMT chairmanship election, in which Lien was the only candidate.
Unfortunately, when asked what he would do if Lien runs for the chairmanship, Ma has consistently said he will run as well. Wang has cunningly said that he would back out of the race -- thus shoving the responsibility for complicating Lien's bid onto Ma's shoulders.
Under the circumstances, the trip to China gave Lien the glimmer of hope that he so desperately needed. So far everything seems to be working out well for him. In a recent poll conducted by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), after Lien's trip to China, the level of the KMT's popular support increased to 34 percent, surpassing the DPP's 33 percent. That, of course, is because a lot of conservative pan-blue supporters switched from supporting the People First Party (PFP) or New Party as a result of this trip, and as a result of the meeting between PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
So, as expected, after Lien returned from his trip, even more of his supporters began to openly urge Lien to stay on. As for Lien himself, consistent with the teaching of his mother culture -- the "Chinese culture" -- he lets his gang speak out for him, while himself denying any intention to stay in the chairman's office. This is what the Chinese culture calls the virtue of "humility."
But Lien can only feign humility for so long. On Thursday, while continuing to deny any intention to stay in the chairman's office, Lien let down his guard somewhat and said it may be premature to talk about his retirement just yet.
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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