People who are new to the nation's political scene are often bemused by the colors that are attached to various parties and political phrases. For instance, "black gold" -- referring to corrupt money -- "White Terror," "red" China fever. Or the colors green, representing the pro-independence ideals of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and blue, associated with the pro-unification KMT and People First Party (PFP).
Last Sunday's KMT campaign rally, however, raised the question of whether Saturday's local government elections will be the usual battle between blue and green camps, or instead a fight between supporters of green and yellow -- the latter color representing the New Party, with the symbolism of "pure Chinese."
Marching alongside KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Where was Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Poor Wang. After trying hard to pretend he was one of "them" -- that is, one of the "Chinese" -- during his chairmanship campaign against Ma in June, he is still not "pure" enough to be in their league. Now, with Ma at the helm of the KMT, Wang appears to have been shunted aside, along with the rest of the so-called "pro-localization" faction of the KMT.
In the wake of recent corruption scandals involving the DPP administration, there have been calls from disappointed pan-green supporters to boycott Saturday's election in order to teach the DPP a lesson. While this view is understandable, in Taiwan -- which hasn't yet become a "normal" country -- ?such boycotts would only hurt the nation as a whole. They would send the wrong message to a hostile China, which covets Taiwan and every day searches for ways to annex it.
The true power of the people lies in the ballots in their hands. By exercising their fundamental right to vote, the people are demonstrating this strength. Likewise, giving up on voting means giving up the sovereignty of the people. This only leaves room for opportunistic politicians to pursue their cynical machinations, unhindered by the public will.
With Lien's speech at Peking University in May, the KMT made public its alliance with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Saturday's elections can therefore be seen as part of a long-term campaign by the KMT, in cahoots with "Red" China, to annex Taiwan. It is fair to say that a victory for the pan-blue camp would be tantamount to a victory for the CCP.
Some pan-greens fear that if they vote for the DPP, the party will not engage in much-needed reflection and reform. But in thinking in such a way, people are mistakenly equating the DPP with the pan-green camp -- ?and punishing the entire camp for the DPP's sins. The fact is, there are other pan-green choices available, such as the TSU.
Rather than sitting at home watching cable news and ranting about the DPP administration, it is time for angry Taiwanese to show their true colors with their votes.
Only by safeguarding Taiwan's pro-localization identity through the ballot box can the nation's democracy be safeguarded and consolidated.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
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
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