On Thursday, the pan-blue-dominated legislature made many shocking and unprecedented cuts to the government's budget for this year. It is easy to see why some pan-green lawmakers are calling the budget cuts "retaliatory" in nature. A closer examination reveals that many of the cuts are not only often quite personal -- targeting specific individuals against whom the pan-blues hold a grudge -- but also have a very negative effect on the operation of the government. The only end being accomplished by the opposition is to teach the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government a lesson: The pan-blues are flexing their legislative muscle in an attempt to force the government to give in to its demand on issues in which the two camps do not see eye to eye. Behavior of this sort is completely irresponsible and unprofessional and should be condemned.
It came as no surprise that President Chen Shui-bian (
As if that were not enough, the legislature also demanded that the various special committees set up by the Presidential Office -- including the committees on human rights, science and technology, and constitutional reform, among others -- should be dissolved on the grounds that they have no legal basis. It should be well within the executive branch's power to set up these committees for consultation purposes. Furthermore, many of these committees were set up in accordance with the demands of the general public. Under the circumstances, the legislature can only be seen to be placing vengeance above all else.
The other two main targets were National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (
At the end of the day, this country and its people will be the ones paying the real price, as the National Security Council cannot continue to function without funding.
As for Yao, he was "blacklisted" for repeatedly engaging in verbal arguments with pan-blue lawmakers. In addition to the major cuts made to many of the GIO minister's budgets, three-quarters of the GIO budget, excluding funds for utilities and personnel, is also being frozen.
One cannot help but wonder when this sort of childish behavior on the part of the legislature will cease. Don't the lawmakers know that every decision they make on the legislative floor has an impact on the well-being of the citizens of this country? If not, then they have no business being there. If so, they should learn to act in a more mature and responsible manner.
Labubu, an elf-like plush toy with pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, has become a global sensation, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Dua Lipa. These dolls are sold out in stores from Singapore to London; a human-sized version recently fetched a whopping US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing. With all the social media buzz, it is worth asking if we are witnessing the rise of a new-age collectible, or whether Labubu is a mere fad destined to fade. Investors certainly want to know. Pop Mart International Group Ltd, the Chinese manufacturer behind this trendy toy, has rallied 178 percent
My youngest son attends a university in Taipei. Throughout the past two years, whenever I have brought him his luggage or picked him up for the end of a semester or the start of a break, I have stayed at a hotel near his campus. In doing so, I have noticed a strange phenomenon: The hotel’s TV contained an unusual number of Chinese channels, filled with accents that would make a person feel as if they are in China. It is quite exhausting. A few days ago, while staying in the hotel, I found that of the 50 available TV channels,
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
There is no such thing as a “silicon shield.” This trope has gained traction in the world of Taiwanese news, likely with the best intentions. Anything that breaks the China-controlled narrative that Taiwan is doomed to be conquered is welcome, but after observing its rise in recent months, I now believe that the “silicon shield” is a myth — one that is ultimately working against Taiwan. The basic silicon shield idea is that the world, particularly the US, would rush to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion because they do not want Beijing to seize the nation’s vital and unique chip industry. However,
RSS