It was sad to see a political party with a glorious past such as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) register a voter turnout of just 19.96 percent in its chairmanship election on Sunday. It was an indication of the DPP rank and file's indifference to the election and the party's leadership should take note.
The major task facing chairman-elect Yu Shyi-kun is rekindling party member enthusiasm. The party's rank and file were a vigorous force before the DPP gained power in 2000, backing the nation's first localized political party in its fight for democracy as it challenged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government of the time.
Unfortunately, since the DPP's defeats in the 2004 legislative elections and last month's local government elections, morale has collapsed. If the party fails to regain its spirit and reinvigorate its leadership in the face of these setbacks, it is likely to lose the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections at the end of the year. The follow-on from this is the likelihood that the presidency will be handed back to the KMT in 2008, precipitating a crisis within the DPP.
In light of the DPP's contribution to democracy in Asia, it is disheartening to see the party sullied by corruption and abuse of power by a few of its members. Beyond that, the party's hesitation and indecisiveness regarding the best way to safeguard Taiwan have also betrayed the expectations of many of its supporters.
This has led to a waning in the public's enthusiasm toward deepening democratic development and social reform, contributing to pessimism about the nation's future. This has undermined the public's faith in the possibility of building a real community.
In the face of these challenges, Yu's role is crucial. He must transcend factional disputes within the party and listen to the grassroots. Only in this way will he be able to act as a conduit between ordinary party members and the leadership, and regain the trust of the rank and file. He also has to rebuild the party's image and be willing to adopt strict measures against any colleagues who are guilty of corruption.
Those involved in corruption or abuse of power, or who are guilty of vote-buying, should be ejected from the party and evidence against them handed over to the authorities. Any kind of protection or hesitation in punishing wrong-doing will only damage the party's reputation further.
The founding members of the DPP -- who braved prison sentences and sacrificed everything to establish a party that could speak for the people of Taiwan and fight for democracy -- can only be deeply disappointed about the situation the party is in today. Yu once said that he had the spirit of a water buffalo. Now is the time for him to show the simplicity, tireless effort and industriousness that that image implies -- to revive the party and allow the nation's democracy to be passed to future generations.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS