While President Chen Shui-bian (
The happy event on Saturday was hosted by Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator Yen Chin-piao (
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (
The hypocrisy of criticizing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's corruption and incompetence while affirming ties with criminals such as Yen seemed to escape the pan-blue leadership.
What contempt for the rule of law.
Yen began his career as a gangster in central Taiwan. He was later charged with corruption during his term as Taichung County Council speaker. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined NT$10 million by the Taichung District Court in August 2001. Despite being in jail, he was elected a legislator in December that year.
In January 2002, the Taiwan High Court reduced his sentence to 11 years and six months, and cut his fine to NT$6 million. He was released on bail for NT$5 million and has remained free since then. He still faces other charges, however, ranging from firearms possession to attempted murder.
Yen, who became a legislator in February 2002, is basically an independent. There was no need for senior KMT officials to grace his son's wedding and use the most mendacious flattery to praise a man who is a convicted criminal.
The courts are also turning a blind eye to someone who has been out on bail for nearly four years, saying nothing as he puts on a lavish celebration that can only serve to undermine the public's faith in the judiciary.
The government's silence also offers a glaring example of its incompetence. The opposition could have used this occasion to take the government to task, but instead has gone out of its way to cosy up to a man with known criminal connections.
During the 2000 presidential election, the DPP exposed the close ties between the KMT and criminal figures such as Yen, Chang Jung-wei (
Now, in its turn, the DPP is tolerating gangsters. This should be cause for the public to demand that it take a firm stance on criminal behavior and judicial reform, in order to fortify the last line of defense for the nation's civil society.
As for the KMT, when it fell from power in 2000, it promised to cut all ties to "black gold" figures. Last summer, Ma, in his campaign for the chairmanship of the KMT, defeated Wang on an anti-black-gold platform. Despite these promises of change, the KMT leadership has decided to continue to walk hand-in-hand with criminals. The party, and Ma in particular, is likely to pay a heavy price for renewing its vows with sleaze.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
RSS