Long before President Chen Shui-bian (
Just as soon as Chen announced that the council had officially "ceased to function" and the guidelines "ceased to apply," KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Given the high vote threshold required to recall a president, and Ma's admission that the motion is unlikely to be approved by the necessary two-thirds of the legislature, why all the fuss?
Ma said the KMT needs to express its condemnation of Chen, regardless of the likelihood of a recall motion being passed.
Yet one can't help but wonder if Ma is acting as China's footsoldier, or simply showing off in a bid to please Beijing, just as he did a while back when he said he hoped the KMT Youth Corp would one day produce a leader like Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Just think how delightful it must be to Hu to know that the leader of this nation's largest opposition party sees him as a role model -- and to see how fast Ma is willing to jump into a brawl with Chen, whom Chinese leaders rank right up there with former president Lee Teng-hui (
In a recent interview with Newsweek magazine, one of Ma's more predictable statements was that unification with China is the ultimate goal of the KMT.
One wonders if Ma hesitated even for a moment to think about the impact his words would have on the nation's military. In view of China's more than 700 missiles targeted at Taiwan, how can the nation's service members build up their consciousness that China is the biggest threat to Taiwan's national security when they know that this country's main opposition leader wishes to unite with China some day?
In a recent interview on the BBC's Hardtalk program, host Stephen Sackur noted that China had deployed more than 700 missiles at Taiwan, and Ma replied: "Yes, and not just Taiwan, but other places too."
Yet Ma has not been heard to protest the growing number of missiles: Perhaps he feels Taiwan shouldn't fear China's military deployment because it is part of China.
Given that Ma has long been regarded as the KMT's most likely contender for the 2008 presidential election and possible future leader of this country, one only hopes that he realizes that his every statement and deed is being closely watched and analyzed by the public, Taiwan's allies and other international observers.
He has yet to demonstrate a firm willingness to stand up for Taiwan's interests or strong ability to lead. His performances this week are unlikely to convince his critics of otherwise.
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