At times, I really wonder what the fuss is about regarding President Chen Shui-bian's(
While I can understand the "fury" of the Chinese Communist Party over Chen's decision, I cannot comprehend the reaction of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). They earlier stated that there are several options for Taiwanese to adopt in the years ahead, and these are not restricted to reunification alone. From a factual viewpoint, neither Chen nor the KMT has to declare anything today, because the reality is that Taiwan is not a province of China. Thus, the status quo basically refers to two sovereign nations on either side of the Strait.
Why is the KMT launching a drive to impeach Chen?
Regardless of their political affiliation, the parties in Taiwan should come together and put up a strong fight against the tyrants. In my view, the two-fold objectives of the KMT -- to oppose [the government] for the sake of opposition, and to pander to the commands of the Chinese authorities -- would destroy Taiwan in the near future. Should Taiwanese elect the KMT candidate in the 2008 presidential election, I am certain that within the first four years, the KMT government will be more than willing to proclaim Taiwan a province of China. And that would indeed be both a disappointment and shame, in light of the efforts and boldness of Chen and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) to make Taiwan the sovereign and independent nation it is today.
Chen's loyalty lies with no one but the 23 million people of Taiwan.
Yet, where is the loyalty of the KMT members? Do Taiwanese really want the KMT back in power? Think twice, think hard! It is already a real shame that legislative regulations prohibit Chen from seeking a third term. Yet it would be a real disaster in history if Taiwan's next president allows the country to be subjugated into becoming a province of China.
Jason Lee Boon Hong
Singapore
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
RSS