Last week, former premier and former Kaohsiung mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) agreed to run in the Taipei mayoral race on behalf of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). This is most certainly one of the best pieces of news the party has had since the the investigation into corruption among top DPP officials and members of the first family began.
It is no secret that Hsieh has his eyes on the DPP candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. Hsieh and President Chen Shui-bian (
This is not to mention that Hsieh was twice elected mayor of Kaohsiung City -- the only special municipality in Taiwan other than Taipei. Under the circumstances, the Taipei mayoral seat was simply not enough to attract Hsieh's interest and satisfy his ambition. Following Chen into the Presidential Office -- or at least winning the DPP's nomination -- has to be the next logical step in Hsieh's career plan.
It is also no secret that up until the time when the insider trading scandal involving Chen's son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (
But then Chao was taken into custody and Chen delegated most of his constitutional powers to Su. The "balance of power" and the race between the four superstars changed overnight. Su surpassed everyone else, and with the government more or less completely in his hands, Su has been given a chance to prove himself. Su is now not only the center of power, but also Chen's most likely successor -- that is, if Su performs well.
There are, of course, grave risks as well. With the pan-blue camp using every chance it can get to pull Su off his horse, he has every reason to fear becoming a casualty long before the 2008 presidential race even begins.
Under the circumstances, Hsieh's decision to run in the Taipei mayoral race is a wise move -- both for himself and for his party. For Hsieh, running for mayor will keep him in the media spotlight and give him the visibility he needs to maintain his status within the DPP. Even if he trails behind Su for now, at least there is a chance to catch up later. Of course, Hsieh is very likely to lose the mayoral race, given that the level of support for the DPP is at an all-time low and that voters in Taipei traditionally lean toward the pan-blues.
However, he will be remembered and revered by his comrades within the DPP for stepping up to fight a gritty battle. For the DPP, Hsieh's decision salvages the party from the embarrassment of having no candidate in the race. More importantly it gives the party some hope at a time when it has hit rock bottom. With a strong candidate in the race, the mayoral race is likely to become a focal point that unites the party -- and that is something that the DPP desperately needs at the moment.
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will stop at nothing to weaken Taiwan’s sovereignty, going as far as to create complete falsehoods. That the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan is an objective fact. To refute this, Beijing has tried to assert “jurisdiction” over Taiwan, pointing to its military exercises around the nation as “proof.” That is an outright lie: If the PRC had jurisdiction over Taiwan, it could simply have issued decrees. Instead, it needs to perform a show of force around the nation to demonstrate its fantasy. Its actions prove the exact opposite of its assertions. A
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
RSS