President Chen Shui-bian's (
What is happening, however, is that the government is treading water, the pan-blue camp is launching frenzied attacks, the TAIEX is in a free fall, the pro-localization groups stand united in support of Chen and ethnic tension is brewing.
Faced with this crisis, Taiwan is in desperate need of a third voice to restore public trust and consolidate democracy so that it will not fall victim to irresponsible political infighting and media sensationalism.
Therefore, the Taipei Society is urging politicians to stop using claims that they represent public opinion as an excuse for engaging in populism, thus destroying our democratic system.
Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power, it has emulated the money politics of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) by leaning toward big business, which has led to a complicated relationship between the government and business circles. Some government officials have also broken the law by engaging in corruption and through dereliction of duty, which has led to the disintegration of public trust.
In 2002, the Taipei Society criticized the Chen administration for favoring big business, but the government was not willing to listen. Over the past six years, the DPP has been busy with the consolidation, expansion and distribution of power while ignoring criticism from the public, which led to a crushing defeats for the party.
Some law enforcement officials have no respect for ethics and are willing to become "deep throats" to those who specialize in exposing scandals. Law enforcement officials violating the principle of closed investigations have been seen in the Chao case -- and may be even more obvious in the case involving train derailment suspect Lee Tai-an (李泰安).
In view of this, we demand that police and prosecutors strictly abide by the "closed investigation" principle. We also call on politicians and the media not to misinteprete this principle or mislead the public as to its significance. By no means must they think of themselves as judges who decide who can be released on bail and who is guilty.
The opposition parties' overriding goal over the past six years has been to regain power. They lack democratic ideals, their performance in the legislature has been lethargic and they only engage in political infighting. People do not feel that the opposition sincerely cares for the development of the nation. This is damaging to the nation's democratic development.
A democratic society cannot be built on two diametrically opposed ideologies. I hope that the KMT and the People First Party will fulfill their duties as the opposition and build an image as benevolent political parties able to tell right from wrong that jointly seek to deepen the nation's democracy.
The media look only for political motives and not the truth, and with their rumor-mongering and defiant reporting they get involved in the political struggle, causing a great deal of confusion among the public. Worse than that, some media outlets are taking advantage of the political upheaval to fabricate news instead of reporting the truth, trampling on the privacy of citizens and violating human rights.
Here is a list of the Taipei Society's appeals:
First, the judiciary is the last line of defense for justice. It should not care whether or not the first family is involved in Chao's case, but only focus on making a thorough investigation without accepting restrictions dictated by politicians.
Second, government decisions and information should be made transparent to build public trust. Under the table dealings are often a cause of corruption.
Third, all political parties should consider the future of the nation, and understand that our democracy has been hard-won. They should avoid provoking confrontation, restore public trust and consolidate democracy.
Fourth, police, prosecutors and the media should act professionally and comply with professional ethics.
Fifth, the public should understand that it is a mistake to entrust the future of the nation to political parties and politicians. They should not hesitate to express their concerns and stop being manipulated by politicians.
The Taipei Society urges government and opposition to bring the political infighting to an end and wait patiently for the results of the investigation lest Taiwan's democracy be ruined overnight.
Hawang Shiow-duan is the chair of the Taipei Society and professor in the department of political science at Soochow University.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
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
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
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS