Pan-blue lawmakers on the legislature's Procedure Committee on Tuesday once again blocked a number of bills from being put on the legislative agenda, despite a directive from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
The blocked bills included the long-stalled arms procurement budget, nominees for the Control Yuan and chief state prosecutor, draft legislation on the handling of stolen political party assets and the unfreezing of government budgets.
Ma's comments that his party would consider reviewing the arms procurement package and Control Yuan confirmations were completely ignored by his party's legislators, making people wonder if Ma can really be considered an effective leader when his party caucus disregards his directives.
When Ma assumed the KMT chairmanship in June last year, many people hoped that under his leadership the party would become a loyal opposition, reviewing draft legislation on its merits instead of opposing proposals just to oppose them.
Even critics expressed the hope that Ma would fulfill promises made by his predecessor Lien Chan (
To prove he is a determined party chairman -- and that he has the makings of a presidential candidate -- Ma must keep his promises and exert pressure on his party's caucus to review the long-stalled bills that matter to the people's wellbeing.
Maybe the problem is not Ma's inability to lead, but his unwillingness to make tough decisions and then stick with them. Ma often appears afraid to call the shots, especially when it comes to reining in his party's lawmakers. The best he can come up with is a weak "I will respect the caucus' decision."
The Cabinet's request to buy six Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries, a squadron of 12 anti-submarine P-3C helicopters and eight diesel-electric submarines has been stalled so long there must be cobwebs on the paperwork. The watchdog Control Yuan, whose job it is to monitor the conduct of the government and civil servants, has been idle since Jan. 31 last year when the terms of its previous members expired, yet the opposition continues to refuse to review the list of nominees submitted by the president.
The KMT, as the largest opposition party, has been successful in paralyzing the Democratic Progressive Party administration by refusing to review almost all government-sponsored bills in the legislature. The people of Taiwan, however, are the ultimate victims of this long-running farce.
If Ma could start living up to his commitments and get his party caucus to follow his instructions, he would undoubtedly win respect from the public.
If Ma wants to become president and lead his party's return to power in 2008, he has to stop relying on his popularity as the KMT's leading candidate and actually do something worth voting for.
As the 2008 presidential election draws nearer, the public is waiting to see if Ma has any substance behind his dazzling facade, or if he is content to remain little more than a cardboard cut-out.
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