WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL election but two months away, it remains difficult to determine what political parties will do.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) continues to say what he would do if he became president and will likely continue his down-to-earth meetings with people throughout the nation. This is what a candidate does -- and should do -- to gain the numbers of votes to win an election.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) at this point, has not had the complete support of the leadership in the party, much less that of the many voters who once supported the DPP but did not participate in the Jan. 12 legislative elections. Getting the support of the leadership of a party is crucial.
To gain broad support from both the leadership and the people takes time.
Time, unfortunately, is not on Hsieh's side and it is something he has precious little of.
The electoral battle that is now taking place in the US has similarities: One of the parties seeks to keep the presidency, while the other, the Democrats, has Senator Hillary Clinton, who initially seemed to be the obvious choice, but in a short period of time her lead was no longer assured.
About two months ago, Senator Barack Obama was hardly on the list of senior candidates, much less at the top. He was able to become one of the top-two candidates by first energizing young voters and even some Republican voters who are unhappy with the party. Today, various people from different sectors have rallied behind Obama.
Another similarity exists between Taiwan and the US, and it is the economy. In newspapers and on TV in the US, there is much discussion about a possible recession and whether the state of the economy is good or not.
It is clear that some segments of the country are being hurt by the mortgage crisis and that the high price of oil is also hurting many people financially.
This has costs jobs and and lowered wages in some important sectors of the economy. US President George W. Bush is now seeking an "economic growth package" from Congress.
Taiwan's economy, for its part, continues to grow, but like the US, some important sectors of the economy -- mostly small and medium businesses -- have seen a drop in sales. The rise in oil prices has had a marked impact there, too.
The two presidential candidates have both been talking about what they would do to remedy the situation.
Still, Taiwan is Taiwan. It has its own history and the DPP has gone down a road that many people did not like, including people who had supported the party.
It now falls on Hsieh to bring back those voters who did not participate in the legislative elections and energize as many voters as possible.
Two months to achieve all this is not much time, but it sill may be possible.
Meanwhile, the KMT has the triple advantage of a two-thirds majority in the legislature, more money and a divided opponent.
Hsieh needs a unified party and must find a way to distance himself from the past.
He has wisely supported bipartisan efforts with the KMT, which can be seen by voters as a man who, as evidence of willingness to work with the legislature in developing relations with China and the international community.
Both candidates have said a lot about the economy and, increasingly, about people's concerns over its state. The important difference between the two candidates has been China, including the "opportunities" in China for Taiwan.
Hsieh has laid out down-to-earth economic projects that are welcome by many people, but there does not seem to be a plan within the rest of the DPP.
There has been one on the KMT side, but many changes have occurred in the speeches that have followed, especially on matters dealing with China.
One other problem has been in Hsieh's calls for a public debate with Ma.
There is nothing better for the people than to watch, listen and learn from the debates between candidates. Having one every week would ensure that Taiwanese understand the issues at hand and could also show them the differences in the candidates' leadership styles.
Sadly, with only eight weeks left, there is little indication that public debates will happen.
On the KMT side, Ma has made many speeches that, on the surface, would have us believe that his policies have changed, although his wording is not always clear.
On the DPP side, Hsieh is now saying he hopes for a coalition with the KMT, even to the point of asking Ma to become his premier. These are issues that could be clarified through public debates between the candidates.
Taiwanese will soon decide which party they want to lead them. One part of that equation -- the legislature -- has already been decided on. The other, the presidential election, is still up for grabs.
Nat Bellocchi is a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan and is now a special adviser to the Liberty Times Group. The views expressed in this article are his own.
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
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
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017
RSS