The Nation’s presidential inaugurations, held on May 20 every four years since the first direct presidential election in 1996, should be a day of celebration, but it is not.
On Monday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that he sleeps well at night because he is improving the nation and Taiwanese. Ma is reminiscent of the incompetent emperor Hui (惠帝) of the Jin (晉) Dynasty.
In this era, most Taiwanese are depressed. In the face of the president’s extremely low approval ratings, Ma would have resigned long ago if he had any sense of shame, but he really cannot see his own shortcomings.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) was inaugurated as the first directly elected president on May 20, 1996.
In 1994, Ma was one of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials who opposed direct presidential elections during a constitutional amendment.
At that time, Lee was the chairman of the KMT, and as an ethnic Taiwanese, some KMT members with their colonial Chinese ideology did not like Lee as their chairman, and they tried to restrain him. Then-premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) teamed up with former presidential adviser Lin Yang-kang (林洋港) to challenge Lee, the KMT’s candidate, in the 1996 presidential election. What a loyal KMT member Hau was.
On May 20, 2000, Democratice Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was elected president. The power transfer was the beginning of a new era and an opportunity for Taiwan’s democratic development and the world praised the transfer as a peaceful revolution.
After losing power, the KMT expelled Lee the following year.
When Chen was re-elected in 2004, it was a big blow to the KMT. Although the KMT had ruled Taiwan based on an anti-communist ideology for decades, it now changed its tune as top party officials fell over each other to visit China and join hands with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
On May 20, 2008, Ma succeeded Chen as president. Soon after the KMT regained power, Ma gave Chen a present by sending him to prison. It looked like Ma was making an example of Chen to warn others that the ROC belongs to China, and that there is no turning back from the KMT-CCP cooperation.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In Ma’s version of the “1992 consensus,” when it comes to the cross-strait consensus on “one China, with each side having its own interpretation,” his interpretation is that “one China” refers to the PRC and that the ROC refers to “Chinese Taipei” or, even worse, “Taipei, China.”
In 2012, Ma was re-elected by playing the China card, but he lost the chance for the ROC to be reborn in Taiwan. As we are entering the eighth year of his presidency, the good times are about to end for him. The democratic foundation that was laid on May 20, 1996, has almost been hollowed out. Ma’s policies hang as a dark cloud over Chinese who followed the KMT to Taiwan in the hopes of starting a new life.
The nation must get rid of the Chinese colonial mindset, or we are doomed to continue taking one step forward and then one step back, never making progress. This is the problem that we must review on May 20.
In Taiwanese folk culture, people shout “cross the bridge, cross the bridge” to guide the dead across the Helpless Bridge (奈何橋) to the underworld. This is what we should have shouted after Ma on May 20.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Although former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo — known for being the most pro-Taiwan official to hold the post — is not in the second administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, he has maintained close ties with the former president and involved himself in think tank activities, giving him firsthand knowledge of the US’ national strategy. On Monday, Pompeo visited Taiwan for the fourth time, attending a Formosa Republican Association’s forum titled “Towards Permanent World Peace: The Shared Mission of the US and Taiwan.” At the event, he reaffirmed his belief in Taiwan’s democracy, liberty, human rights and independence, highlighting a
The US Department of Defense recently released this year’s “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of China’s military capabilities, strategic objectives and evolving global ambitions. Taiwan features prominently in this year’s report, as capturing the nation remains central to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” a goal he has set for 2049. The report underscores Taiwan’s critical role in China’s long-term strategy, highlighting its significance as a geopolitical flashpoint and a key target in China’s quest to assert dominance
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) last week released the latest job vacancy data in Taiwan, which highlighted how many job openings firms had yet to be filled at the end of August last year. The data also revealed how the vacant positions were closely related to the business climate that industrial and services sectors faced at the time. The DGBAS collects data on job vacancies at the end of February, May, August and November every year. The number of job vacancies includes recruits for expanding operations and additional production lines as well as for openings related to
The Legislative Yuan passed legislation on Tuesday aimed at supporting the middle-aged generation — defined as people aged 55 or older willing and able to work — in a law initially proposed by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城) to help the nation transition from an aged society to a super-aged society. The law’s passage was celebrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the TPP. The brief show of unity was welcome news, especially after 10 months of political fighting and unconstitutional amendments that are damaging democracy and the constitutional order, eliciting concern
RSS