The Taiwan Association of University Professors yesterday blamed the pan-blue controlled legislature for the governing party's poor performance, saying that lawmakers wielded too much power over budgets and policies.
The association, known for its pro-independence stance, made the remarks yesterday in connection with the publication of a report on the nation's politics.
Ho Tsing-jen (何清人), the association's president, said that recent polls showed that the public was unsatisfied with the performance of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but that in fact this poor showing was due to the legislature being able to dominate other government agencies -- and wield more power than the president.
PHOTO: CNA
For example, legislative power far exceeds the power of the nominal Control Yuan, Ho said. That body has been effectively dormant due to the pan-blue camp's refusal to review and approve the president's nominations.
The government cannot guide policies in such an environment, he said.
Another reason for the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) sagging poll numbers is the media's habit of exaggerating and making groundless assumptions, Ho said at a press conference yesterday.
"People should learn to distinguish truth from lies and support a good government when they see one, regardless of their political stance," he said.
"The DPP government still has much room for improvement, but it has offered the Taiwanese people a more democratic and open environment to live in," he added.
The report also touched on recent cross-strait relations, administrative developments and local government activities.
Chen Chun-sheng (陳春生), an honorary professor in the Graduate Institute of National Development at National Taiwan University, said that former chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan's (連戰) recent trip to Beijing harmed the nation's sovereignty.
The KMT co-organized an economic forum with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last month in Beijing.
This event showed that the KMT is conspiring with China to press Taiwan toward unification through economic means, Chen said.
He compared the Taiwanese people to "frogs being cooked in warm water" -- who don't clearly feel a threat but nonetheless end up being slowly killed and "eaten."
Such moves by the KMT are tantamount to recognizing that Taiwan is part of China, he added.
The association warned that if the KMT wins the presidency in 2008, Taiwan will be in danger of being annexed by China because the KMT will hold negotiations with the CCP to downgrade Taiwan's status to a special administrative region.
Allowing cross-strait direct flights would also pose a threat to the nation's economy and therefore the government should ignore the pan-blue legislators' recent attempts to push for the flights, Chen added.
In terms of administrative development, one of the main problems is that human resources are not equally distributed in government agencies, said Wu Yen-tsun (
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS