Saturday’s local elections highlighted the power of the people and consolidated the leadership of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), but many challenges remain for the DPP, which should adopt a more aggressive approach in future nominations, panelists attending an election forum said in Taipei yesterday.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said the elections showed that Taiwanese still have faith in democracy and that “the ballots can talk.”
“The public knows how to use ballots to make the best possible choices and have their voices heard,” she said at a forum organized by Taiwan Thinktank, to look at Saturday’s three-in-one local elections. “When people have the power to chose, the administration should give them the right to hold referendums.”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) clinched 12 of the 17 counties and cities in the election, but garnered 47.88 percent of the total votes, a drop of 2 percent from the 2005 elections. Although the DPP secured only four areas, it received 45.32 percent of the total ballots, a 7.2 percent increase.
Kuan said the DPP’s showing was on a par with the party’s very best performance in history in 2001, but cautioned that it was not enough to turn the DPP into a majority party at the local level.
The elections nevertheless consolidated Tsai’s leadership, she said, adding that the path of “Xiao Ing” (小英, Tsai’s nickname) had proved effective and made the likelihood of infighting at the DPP unlikely in the near future.
Kuan said the party should adopt a more aggressive approach to nominating candidates in future elections, adding that it should not fear its KMT rivals.
Soochow University political science professor Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said the public must not overestimate the DPP’s performance in the elections by seeing it as a sign that it could win the next legislative and presidential elections.
Lo said the elections pitted a united DPP against a divided KMT, a group fighting a lone campaigner — President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — and a DPP fighting for its survival against a complacent KMT.
“The result is a pivotal point allowing the DPP to bounce back, while the KMT goes from prosperity into decline,” he said. “The DPP is like a patient out of intensive care making a fresh start.”
The KMT’s setback could compel Ma to consider slowing down the pace of his cross-strait policies, Lo said, adding, however, that Beijing would seek ways to prevent him from doing so.
“Beijing will redouble its efforts to help Ma get re-elected in 2012 so it can resolve the Taiwan issue as soon as possible,” Lo said. “Taiwan is racing against time.”
The seven legislative by-elections will be important for the DPP, Lo said, as they will decide whether the DPP can keep the Ma administration in check.
Tseng Chien-yuan (曾建元), an assistant professor of public administration at Chung Hua University, said the elections showed there was room for improvement in terms of the electoral system. This includes whether public TV channels should allow candidates to promote their campaign platforms, whether future elections should be funded by the government and whether campaign subsidies should be issued before the elections.
He also proposed a decrease in the number of party representatives in local election committees from 50 percent to 40 percent.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS