President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that Taiwan is a young democracy that still has a long way to go to reach maturity.
Speaking at an international conference in Taipei, the president said that Taiwan first held direct elections at the local level in the early 1950s and that the practice was then incrementally expanded until it was embraced at the national level.
DETERMINED
“During that period, relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait remained tense and several major battles took place, but that did not deter Taiwan in its determination to pursue the goal of democracy,” Ma told a conference held in Taipei titled “A Spectacular Century: The Republic of China Centennial Democracy Forum.”
Taiwan lifted martial law in 1987 after 38 years and gradually moved toward full democracy, he said.
That involved revising the Constitution to introduce more democratic practices, including in 1996, the first direct presidential election.
To date there have now been four direct presidential elections and two transfers of power between two political parties, he added.
BEACON
In a congratulatory telegram received after he was elected president in March 2008, Ma said that then-US president George W. Bush referred to Taiwan as “a beacon of democracy to Asia and the world.”
“We are gratified at our democratic achievements, but we also understand that we are still a young democracy, and we have a long way to go to achieve full democratic maturity,” Ma said.
GOOD RESULTS
Taiwanese elections have achieved good results both in terms of the level of voter turnout and election format, with final vote tallies provided just two hours after the polls close, he said.
However, political polarization, vote buying and smear campaigns, which are still commonplace, have hampered further democratic development Ma said.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
RSS