Those who have gotten used to the passionate performances in Taiwan's elections would feel rather bored by elections in Europe. For example, there are three everlasting rules for German elections -- no change, no risk-taking, and no demands; thus, the campaign strategies formulated are rather bland.
The mudslinging and name-smearing tactics used in this year's presidential election in Taiwan, however, were unbearable. On a positive side, we identified many personal flaws of the candidates, narrowing the gap between them and the people and giving them a more humanized image. This is certainly preferable to the past deification of political figures. However, people ought to hold respect for the law -- particularly during elections. If politicians knowingly break the law to win elections and get away with it, we will lose any hope for shaping a general respect for the law.
All the negative campaign ads and allegations have invited potential criminal liability. The suits filed between the candidates, if successful, would involve liabilities for public insults (公然侮辱罪) and crime and defamation (誨謗罪), as well as liabilities under Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統罷選法).
Campaign rhetoric such as Lien's accusation that another candidate was "heartless and cruel (狼心狗肺)" were obviously "public insults." On the other hand, there are also those allegations waged by Lin Jui-tu (林瑞圖) and Chiu Yi (邱毅) about Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) involvement in the lottery scandal, accusations made by Taipei City Council or Lee Ching-yuan (李慶元) about Chen's extra-marital affair and Lien's patronage of massage parlors, as well as many anonymous advertisements.
The targets defended themselves by filing court complaints to try and show they were innocent and so retain public support. But since all these negative ads and allegations can bring legal liability, why did all the candidates play with fire? The reason is simple: The expected return was far higher than the cost incurred.
1. The liabilities incurred are relatively light. Although jail terms of one to five years can be handed down for these crimes, more typically convicted offenders receive only a fine or probation. Besides, the candidates are never the ones to get punished, but the "bouncers" they retain to do their dirty work.
2. These lawsuits go nowhere. They are so numerous that we have lost count, and after the election is over, no one cares -- not the prosecutors, judges, or even the parties involved. Losers simply leave the political arena. Winners gain immunity, and they may voluntarily withdraw the suits they filed, to demonstrate generosity.
3. Negative allegations bring free publicity. Since the news media have acquired quite an appetite for tabloid news, it will run virtually any allegations, as long as someone is bold enough to point fingers. Furthermore, the media's failure to verify certainly helps.
The media always criticizes candidates for lacking substance; however, only tabloid news makes headlines. The media does not even bother to report the candidates' campaign platforms. Therefore, the negative ads and allegations may be characterized as an evolutionary adaptation by the candidates' efforts to comply with media demands. Of course, the media reflect public demand -- although people always criticize elections, they still love to watch campaign news.
If the media were to refuse to cover or run any unverified defamatory attacks or anonymous ads, and if the voters did not vote for candidates who engage in mudslinging, the negative campaign ads and allegations would disappear. Although elections would become dull, they would be truly democratic.
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
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS