Theoretically, arranged marriages work because the union benefits from the experience and wisdom of the matchmakers, while unions born of love succeed due to the strength of the bonds that see the partners hold on to each other through thick and thin.
Neither of these dynamics applies to the proposed “blue-white alliance” between the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), which amounts to little more than a marriage of convenience.
Hou and Ko separately held news conferences to discuss the proposal on Tuesday.
Hou said that he would accept being placed second on the ticket, but an alliance would only make sense if both men’s names were listed.
First, there is no way that the KMT would accept its candidate playing second fiddle. Second, even though the media is not privy to the talks, it seems like Ko has expressed doubts about whether he wants Hou on the same ticket.
Hou himself admitted that Ko has not made it clear yet whether he wants to take Hou as his “wife.”
Considering Hou said that, he must be expecting to be rejected. It has been suggested that Ko has his eyes on former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) or independent presidential candidate Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘).
Ko said he felt like being forced into a marriage, but he does have the option of saying no.
He also expressed concerns about the larger KMT trying to strong-arm the smaller TPP.
This is exactly what is happening, although it is unclear why he would be surprised and where — given this realization — he sees the relationship going after the honeymoon period.
Ko acknowledges that the TPP and the KMT have different cultures and agendas, but he sees the alliance as desirable to oust the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as he believes two terms in office has made the DPP arrogant. As a doctor, Ko accurately diagnosed the KMT to be just as arrogant, and determined that the relationship’s future did not look good.
This coalition experiment is new for Taiwan’s democratic development, and it needs to be done correctly.
If the two parties cannot agree now, if the basis for the inability to reach an agreement is a lack of mutual trust and difference in vision, and the ties that bind are only a shared determination to oust the DPP, what are the chances that the two parties would be able to maintain a unity of purpose in government? With the longstanding lack of intraparty unity the KMT is notorious for and the inexperience of the TPP, what are the chances that there would not be a huge bust-up in the aftermath of the election?
Hou and Ko are negotiating this alliance as if it would be Ko and Hou running the show, but if we have learned anything from the KMT’s campaign thus far, it is that the shadow of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has loomed large in the background. Ko should be careful about whom he ends up with in the marital bed.
The election is not about winning on Jan. 13. It is about earning the right to govern, and from there to govern effectively.
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