The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) are colluding in the legislature, creating a reality resembling a train racing down the tracks at full speed, with the passengers bound and gagged as ransomed hostages.
The opposition parties appear intent on upsetting the total operations of the government, demanding that everything from personnel affairs to budgeting go through them first.
They will not accept any other proposals: It is their way or nothing. They want to keep barreling forward, and they are not going to slam on the brakes anytime soon.
The people in the engine room might fear that suddenly hitting the brakes would cause the train to derail. Maybe they forgot there is a kill switch right next to them, but they dare not use it. Thus, their response is to hope that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) minority in the legislature could use rational communication to implore those at the helm to respect the “rules of the game,” “put safety first” and “consider the concerns of the majority.”
The problem with such responses is that the bad actors who have so easily stormed the train conductor’s cabin have revealed their shamelessness. They believe that “good things will happen only so long as all things are chaotic.”
Consequently, when moral and ethical persuasion fall upon deaf ears and indifference; when benevolence and conciliation run abreast of increasing aggravation and a ravenous desire for power; when idealistic dialogue runs up against brutal raw despotism; when there is no rationalism to clean up the mess; and when forbearance is seen as a weakness and becomes sustenance for wreaking havoc, the KMT and TPP, in their polarized confrontation, become a force that might determine the demise or survival of Taiwan’s democracy.
The opposition parties need to be reckoned with directly if Taiwanese want democracy to survive. People cannot shirk away, as it is only a matter of time. Without a direct confrontation, the public’s will could become the final arbiter in judging who is right or wrong in this situation. What other means do people have?
Viewing the relationship between the executive branch and the opposition-ruled legislature as a magnified version of the relationship between county and municipal governments, how could President William Lai (賴清德) not be a moving and inspiring figure as he was as former Tainan mayor? It was then that he confronted former Tainan city council speaker Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教), convicted of vote-buying, by refusing to allow corruption to ruin the local government’s integrity by standing up to city “audits” and “inquiries.”
What an excellent example Lai has set. Even after moving from the role of mayor to president, he should have no reason not to expand his integrity and anti-corruption efforts, to take a stand against the legislature’s unbridled despotism.
As for copying Kaohsiung residents — who after finally having enough of his antics, recalled their then-mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), now the legislative speaker — recalling the opposition legislators who are acting against the public good could spread far and wide into a nationwide democratic movement. Who is to say it could not happen?
Most importantly is whether the executive branch misinterprets the saying of “playing host without creating a scene” as ignoring bad guests causing a stir around them. If the DPP adopts strict neutrality while civic groups are in the middle of running recall motions without getting all hands on deck and providing ample financial resources to those efforts, and instead watches from the sidelines with arms folded, ostensibly to avoid dirtying their hands from fighting corruption or perhaps to avoid looking inelegant while doing so, then such an image of virtuous inaction would make the DPP appear unserious in the legislature. That might end up being their just deserts.
Chang Kuo-tsai is a retired National Hsinchu University of Education associate professor.
Translated by Tim Smith
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which