Monday was the 15th anniversary of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo's (蔣經國) death. Apart from members of Chiang's family, many politicians who claim to follow in his path also went to his mausoleum and paid homage to him. Some even knelt on the floor and kowtowed.
Relatively famous politicians -- such as Lien Chan (
Both the pro-unification and pro-independence camps claim to love Taiwan. Some people even try to use "loving Taiwan" to manipulate public opinion, thereby confusing the public and generating a national identity problem -- a source of endless political wrangling today. We therefore must ask the various opposition parties: exactly where do you want to take Taiwan? One country, two systems? Or independent sovereignty?
Soong once defined Taiwan-China relations as "quasi-international" relations. We hope the PFP can tell us what that means exactly. Otherwise, such "creative ambiguity" can be interpreted as a political conspiracy aimed at deceiving the people of Taiwan.
Similarly, can Lien's advocacy of peaceful unification with China lead to peaceful coexistence with China in the future, without the ROC losing its independent sovereignty and without China rejecting it? The KMT continues to fudge its explanations of such key policy points. It has yet to explain them to the people of Taiwan. Without clear explanations, anyone can pay lip service to "loving Taiwan" while selling out the interests of the Taiwanese people.
Many people in Taiwan remember Chiang for his efforts in trying to develop the country, which caused the economy to soar, thereby creating an enviable economic miracle. However, Taiwan under Chiang Ching-kuo was still overshadowed by the White Terror. Many people fighting for democracy and human rights suffered great harm. Chiang assumed the presidency in 1978. The Kaohsiung Incident and the murder of former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung's (
Fortunately, Chiang tacitly allowed the establishment of a local political party two years before his death in 1988, thereby allowing Taiwan to move toward democracy. At the same time, he said he was "also a Taiwanese" and vowed not to let anyone from the Chiang family succeed him. He tried to alleviate alienation between mainlanders and local Taiwanese by appointing Taiwanese to official positions. Chiang's political moves in his later years show that he had come to understand the will of the Taiwanese people to become their own masters. He set an example himself to encourage mainlanders to identify with Taiwan and join hands to create a future for Taiwan.
What's worth remembering about Chiang is his grand political awakening in the last two years of his life. We cannot overlook historical reality and blindly worship him. Otherwise, this absurdity would be comparable to the Chinese people worshipping Mao Zedong (
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) recent visit to Beijing and her upcoming visit to Washington will serve as a high-level test of her diplomatic mettle. In Beijing, Cheng was received with symbolic gestures, a warm reception, and high-level access. In Washington, she will receive far less pomp and far sharper questions about the KMT’s vision for the future of Taiwan. Her challenge will be to persuade Washington that the KMT’s engagement with China can coexist with strong deterrence. Cheng’s April 7-12 visit to mainland China coincided with an intense period of conflict in Iran. Despite the strategic significance of Cheng’s trip,
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent the vast Asian chemicals industry into a tailspin. Deprived of the likes of Qatari natural gas and Saudi Arabian oil, the region’s fertilizer and plastics plants are slowing production or even shutting down. Everywhere except China, that is. In petrochemicals, China is unique. As well as a traditional industry that uses oil and gas as feedstock, it has parallel output that relies on its abundant domestic coal. Unsurprisingly, India and other regional powers want to copy and paste the Chinese method. This would not be easy — or climate friendly. The
US President Donald Trump recently repeated his claim that “Taiwan stole America’s chip industry,” reigniting public debate on the issue. As a former Taiwanese minister of economic affairs and an entrepreneur deeply involved in semiconductor supply chain development, I feel a responsibility to clarify this misunderstanding. From the perspective of global industrial evolution and the economic principle of comparative advantage, such a statement appears overly simplistic and risks obscuring the essence of the issue. The rise of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry was not built on “replacing America,” but rather emerged as a result of countries pursuing different development paths within the
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says he knows how to fix the problems facing Indonesia. Yet his economic mismanagement and authoritarian tendencies are steering the nation toward a familiar mix of currency instability and political chaos. The world’s fourth-most populous nation risks reversing the hard-won democratic and business reforms that came after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. At that time, the rupiah collapsed and the political upheaval that followed forced former president Haji Mohamed Suharto from power. Prabowo’s administration is ignoring similar warning signs. That disconnect was apparent in a national address on Wednesday, when Prabowo projected the swagger that has
RSS