The pan-blue lawmakers have stalled a number of President Chen Shui-bian's (
The investigations on gang boss Lo Fu-chu (
Former legislator Lo claims to be the spiritual leader of the Tiandaomeng (Heavenly Path Alliance). During his term as a legislator he was the "big brother" of independent lawmakers. He was the epitome of "rule by gangsters."
Lo was so audacious in the legislature that he even beat up PFP Legislator Diane Lee (
In Chinese politics, there is a tradition of secret collusion with gangsters. This tradition, perfected in Taiwan by the KMT, still threatens the foundations of democracy and the rule of law. Chen's crackdown on Lo, one of Taiwan's most powerful politician-thugs, has been very gratifying.
Chu is a representative of "black gold" in Kaohsiung. His Anfeng group (安峰) has long been a "black gold" stronghold. The group has run into one problem after another since 1998. To Chu's detriment, Chen, not Chu's "black gold" comrades Lien Chan (連戰) or James Soong (
In 2001, prosecutors sought a seven-year prison term for Chu on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion. Chu apparently believed Chen was only paying lip service in the fight against "black gold," for he continued to engage in vote-buying at a rate of NT$500 per vote. After collecting evidence, prosecutors sought another 22-month sentence for him.
During the election for Kaohsiung City Council speaker, Chu bribed councilors at NT$5 million per vote. His election as speaker angered his constituents.
Justice minister Chen immediately asked prosecutors to launch an investigation, which ended in April with the prosecutors asking for another 30-month sentence.
President Chen's bravery is apparent in the fact that he is even cracking down on Liu, who served as the KMT's treasurer when former president Lee Teng-hui (
President Chen has also cracked down hard on one of his own party members, DPP Legislator Chou Po-lun (
Apart from Chou, however, the other three mentioned above are still at the stage of indictment. Given the sluggish pace of the courts, their cases may also drag on for a long time. No wonder justice minister Chen has demanded speedier trials, saying "Justice dispensed late is no justice at all." Whether the president can safeguard his reputation as an anti-black gold crusader will depend on the judges' performance.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS