It is generally acknowledged that the key to President Chen Shui-bian's (
Ironically, the notion of "black gold" became one of the hottest issues four years later as a fugitive businessman, Chen Yu-hao (
Chen Yu-hao's statements involved political motivations -- note his close connections to KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Chen Yu-hao has been a heavyweight political donor for Lien and Soong.
Exactly what lies behind his scheme to create a shock wave in the presidential campaign remains unknown -- nevertheless, more attention must be paid to the potential resurgence of "black gold" politics.
The government's efforts to fight against "black gold" have had several consequences.
First, the issue of vote-buying has been tackled, as witnessed in the last elections at both the national and local levels. Second, the number of legislators or local officials who have criminal backgrounds and questionable connections with the KMT has been reduced.
Despite the fact that some notorious criminals have fled the country, their attempts to influence politics have never ceased.
Gloria Chu (
Gloria Chu was convicted of transferring money from the government's accounts to her own purse.
Wu was indicted for receiving bribes while in office.
Chu An-hsiung and Chang were charged with buying votes.
These cases, along with that of Chen Yu-hao, illustrate an inherent and destructive aspect of the nation's political structure that deserves greater public attention. Chen Yu-hao and other fugitives are the stereotypical result of Taiwan's unique "black gold" phenomenon -- a type of cronyism involving organized crime, political influence and local and central government officials.
During the KMT's rule, many people with backgrounds in organized crime or with criminal records were recruited into the political arena.
Many of them have successfully "laundered" themselves through elections and accumulated personal influence.
This has not only brought the legislative bodies at both the local and central levels into disrepute, but has also endangered social stability and economic development.
The result of "black gold" politics is a corrupt political environment, a loss of public confidence in judicial independence and the degradation of fairness and competition in the economy.
Now those involved in "black gold" politics are trying to influence the presidential election by helping the Lien-Soong ticket to win power.
What they are aiming for is a safe return to Taiwan and freedom from prosecution.
Instead of trying to sabotage Chen Shui-bian's campaign by utilizing Chen Yu-hao, Lien and his camp owe a fair explanation to the voters of how they would deal with people like Chen Yu-hao and whether they could root out "black gold" in the future.
Liu Kuan-teh is a political commentator based in Taipei.
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
Eighty-seven percent of Taiwan’s energy supply this year came from burning fossil fuels, with more than 47 percent of that from gas-fired power generation. The figures attracted international attention since they were in October published in a Reuters report, which highlighted the fragility and structural challenges of Taiwan’s energy sector, accumulated through long-standing policy choices. The nation’s overreliance on natural gas is proving unstable and inadequate. The rising use of natural gas does not project an image of a Taiwan committed to a green energy transition; rather, it seems that Taiwan is attempting to patch up structural gaps in lieu of
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersecurity, should not be viewed as isolated events. The emphasis on missile defense, including Taiwan’s newly introduced T-Dome project, is simply the most visible sign of a deeper trend that has been taking shape quietly over the past two to three years. Taipei is seeking to expand security and defense cooperation with Israel, something officials
“Can you tell me where the time and motivation will come from to get students to improve their English proficiency in four years of university?” The teacher’s question — not accusatory, just slightly exasperated — was directed at the panelists at the end of a recent conference on English language learning at Taiwanese universities. Perhaps thankfully for the professors on stage, her question was too big for the five minutes remaining. However, it hung over the venue like an ominous cloud on an otherwise sunny-skies day of research into English as a medium of instruction and the government’s Bilingual Nation 2030
RSS