Many people may be unaware that Hong Kong and Chinese intellectuals are now describing the presidential election as one in which voters will decide whether to elect their own president or to elect a "chief executive" who answers to Beijing. Beijing has long made it clear that it opposes any form of referendum or a new constitution in Taiwan. It is also against the idea that there is one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait. If voters elect leaders who meet China's demands, then future presidents will be like the chief executives of Hong Kong and Macau -- at Beijing's beck and call.
When this country held its first ever presidential election in 1996, China fired missiles into the sea off Taiwan's coast. Voters reacted by electing Lee Teng-hui (
Beijing is now ganging up with unscrupulous politicians in a number of other countries -- including some in Paris, Tokyo and Washington -- to try to put enormous pressure on Chen's referendum -- a democratic mechanism that Beijing is most fearful of. Should the electorate choose to give in?
Beijing is against Taiwan's referendum for the simple reason that it fears further consolidation of this nation's democracy. It poses a major threat to the Beijing authorities, who have long been reluctant to carry out democratic reforms. The Chinese people's desire for human rights, democracy and the rule of law will certainly receive a massive boost from the examples set by Taiwan. This country's democratization serves as a mirror that reflects the ugly face of the Chinese Communist Party.
The referendum is politically significant because it will reaffirm the nation's identity -- in addition to expressing the desire of the Taiwanese people to see the removal of hundreds of ballistic missiles that Beijing has deployed against their country. Once the referendum is held, any change to the nation's political structure -- including the enactment of a new constitution and reform of the legislature -- will have to be determined by its people via referendums. This will effectively exclude China's 1.2 billion people from Taiwan's affairs.
This is something that the pan-blue camp's leaders, who share a China complex, can hardly accept. Their sentiments are evident in Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan's (
Chen has made it clear that he will ensure that the referendum be held even if it costs him the election. The people of Taiwan can join hands and use their referendum ballots to say "no" to China loud and clear. Such an opportunity has not come easily and it should not be taken for granted.
The pan-blue camp must not get mired in their Chinese nationalist sentiments or try to obstruct the referendum through technicalities. Much less should they instigate riots to threaten the people. Their lack of confidence in the people -- and their blinding indifference to the best interests of the people -- has become their hallmark. The people should prove them wrong.
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reach the point of confidence that they can start and win a war to destroy the democratic culture on Taiwan, any future decision to do so may likely be directly affected by the CCP’s ability to promote wars on the Korean Peninsula, in Europe, or, as most recently, on the Indian subcontinent. It stands to reason that the Trump Administration’s success early on May 10 to convince India and Pakistan to deescalate their four-day conventional military conflict, assessed to be close to a nuclear weapons exchange, also served to
The recent aerial clash between Pakistan and India offers a glimpse of how China is narrowing the gap in military airpower with the US. It is a warning not just for Washington, but for Taipei, too. Claims from both sides remain contested, but a broader picture is emerging among experts who track China’s air force and fighter jet development: Beijing’s defense systems are growing increasingly credible. Pakistan said its deployment of Chinese-manufactured J-10C fighters downed multiple Indian aircraft, although New Delhi denies this. There are caveats: Even if Islamabad’s claims are accurate, Beijing’s equipment does not offer a direct comparison
After India’s punitive precision strikes targeting what New Delhi called nine terrorist sites inside Pakistan, reactions poured in from governments around the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement on May 10, opposing terrorism and expressing concern about the growing tensions between India and Pakistan. The statement noticeably expressed support for the Indian government’s right to maintain its national security and act against terrorists. The ministry said that it “works closely with democratic partners worldwide in staunch opposition to international terrorism” and expressed “firm support for all legitimate and necessary actions taken by the government of India
Taiwan aims to elevate its strategic position in supply chains by becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) hub for Nvidia Corp, providing everything from advanced chips and components to servers, in an attempt to edge out its closest rival in the region, South Korea. Taiwan’s importance in the AI ecosystem was clearly reflected in three major announcements Nvidia made during this year’s Computex trade show in Taipei. First, the US company’s number of partners in Taiwan would surge to 122 this year, from 34 last year, according to a slide shown during CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech on Monday last week.
RSS