A few days ago, former Judicial Yuan president Shih Chi-yang (
In the face of the pan-blue camp's attempts to deprive the people of their right to vote in the country's first ever referendum, the pan-green camp has also brought together more than 800 legal experts to refute Shih's argument. This group believes the pan-blue camp's claims distort the current situation and ignore the threats posed by China's 500 or so missiles aimed at this country. Taiwan will not have the time to hold a referendum when a life-and-death threat arises. The Referendum Law would be useless at such a point.
The views of the pan-green's experts are valid. After all, the Democratic Progressive Party government has only been in power for less than four years after 40 years of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule. The thorny problems left behind by the old regime, such as its illegally gained assets, the size of the legislature, changing electoral constituencies and the establishment of a double ballot system as well as the creation of a new constitution compatible with the nation's democratic development, all need to be determined via referendums.
Referendums are an expression of the people's power. They also guarantee that this nation's democratic development will be regulated by law. Therefore, the sooner the referendum is held, the earlier the nation's democracy will be deepened.
Taiwan remains under military threat from China. Beijing's missiles are real and so is the threat they pose, as shown by the 1996 missile crisis. At the same time, Taiwan's international space remains limited by China. Fewer than 30 countries recognize Taiwan's sovereign status. Isn't the situation serious enough to merit a referendum?
Taiwan must make its voice heard in the international community and express its people's opposition to China's missile threat and their love for peace. With all the attention focused on the presidential election, it is certainly worthwhile to use this time to make the nation's voice heard in the international community.
The enthusiasm displayed during the hand-in-hand rally on Feb. 28 was proof that public opinion is tilting toward the exercise of referendum rights and saying a loud no to China's military threat. This popular sentiment is a power that any future government must heed. The pan-blue camp should take note of public opinion and try to win the approval of voters by siding with the people of this country and not the leadership in Beijing. They should spend more time explaining China's oppressive acts to the international community instead of blindly echoing Beijing's condemnation of the referendum and trying to disrupt the balloting. The pan-blue camp has just a few days left to try to persuade voters that they have this nation's best interests at heart -- not their own.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
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