The use by the pan-blues of Adolf Hitler in their campaign ads is beneath contempt but we hope that in the last week of the election campaign it might serve to focus people's minds on the choice they have to make. For what was Hitler's government but the capture of the institutions of the state by a criminal gang? And what is the pan-blue alliance but a criminal gang seeking to capture the institutions of the state?
For those who find even this analogy in questionable taste let us remind them that during its period of government in China the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) murdered some 10,075,000 people -- ordinary innocent people, we stress, as this figure does not include war deaths. It is often forgotten that Chiang Kai-shek (
Times have changed, say the pan-blues. Perhaps so, but the fact that the pan-blues have never shown even the slightest contrition for what they have done -- and hard-liners were in fact incensed when in the late 1990s former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) apologized on behalf of the government for the 228 massacre -- suggests that they gave up the habit of killing not because of some Damascene conversion in their moral outlook but simply because it was expedient to do so.
What the pan-blues have never given up is their propensity for theft. Their presidential candidates are themselves mired in this culture of theft. People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Thieves leading a party of theft -- hardly an edifying prospect for a future government. Which makes Saturday's mass turnout for the pan-blues rather depressing. Why would people want to vote for a party whose principle skill is looting? It is truly amazing that anybody can fail to see the pan-blues' desire for power as anything other than the desire of confidence tricksters to persuade the people to leave the cookie jar in their care. Voting for the pan-blues is simply queuing up to have one's pocket picked.
This election has been characterized as a fight between pro-Taiwan and pro-China forces. It has been described as a battle between progressive forces, with an agenda that stresses democratic choice and popular sovereignty, and the forces of reaction, with their record of political exclusion and their current rejection of democratic choice -- a rejection best summed up as "you can vote, but only for the things we allow you to vote for." Both of these characterizations are correct.
But there is one more way of looking at the election. It is between those who have had a vision of how to make Taiwan a better society and have tried to actualize that vision, and those who see political power as a means only to enrich themselves. The pan-blues are not interested in making Taiwan a better place to live in. They are interested in expanding their real-estate portfolios in the US at our expense. What amazes is that Lien and Soong's prostrating themselves on Saturday did not cover them with ridicule. After all, if they love Taiwan so much, why did that make sure their sons dodged military service? Why do they have so much property and so many family members overseas? Can Taiwanese really fall for these crooked charlatans? Do turkeys really vote for Christmas?
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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