It would have been nice to write the editorial that we had planned, an upbeat piece about how, now President Chen Shui-bian (
Let us make it clear, this rapprochement must still take place. And in this light Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan's (
It was not a concession speech. It was not the speech that an honorable and responsible political figure would make telling his supporters that they had had to abide by the verdict of the ballot, go home and try again in four years time.
Instead Lien told his supporters that the election had been stolen, he demanded that it be annulled and tried his best to turn an election crowd into a vengeful mob. The message Lien gave his supporters was that until the assassination attempt on the president on Friday was cleared up, the election should not have gone ahead.
This is amazingly ironic given that it was the pan-blues who had said that the Democratic Progressive Party would try to find some pretext before the election to declare martial law and stop it from happening. Even with the president lying shot in hospital -- and let us reiterate that the idea that the president had himself shot in the stomach as a ploy to win the election can only be the product of minds unhinged by the irrationality and bitterness of the pan-blue campaign -- the DPP stood firm on its commitment to democratic practices. It is the pan-blues that now want the election, having taken place, annulled. Why? Simply because they lost.
The pan-blues reject the result of the election because they lost. Taiwan is apparently only allowed to hold elections that the pan-blues win. Thus the pan-blues show what their real attitude toward democracy is. Something perhaps like Joseph Stalin's who once said that the trouble with free elections was that you never knew who was going to win them.
Let us be frank: Today's pan-blues are yesterday's bunch of vicious, thieving, fascistic thugs who raped and looted Taiwan for half a century. They have been trying to give the impression that they are reformed, that they are democrats to the core and during the election campaign we at least tried to believe that this was so, even if we though their policies stank. But last night they reveled themselves in their true colors.
There was patently nothing wrong with the election -- it was honestly carried out and the vote tallying was impartial. That the DPP went ahead with it after Friday's shooting was none the less brave for being the sensible thing to do. We have no doubt that the challenge to the election will fail. But we now have to fear what mischief the pan-blues have up their sleeves.
Lien last night appeared to want to foment a state of civil insurrection. This is either because his mind has been unhinged by losing or because he seeks a pretext to invite China to intervene in Taiwan's affairs.
It is absurd to think this would not be resisted. Lien is either a case for psychiatric treatment or a two-time loser who would rather lead Taiwan into war than admit that, with a 20-point lead a year ago, the election was the pan-blues' to lose -- and they lost it.
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military. As one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors, a boost in Japan’s defense capabilities would serve as a strong deterrent to China in acting unilaterally in the
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference on Jan. 9, in response to China’s latest round of live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait: “India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our trade, economic, people-to-people and maritime interests. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, avoid unilateral actions and resolve issues peacefully without threat or use of force.” The statement set a firm tone at the beginning of the year for India-Taiwan relations, and reflects New Delhi’s recognition of shared interests and the strategic importance of regional stability. While India
RSS