The Pequod is going down, and going down fast.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Their "unfair election" misadventure is a desperate ploy to save their careers and their reputations, and they are not afraid to take everyone down with them.
Any pan-blue politician worth his salt will cut himself loose from the wreckage of the Lien-Soong campaign and seek a new vessel to carry his political aspirations.
The younger generation of pan-blue leaders has to make a choice between tying their future to the waning fortunes of the old guard of the pan-blue camp and charting a new course of reconciliation and constructive criticism.
There is no reason the pan-blues cannot, over the next four years, embrace the role of opposition party and thereby strengthen the political debate in Taiwan.
Were the pan-blues to play their cards right, they would also have a groundswell of support to tap into for the December legislative elections.
But why should anyone want a revived pan-blue camp?
Because democracy requires nuanced and spirited debate. No government is infallible, and no political party can know what is best for everyone on every issue (although many claim that they do).
If Taiwan's opposition party sinks into a morass of self-pity and unthinking contrariness, how will the people of Taiwan resolve any of the lasting problems they must face?
There has been a lot of poor sportsmanship all around. The nation is divided about how to proceed socially, economically and diplomatically.
This, at least, must be recognized by both political alliances.
The divisive and acrimonious tactics of the past should be set aside.
The pan-blues have learned that these are the components of a losing strategy, having lost credibility and two presidential elections.
The alliance has capable, popular and honest politicians. Such leaders should recognize the opportunity they now have to take control of their party and chart a new political course.
The problems facing Taiwan -- how to resolve the cross-strait dispute, how to strengthen and nurture the economy, how to clean up the environmental disaster left by decades of neglect, among others -- are impervious to quick fixes and catchy slogans.
If the debate over these issues degenerates into mere barroom brawling in the legislature, who in Taiwan will benefit?
Ahab never got his whale, and Lien and Soong aren't going to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
All of the desperate efforts they have used to fan the flames of anger surrounding their defeat won't make any difference.
They have tried all of the legal solutions available.
They have whimpered, whined, begged and thundered for a new election, a new recount -- anything to give them victory. But it is to no avail.
Lien has gotten his recount, but this is not Florida, and the vote-tallying process is both swift and accurate. Besides, the pan-blues smeared the entire election as "unfair," but they never alleged impropriety in the initial tally of ballots. It is improbable that a recount will alter the final result of the election, and Lien knows it. Hence the theatrics.
So let the old KMT -- the corrupt, authoritarian and ruthless KMT -- die the spectacular death it deserves.
Send Lien and Soong packing.
Mac William Bishop is an editor at the Taipei Times.
Weeks into the craze, nobody quite knows what to make of the OpenClaw mania sweeping China, marked by viral photos of retirees lining up for installation events and users gathering in red claw hats. The queues and cosplay inspired by the “raising a lobster” trend make for irresistible China clickbait. However, the West is fixating on the least important part of the story. As a consumer craze, OpenClaw — the AI agent designed to do tasks on a user’s behalf — would likely burn out. Without some developer background, it is too glitchy and technically awkward for true mainstream adoption,
Out of 64 participating universities in this year’s Stars Program — through which schools directly recommend their top students to universities for admission — only 19 filled their admissions quotas. There were 922 vacancies, down more than 200 from last year; top universities had 37 unfilled places, 40 fewer than last year. The original purpose of the Stars Program was to expand admissions to a wider range of students. However, certain departments at elite universities that failed to meet their admissions quotas are not improving. Vacancies at top universities are linked to students’ program preferences on their applications, but inappropriate admission
On Monday, a group of bipartisan US senators arrived in Taiwan to support the nation’s special defense bill to counter Chinese threats. At the same time, Beijing announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had invited Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) to visit China, a move to make the KMT a pawn in its proxy warfare against Taiwan and the US. Since her inauguration as KMT chair last year, Cheng, widely seen as a pro-China figure, has made no secret of her desire to interact with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and meet with Xi, naming it a
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) took the stage at a protest rally on Sunday in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei in support of former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who has been sentenced to 17 years in jail for corruption and embezzlement. Huang told the crowd that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) had sent a message of support the previous day, saying she would be traveling from the south to Taipei: If the protest continued into the evening, she had said, she would show up. The rally was due to end
RSS