The presidential election and referendum have finished, and the Central Election Commission has proclaimed President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) as the win-ners. Unfortunately, the referendum did not succeed since the two questions failed to achieve the 50 percent vote required. The tiny margin by which the election was won prompted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair-man Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) to refuse to concede, calling for an immediate recount and the annulment of the election.
Governments around the world have already offered their congratulations, and this is to be seen as a victory for democracy. However, because a number of losers are refusing to play by the rules, a blow has been struck against Taiwanese democracy. These politicians have continued to protest, inciting social unrest and causing the stock market to fall. One wonders what the pan-blue supporters in the business world are thinking, having witnessed this turn of events.
With an eye on the year-end legislative elections, some pan-blue legislators have not only failed to encourage their supporters to be reasonable, but they have actively encouraged them to do decidedly unreasonable acts.
The road to democracy has not been an easy one, and through the actions of a few individuals over the last few days Taiwan's good name in the international community has been compromised. The legal authorities have already had the ballot boxes sealed and promised to promptly deal with Lien's and Soong's demands. Now that the furore surrounding the election is being dealt with through legal channels, the pan-blue politicians should desist from their current course, call off the protests and allow society to get back to normal.
The media has also come out of this election tarnished. We have seen huge disparities between the pre-election surveys and the exit polls conducted by a number of newspapers and TV stations and the actual outcome. These media have now lost all credibility. Furthermore, many commentators and media personalities overlooked the fact that a great number of people refused to participate in pre-election polls. In the end there appeared to be little relationship between the results of these polls and the final count. Why did so many people refuse to participate? Was it perhaps that the readers and viewers saw the surveys as fundamentally biased towards certain political parties, and therefore refused to take part in them?
The aftermath of the election will see a change in the political landscape. Lien will have to step down as KMT chairman to make way for new blood. If the KMT wishes to be a viable force four years from now, its leaders will have to cease turning their back on mainstream public opinion and recognize Taiwan. Failure to do so will result in a split between the various factions within the party. It is unlikely that the KMT and the PFP will join forces in the year-end legislative elections: their competitive spirit will surely smother their desire to co-operate.
Beijing may well have been disappointed by the news of another term for Chen, but the situation should nevertheless have a stabilizing and positive influence on Sino-Taiwanese relations. They will be reluctant to wait another four years for a possible handover of power, opting instead for dialogue with the powers-that-be, and no longer expect the president to accept the "one China" principle. It is hoped that the international community will take the mainstream will of the Taiwanese people seriously, recognize the fact that 60 percent of the people identify themselves as Taiwanese and want to be the masters of Taiwan, and amend their current "one China" policy.
Parris Chang is a Democratic Progressive Party legislator.
Translated by Paul Cooper
What began on Feb. 28 as a military campaign against Iran quickly became the largest energy-supply disruption in modern times. Unlike the oil crises of the 1970s, which stemmed from producer-led embargoes, US President Donald Trump is the first leader in modern history to trigger a cascading global energy crisis through direct military action. In the process, Trump has also laid bare Taiwan’s strategic and economic fragilities, offering Beijing a real-time tutorial in how to exploit them. Repairing the damage to Persian Gulf oil and gas infrastructure could take years, suggesting that elevated energy prices are likely to persist. But the most
In late January, Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), completed its first submerged dive, reaching a depth of roughly 50m during trials in the waters off Kaohsiung. By March, it had managed a fifth dive, still well short of the deep-water and endurance tests required before the navy could accept the vessel. The original delivery deadline of November last year passed months ago. CSBC Corp, Taiwan, the lead contractor, now targets June and the Ministry of National Defense is levying daily penalties for every day the submarine remains unfinished. The Hai Kun was supposed to be
The Legislative Yuan on Friday held another cross-party caucus negotiation on a special act for bolstering national defense that the Executive Yuan had proposed last year. The party caucuses failed to reach a consensus on several key provisions, so the next session is scheduled for today, where many believe substantial progress would finally be made. The plan for an eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.59 billion) special defense budget was first proposed by the Cabinet in November last year, but the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers have continuously blocked it from being listed on the agenda for
On Tuesday last week, the Presidential Office announced, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to depart, that President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned official trip to Eswatini, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Africa, had been delayed. It said that the three island nations of Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar had, without prior notice, revoked the charter plane’s overflight permits following “intense pressure” from China. Lai, in his capacity as the Republic of China’s (ROC) president, was to attend the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession. King Mswati visited Taiwan to attend Lai’s inauguration in 2024. This is the first
RSS