A host of social problems arose before and after last month's presidential election. The greatest disappointment was the behavior of politicians and the media. With their usual sloppiness and irresponsible behavior, they kept repeating statements that have since been proven to be completely wrong. This destroyed the public's fundamental trust, and as a result people now show less friendship for each other. This further reinforces public distrust of politicians' statements and media reports. This damage to social relationships is a far more serious problem than the ethnic issue that everyone is talking about.
Taiwan enjoys freedom of expression, but that does not mean that legislators, party officials and media organizations have a legal right to cheat the public. In recent months, however, we have seen politicians and some media organizations collude to support one side in the election. Party officials and even wanted criminals have issued completely groundless information, which in turn has been given coverage by media organizations. The most frightening developments in this vicious election were probably the open letters published by Chen Yu-hao (
If all of these accusations were true, why did the attacks against the green camp end with the campaign? Looking back, the incident seems to have been planned by certain political forces as a political tool with which to attack President Chen Shui-bian (
These reporters didn't verify the allegations or question their credibility as professionalism demands. These media cannot say today that they also were victims of the Chen Yu-hao incident. They were blinded by their political opinions and decided to dance to his magic flute, and abandoned professionalism to help this scoundrel achieve his goal.
During the conflicts following the election, although a recount has yet to carried out, opposition leaders have flippantly lashed out at the president, accusing him of vote-rigging and cheating the nation. If the recount results verify the blue camp's defeat, how are these critics going to face the public they divided with their misleading propaganda?
The inquiries into the shooting of the president and Vice President Annette Lu (
Without evidence, politicians and media must not repeatedly spread suspicion. Moreover, media organizations should not only disseminate information; they also should enable their audiences to evaluate the accuracy of the information they provide. Taiwan's lawmakers, party leaders and media are all responsible for doing their duties in a moral, legal and professional manner. If they weren't, they would destroy democracy.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS