We may have to wait for a few days before the winner of the US presidential election is officially announced; a situation that brings back memories of 2000's interminable wrangling. However, the ending of the controversy between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000 made us confident in US democracy in that the losing side had the grace to accept that loss as part of the process of the rule of law and abide by it, controversial though it was.
Today, the Taiwan High Court will deliver its verdict in the lawsuit challenging the results of our own presidential election. On the eve of the verdict, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
But let's leave Lien's insanity aside. The reason the whole world paid attention to the outcome of the US election is that the US is the only remaining super-power and that it still assumes the role of policing the world. The re-elected Bush will thus influence global conflict and instability over the next four years. Allies of the US have high hopes for the Bush administration in its second term, while its enemies are watching it with covetous eyes. Given the US' position as the world's perceived democratic benchmark, dictatorships across the globe must to a certain extent view the election as a joke and hope that something will go wrong -- such as civil unrest, irregularities or vote rigging. Such scenarios would make every criticism directed at democracy by the world's dictators seem legitimate.
Regardless of what happens, the US is one of the world's oldest democracies. The lesson the world can learn from election lies in its electoral culture; how a stable, mature two-party political system works, the media's role in the electoral process and the accuracy of opinion polls and voter behavior. Research into these issues will become the foundation of political science theory around the world.
As an ally of the US, Taiwan is surely interested in the re-election of Bush. We are not concerned about the possibility of the Bush administration shifting its Taiwan policy. After all, the US is already a mature democracy. Taiwan-US relations have steadily developed on the basis of a long-term friendship. Although there were some ups and downs in the past, Taiwan-US relations are unlikely to alter unless a drastic change takes place across the Taiwan Strait.
We are concerned about the election because Taiwan-US relations are complex. We hope that post-election legal squabbling will not damage the image of US democracy. An incident-free outcome will help Taiwan and the US continue to boost their bilateral exchanges. Taipei needs to get on with talking to Washington about the proposed arms procurement plan, as well as our efforts to enter the World Health Organization and other international bodies.
As vote counting trickled in yesterday, people in this country were on edge -- as if we are participating in the election ourselves -- because Taiwan and the US are partners.
Finally, we hope that the blue camp and Beijing will be inspired by the democratic spirit of this election. If they can be inspired, the value of democratic elections will be impervious to criticism.
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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