In the elections for the sixth Legislative Yuan last Saturday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which enjoys an administrative advantage, and the Taiwan Solidarity Union, led by former president Lee Teng-hui (
Their responsible approach is laudable. After all, the core of democracy is "political accountability," which is exactly the fundamental principle Taiwan's politicians must learn.
Party leaders and other decision-makers must take responsibility for their parties' gains and losses in major elections. This allows an objective standard to differentiate between right and wrong within each party, and is a clear indicator of politicians' morals. Under such circumstances, those who are honest and responsible can be able to distinguish themselves from those who are thirsty for power while passing the buck in full view of the electorate.
The most prominent case is President Chen Shui-bian's (
Moreover, it is a good opportunity for the DPP, which has always claimed to love Taiwan, to make a change from the political system introduced by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), in which the party had primacy in politics. It is time for the DPP to break with the political structures of the party-state and correct the egregious error of having a president who is also party chairman. It should ensure that it is clearly stated that the presidency and party chairmanship cannot be held concurrently, so that the policies of the party, which are hidden from the voting public, are clearly separated from those of the government administration. Only in this way can the president be a "president for all the people," rather than just being a party leader.
Political parties in many advanced democratic nations serve only as election machinery, their main function being to guide public opinion during election campaigns. The bad examples set by the KMT, which has a massive party organization which allowed it to concurrently hold the presidency and the party chairmanship, should be rejected by the DPP. Despite the KMT's massive party organization, it still lost its hold on government power, and even though the DPP has a fair-sized party machinery, it still managed to be defeated in the legislative elections. Clearly a party organization is not central to winning or retaining power.
So, even as the DPP considers internal reform, it should rationalize the definition of the party's status to something more in keeping with the needs of a modern democratic country. It is important to build a political party that conforms to the spirit of demo-cracy, and the emphasis of party activity should be focused on work in the constituencies. The DPP must learn the lesson of its defeat in the legislative elections and plant the idea of responsible government deeply in the ground of Taiwan's political culture.
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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