Because of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) failure to win a legislative majority, President Chen Shui-bian (
The honeymoon for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and party Chairman Lien Chan (
Soong returned to Taiwan from the US on Monday to attend the funeral of former first lady Faina Chiang Fang-liang (
The public recently voted in support of the current state of affairs -- steady growth. All parties must listen to this judgment in a humble manner, end the power struggles and try to understand that the national interest lies in cooperation. When Chen resigned as party chairman, he moved toward the political high ground of a "president for all." He should now take the initiative and invite party leaders to offer input on major policies and seek as much cooperation from them as possible under the circumstances.
In the 20 days remaining in this legislative session, a number of important issues remain unresolved, including the confirmation of Control Yuan appointments, the arms procurement bill, the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan (
All parties must make the national interest their top priority and seek a practical solution to defense needs and the cost of necessary arms, rather than using the issue as a tool for political struggle.
The political establishment now faces a comprehensive reshuffle. The stances of the pan-blue and pan-green camps are consequently adjusting to the new situation, and this may reduce the level of political extremism on show. It should now become possible for various problems to be dealt with through clearer channels of communication. With this, Taiwan can only begin moving forward again.
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US