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.
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
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