Thanks to Taiwan's persistent identity problem, the unification-independence divide will continue to dominate the future development of party politics. But it remains to be seen whether Taiwan will move toward US-style bipartisan politics or Europe's multi-party model after the year-end legislative and local elections.
The New Party's tiny legislative caucus has shrunk from 12 to seven members, thanks to defections by those seeking greener pastures. Current political thinking has it that the New Party will soon disappear. Certainly, the year-end elections will be a severe test for parties struggling to avoid becoming a historical footnote. The recent uproar over New Party lawmaker Feng Ting-kuo's
In its handling of the uproar, the PFP has certainly epitomized the popular saying "Politics is the most sophisticated form of trickery." After winning Feng over to its camp, the PFP's rhetoric paints the act as simply "borrowing." As if it wasn't going full-tilt to win over as many politicians and members from its rivals as it can. Such brazenness is certainly in sync with the PFP's leadership style. After all, this is the same party that harbors a legislator who made outlandish accusations during the 2000 election campaign that President Chen Shui-bian
Meanwhile, the zombie that is the KMT has made a hash of its half-hearted reform efforts since losing power last year. It appears that members who enjoy relatively clean reputations are leaving, while the rotten apples are holding on for dear life. If the situation continues, no amount of invoking the memory of Sun Yat-sen
The DPP also appears in danger of losing its soul, plagued as it is by factionalism and an apparent inability to govern. The DPP's fawning on opposition lawmakers in order to stave off threatened boycotts of the Cabinet has been disheartening. The ruling party gave in to both internal and external pressure over local construction funds, which was clearly a case of legislators using state resources to buy political support for themselves. This precedent allowed the opposition to strike even harder over the nuclear plant issue. A party that lacks the courage to stand by its principles may be able to win a vote in the legislature, but its support among the people is eroding.
The loss of ideals and the rising interest in exchanging favors are a sure sign of increasing political mediocrity. It seems that the people of Taiwan are to taste the bitter side effects of democracy even before they have had a real chance to enjoy its fruit. A party -- or parties -- with foresight is what Taiwan needs and wants.
When I visited Taiwan last summer, I called on the nation to use its status as a technology superpower to build superweapons. It is obvious to me as I return a year later that Taiwan is now answering that call. By 2030, Taiwan envisions a domestic drone hub, capable of producing large quantities of drones per year. The nation continues to tighten cooperation across the private sector, scientific researchers and the elected government, on creating new and innovative production avenues for defense, while efforts to become central to the “democratic supply chain” are only increasing. Anduril is seeing all of these positive
Singaporean former Prime Minister and current senior minister Lee Hsien- Loong(李顯龍) last month stood on Chinese soil and told Beijing that Singapore cooperates because of “shared interests”, not because of common “ethnic descent,” a significant statement that has upended China’s cognitive warfare tactics of “ethnic nationalism.” Along with using its military buildup and economic growth to expand its international dominance, China has long deployed ethnic politics to promote the idea that all ethnic Chinese around the world, regardless of citizenship, share a tight bond with the Chinese motherland, by which it means the regime of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in San Francisco on Tuesday last week said if she had not met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), she would have been “just a plain” and “even negligible” KMT chairperson, bluntly signaling the role she is playing in her visit to the US — Beijing’s messenger from Taiwan. Cheng and her delegation arrived in the US on Monday last week for a two-week visit across five major cities. Her party said the group is scheduled to meet with US lawmakers, officials, policy experts and businesspeople. Before departing, Cheng said her trip
In 1935, the German Reich led by the National Socialist Party officially created the Nuremberg Race Laws, a “legal cage”, for German Jews, stripping them of citizenship, criminalizing their personal relationships, barring them from public life, and transforming them into stateless subjects and isolating them from the rest of society. Similarly, in March 2026, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) National People’s Congress adopted the “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” law, which represents the most significant shift in Chinese domestic governance since the era of Mao Zedong (毛澤東). Ostensibly designed as domestic legislation to manage China’s 56 officially recognized ethnic groups,
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