When Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) was first elected a legislator more than 20 years ago, he was certainly no stunning talent. New legislators who at the time received more attention than Wang included the KMT "Three Musketeers" -- Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山) representing labor organizations, Tsai You-tu (蔡友土) representing farmers' organizations and Huang Tse-ching (黃澤青) representing fishermen's organizations -- as well as Hsiao Teng-tzang (蕭天讚) from Chiayi who later became Minister of Justice, and the independent Kang Ning-hsiang (康寧祥).
At the time, these five prestigious members were well-known and received a lot of media coverage. More senior legislators admired them and maintained good relations with them. Chiang Ching-kuo's (
Even though the "Three Musketeers" had not attained a high level of education, their political work was solid and they always had something substantial to say during interpellations.
After Kang was elected to the legislature, he was generally recognized as a most conscientious student. If he wasn't in the library immersed in books he was in the research room studying and searching for information. During the annual budget review, his copy of the budget was always full of scribbled notes. Even many of the old legislators holding political views different from Kang's admired the diligence and depth of his work.
Tsai's and Huang's political careers, however, were cut short after the system whereby legislators represented different professions was abolished. Hsiao, even though he was the first new legislator to become a member of the Cabinet, had to step down due to suspicions of involvement in a lobbying scandal. For the past few years, Hsiao has served as chairman of the Central News Agency. Hsieh served as Council of Labor Affairs chairman for a while, but after having been defeated in an election for Taipei County commissioner, he returned home to Hualien, dejected. Kang, who saw his star-status wane after being labelled part of the non-mainstream party faction, has had to watch the generation following the independents surpass him. Despite having done a good job in the Control Yuan, his appointment to the post of vice defense minister is still a step backward.
During the generational change in the legislature a few years back, Hsieh was seen as a prospective successor as legislative speaker. But because of Hsieh's education, Lee Teng-hui's (
While Kang and the "Three Musketeers" became stars thanks to their political work, Wang was busy with his own business and had no success worth mentioning on the legislative floor. When he, Tsai Chen-chou (蔡辰洲) and others formed the "Club of 13" it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere. But Wang is not a principled and opinionated politician. He has a soft personality and almost no political enemies. He has relied on social connections rather than professionalism. Handling his connections consistently over 20 years and eventually obtaining the unanimous support of each faction of each party, it is by pure skill that he has reached the position he holds today.
Let's turn our gaze to today's legislators. Afraid that they won't have enough time to bring their show to TV every day, there is no chance that they will have time to immerse themselves in books in the library looking for information. Not even one in a hundred will want to use these outdated methods of Kang and the "Three Musketeers." We will even be hard put to find someone like Wang, who step by step goes about expanding his network of contacts.
Parliamentary leaders in democratic countries are produced "naturally." This means that they, without any extra effort, will stand a chance of becoming speaker if their background experience is sufficient, their political performance is sufficiently professional or if they are sufficiently well connected. Liu and Wang relied on their experience and connections to win the speakership. Chiang Ping-kun (
Even though the DPP is the largest party in the legislature, both the speakership and the vice speakership slipped through its fingers -- this time -- and this is harmful to its status as the biggest party. The DPP should learn from the Wang story, and start working hard to gain experience, professionalism and connections, bringing forward its own Wang before the next three years are up. If not, the legislature will forever belong to someone else.
Wang Chien-chuang is president of The Journalist magazine.
Translated by Perry Svensson
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
For Taiwan, the ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets are a warning signal: When a major power stretches the boundaries of self-defense, smaller states feel the tremors first. Taiwan’s security rests on two pillars: US deterrence and the credibility of international law. The first deters coercion from China. The second legitimizes Taiwan’s place in the international community. One is material. The other is moral. Both are indispensable. Under the UN Charter, force is lawful only in response to an armed attack or with UN Security Council authorization. Even pre-emptive self-defense — long debated — requires a demonstrably imminent
Since being re-elected, US President Donald Trump has consistently taken concrete action to counter China and to safeguard the interests of the US and other democratic nations. The attacks on Iran, the earlier capture of deposed of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and efforts to remove Chinese influence from the Panama Canal all demonstrate that, as tensions with Beijing intensify, Washington has adopted a hardline stance aimed at weakening its power. Iran and Venezuela are important allies and major oil suppliers of China, and the US has effectively decapitated both. The US has continuously strengthened its military presence in the Philippines. Japanese Prime
RSS