With the re-election of the two incumbent mayors Saturday, no political party reaped a major victory in the polls. Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
Attention almost immediately refocused on what Ma's next political step will be. Will he run for president in 2004 -- or will he follow the Chen Shui-bian (
Chen became the DPP's top political star after winning the mayorship in 1994. Despite his popularity, however, political ethics and his commitment to Taipei's residents stopped him from running in the 1996 presidential election, so the party nominated Peng Ming-min (
Can Ma's victory be interpreted as signalling the rise of the blue camp and the decline of the green? Ma won 110,000 more votes than in his first election, but this could be attributed to the fact that not only was he the incumbent, but he was facing a weaker challenger. Lee was not as strong as Chen in terms of publicity, campaign experience or the time he was given for preparation. At best, Lee could only defend the DPP's traditional voter base, not expand it.
The increase in Ma's vote count was therefore not surprising. Hsieh also saw his vote count increase, if by a much smaller margin. If the pan-blue camp saw its support rising, so did the pan-green camp, but on a smaller scale.
Another question is whether Ma's victory represents the rise of pro-unification forces. Ma has advocated direct links and called for an expansion of cross-strait exchanges. He has even suggested that Taipei's Sungshan Airport be used for direct flights. But Taipei's mayor is just a local government head. Cross-strait relations are determined by the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan. Ma's high vote count represents only voter identification with his charisma and his administration's performance. It would be absurd to interpret Ma's victory either as a sign of rising voter backing for the pan-blue camp or unification.
Ma's re-election was a major victory. As Chen readily admitted, it was a warning for the DPP, which does not have much to show after two-and-a-half years in power. The economy has yet to show signs of a strong recovery, unemployment continues to rise and financial reforms are in jeopardy. Educational reforms are also causing a public uproar. All these are reasons why middle-of-the-road voters abandoned the DPP and voted for Ma.
Now that the DPP has heard the electorate's voice, it must come up with concrete measures to improve the situation. Otherwise, it will pay a much higher price in the next elections.
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