If President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen should not have the difficulty deciding on his running mate that he seems to have now. In normal party politics, supposedly those who want to be vice president would have already voiced their wishes, and the candidate preferred by Chen and his party would already have been made known. To have healthy competition, political parties should always show their cards as well as their policies to the public.
However, five months before the election, the DPP is still playing the guessing game of "who will be Chen's running mate?" and the party has gone so far as to say that the vice presidential candidate may not succeed to the presidency. Does the DPP really want long-term rule or not?
By being ambiguous, does Chen aim to surprise his rival camp with his announcement as he did four years ago? Or does he actually have problems striking a deal with his favorite candidate?
No matter what, his ambiguity is harmful to his own party. It is confusing that he praises Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) from time to time while arguing with her on several public occasions about his choice of running mate. He treats Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) with the same ambiguity.
Su is constantly praised by Chen and accompanies him on many campaign tours. However, he has to face a barrage of questions from the media about his position in next year's election. It is difficult to believe that such ambiguity is not a political tactic.
Surprisingly, the political party that ushered in democracy in Taiwan now indulges in the "royal palace politics" once used by former presidents Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). It is almost like deja vu of the KMT's rule when we see DPP politicians busy relaying what the president has said and trying to make sense of his ambiguous comments.
If such ambiguity is a strategy meant to deceive the party's rivals, then I'd say it is rather deceiving the DPP instead, as well as the voters. No political rivals will be fooled this time, expecting there to be another Nobel laureate like Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) to bring a glow to the party's name like four years ago. There won't be such an saintly figure in this election, since politics tarnishes even someone with the brightest halo.
Rumor has it that the DPP's New Tide faction (新潮流系) backs Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to run for the vice presidency, but Tsai has never agreed. She demonstrates her own advantages and charisma. Although her cross-strait policies upset quite a few businesspeople, including Chen's vital supporter, Evergreen chief executive officer Chang Rong-fa (張榮發), she is eloquent when she defends her policies.
Nevertheless, Su's competence and Lu's determination are incomparable. So all of them should make it clear whether they are interested in being Chen's running mate.
Whatever Chen's concern is, he'd better decide on his running mate and announce it soon. It's time to show the voters where the beef is. What he's been doing is not a strategy to deceive rivals but a guessing game that is getting boring.
Ku Er-teh is a freelance writer.
Translated by Jennie Shih
Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in late February. During their various meetings with Taiwan’s leaders, this delegation never missed an opportunity to emphasize the strength of their cross-party consensus on issues relating to Taiwan and China. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Their instruction upon taking the reins of the committee was to preserve China issues as a last bastion of bipartisanship in an otherwise deeply divided Washington. They have largely upheld their pledge. But in doing so, they have performed the
It is well known that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ambition is to rejuvenate the Chinese nation by unification of Taiwan, either peacefully or by force. The peaceful option has virtually gone out of the window with the last presidential elections in Taiwan. Taiwanese, especially the youth, are resolved not to be part of China. With time, this resolve has grown politically stronger. It leaves China with reunification by force as the default option. Everyone tells me how and when mighty China would invade and overpower tiny Taiwan. However, I have rarely been told that Taiwan could be defended to
It should have been Maestro’s night. It is hard to envision a film more Oscar-friendly than Bradley Cooper’s exploration of the life and loves of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. It was a prestige biopic, a longtime route to acting trophies and more (see Darkest Hour, Lincoln, and Milk). The film was a music biopic, a subgenre with an even richer history of award-winning films such as Ray, Walk the Line and Bohemian Rhapsody. What is more, it was the passion project of cowriter, producer, director and actor Bradley Cooper. That is the kind of multitasking -for-his-art overachievement that Oscar
Chinese villages are being built in the disputed zone between Bhutan and China. Last month, Chinese settlers, holding photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), moved into their new homes on land that was not Xi’s to give. These residents are part of the Chinese government’s resettlement program, relocating Tibetan families into the territory China claims. China shares land borders with 15 countries and sea borders with eight, and is involved in many disputes. Land disputes include the ones with Bhutan (Doklam plateau), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin) and Nepal (near Dolakha and Solukhumbu districts). Maritime disputes in the South China