VCDs containing skits that make some very sensational and inflammatory personal attacks on People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), among other members of the pan-blue and pro-unification camps and the media, have created a storm.
The curious thing is this: As offended as Soong and his gang may feel about the attacks, except for the heightened hostility in their tone, nothing new has really been expressed in those skits. Anyone who has had a chance to listen to some of the comments made about Soong in talkshows on local radio stations in southern Taiwan, where Soong does not have a chance of winning any popularity contest, will agree to this point.
So why is the pan-blue camp so enraged over these VCDs when very few people had even heard of them until Soong hit the roof?
Members of the pan-blue camp are filing complaints against not only the makers of the VCDs and groups that helped finance their production, but even President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-general Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) are being sued for libel. Suing Lee, Chen, and Chang is of course, preposterous, to say the least, because there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that they were involved. Surely the pan-blue camp must know this.
It is just too hard to believe that the DPP and Chen would have done something like this at a time when the party is finally overtaking Soong and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) in terms of popular support in the presidential race by successfully running an issue-oriented campaign. Issues that Chen has pitched thus far, such as writing a new Constitution tailored to the needs of Taiwan and public referendum rights, have gradually won over the support of the voters. These issues, which were previously considered radical and extreme, are being embraced by even moderate voters, suggesting that the times have really changed.
According to a survey published by a local Chinese-language newspaper yesterday, good campaign strategy coupled with Chen's successful visit to the US have pushed popular support of the president and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) ahead of Lien and Soong for the first time.
In the circumstances, the release of the VCDs at this time can only incite resentment and repulsion among moderate voters, who, according to general consensus, will decide the outcome of the presidential election. It is therefore very important for the DPP and Chen to convince the general public that they had nothing to do with the controversial VCDs.
As for the pan-blue camp, its high-profile rage serves at least two purposes -- garnering public sympathy and diverting voters' attention from its desperate lack of campaign platforms and issues. After all, in his days as the "oppressed Governor Soong" under former president Lee, Soong learned how being cast in the role of a victim can go a long way in winning over votes. Lien and Soong's inability to present any vision for Taiwan's future in their publicity campaign is rapidly evolving into a major crisis for the pan-blue camp. At a time like this, it is better for them to lure public attention away from these issues and to focus it on scandals.
While it is true that the pan-blue camp has had its share of fun blackening and insulting the reputation of Chen, his family and the DPP government, two wrongs do not make a right. No matter how much one may disapprove of and dislike Soong, it is essential that we have a clean and healthy campaign and election in which meaningful and constructive debates are held on issues of real concern and interest to the public.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry