If the pan-blue camp doesn't win the next election, its stupidity is to blame.
The pan blues' stupidity lies in its limited knowledge of today's situation, its own identity and its enemy. Among the many causes that led to the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) swift defeat by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the late 1940s, "ignorance" was one of the key factors, according to its own party elder Chen Li-fu (
Ignorance and stupidity are two different words but they mean the same. The past ignorance of the KMT and the stupidity of today's pan-blue camp make one begin to believe that "political genes" do exist and can be passed down.
The KMT has been an opposition party for almost four years. Despite its fall from power, it still acts as if it were in power, always putting up quite a front. It is ridiculous for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to behave like an opposition party. Yet it is absolutely pathetic for the blue camp to act as if it was still in power.
Election campaigns are not about wining and dining and observing etiquette. The pan-blue camp, however, has churned out excessive formalities for the presidential election. The decision-making platform built between the KMT and the People First Party (PFP) may appear representative but in reality it is not functional at all.
Within the camp, decisions come from two, if not more, sources at the same time, distracting enough to disrupt the camp's original plan and bungle its chance of winning. Not to mention the fact that a crowd of irrelevant figures are attempting to use this mechanism to voice their opinions. So the pan-blue camp has exhausted its resources even before the real battle starts. On the contrary, the DPP has a unified decision-making body.
Interestingly, as the political figures of the KMT-PFP alliance retain their bureaucratic ways, its academics continue to be a school of eggheads. As everyone knows, campaign language has to be simple so that people can easily pronounce and remember them. The pan-blues' cross-strait policies started with their "one China roof," then "parallel development" and later "pro-peace, not pro-PRC."
These expressions may be comprehensible to academics and bureaucrats, yet for those who can immediately understand expressions like "one country on each side," these slogans sound confusing, thus failing to resonate. So the pan-blues' stupidity is even reflected in its choice of language.
Most stupid of all, the pan-blue camp has not yet formulated tactics, not to mention strategies, in the election campaign.
The pan-blue presidential candidates have not mirrored Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's successful campaign tactic of ignoring what his rivals say about him simply because KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
In the last couple of months, the pan-green camp has mercilessly broadsided the pan-blue camp, which in turn could barely cope or fight back, thus resulting in a slump in the polls. Obviously, the pan-blues are so stupid as to choose the wrong tactics.
The pan-blue camp not only knows little about defense, it also knows little about offense. While the pan-greens launch wave after wave of attacks, the pan-blues' attempts to hit back could barely be pettier.
For example, during President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) visit to the US, the pan-blues criticized him for allegedly buying diplomacy with arms purchases and failing to get a 21-gun salute when is is clear to all that the protocol offered to Chen was in the hands of the host country.
These accusations only show that the pan-blue camp is narrow-minded and green-eyed. The pan-blue camp hurts itself with these comments, which unravel its own shortcomings as well as its extraordinary stupidity.
Conducting an election campaign is like fighting a war. The one who obtains a vantage point in strategies stands a better chance of winning. The pan-blue camp should be the one that makes advances and tries to rattle the ruling party. But now the two sides have changed places and the ammunition is in the DPP's hands. Unless the pan-blue camp changes its strategies, it will repeat its history of losing battles because of its own ignorance.
Wang Chien-chuang is the president of The Journalist magazine.
Translated by Jennie Shih
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
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
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.