Today, we are going to send the year 2003 into history. However, at this time of retrospection and anticipation, there is news that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has reneged on its promise to the people regarding the national assets it sometimes acquired at dirt-cheap prices through questionable means and other times simply stole.
How can the Taiwanese public not be angered by such news?
It is difficult for us to know whether the KMT, which ruled Taiwan for half a century and lost the reins of power more than three years ago, wants to regain power. Even when it was in power, the KMT promised the public that it would put its assets in a trust fund, and that it was only waiting for passage of a bill governing the disposition of assets gained through improper means by political parties. The KMT's promises have turned out to be lies.
On top of information revealed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators about the KMT selling off its assets, the December issue of Wealth magazine (
The properties included the party's old Taipei City branch office on Zhongxiao East Road, the Housheng building on Renai Road and the Tsungsheng building on Zhongxiao West Road. The KMT gained between NT$4 billion (US$117 million) and NT$5 billion from the sell-offs, according to the report.
The problem is that those assets stand on government land that was transferred to KMT ownership at dirt-cheap prices. A few properties were transferred without any remuneration, gifts from the KMT-run government to the KMT party. How generous!
These sneaky sell-offs are, of course, a thorough violation of the party's earlier promises to the people.
On Sunday, the DPP's campaign spokesman, Wu Nai-jen (
In the face of criticism, a KMT spokesperson said the party had used the money to cover the financial losses at KMT-run businesses, to repay bank loans and to pay for party operations.
What nonsense! The Taiwanese public may well be the rightful owners of most of these assets. How can the KMT use the money it raised to pay off its own debts before the assets' ownership is clarified?
Some say that the KMT is hurrying to sell off its assets to "innocent third parties" because it is worried about the growing calls for repossession of illegally transferred or stolen assets. Others say that the KMT is raising large sums of money to fund its presidential campaign, and has sold off its assets cheaply so that it can buy votes and bribe local vote captains.
Either or both of these claims are quite likely. More than 30 times, the KMT and its ally the People First Party (PFP) have blocked the party assets bill from passing committee review and reaching the legislative floor. Without the law, the DPP cannot go after the KMT's assets.
The thuggish behavior of the KMT and the PFP is outrageous. Lies and theft and China; that's all the pan-blue camp stands for. Heaven help Taiwan if it ever sees office again.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
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
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.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with