Many people may be unaware that Hong Kong and Chinese intellectuals are now describing the presidential election as one in which voters will decide whether to elect their own president or to elect a "chief executive" who answers to Beijing. Beijing has long made it clear that it opposes any form of referendum or a new constitution in Taiwan. It is also against the idea that there is one country on each side of the Taiwan Strait. If voters elect leaders who meet China's demands, then future presidents will be like the chief executives of Hong Kong and Macau -- at Beijing's beck and call.
When this country held its first ever presidential election in 1996, China fired missiles into the sea off Taiwan's coast. Voters reacted by electing Lee Teng-hui (
Beijing is now ganging up with unscrupulous politicians in a number of other countries -- including some in Paris, Tokyo and Washington -- to try to put enormous pressure on Chen's referendum -- a democratic mechanism that Beijing is most fearful of. Should the electorate choose to give in?
Beijing is against Taiwan's referendum for the simple reason that it fears further consolidation of this nation's democracy. It poses a major threat to the Beijing authorities, who have long been reluctant to carry out democratic reforms. The Chinese people's desire for human rights, democracy and the rule of law will certainly receive a massive boost from the examples set by Taiwan. This country's democratization serves as a mirror that reflects the ugly face of the Chinese Communist Party.
The referendum is politically significant because it will reaffirm the nation's identity -- in addition to expressing the desire of the Taiwanese people to see the removal of hundreds of ballistic missiles that Beijing has deployed against their country. Once the referendum is held, any change to the nation's political structure -- including the enactment of a new constitution and reform of the legislature -- will have to be determined by its people via referendums. This will effectively exclude China's 1.2 billion people from Taiwan's affairs.
This is something that the pan-blue camp's leaders, who share a China complex, can hardly accept. Their sentiments are evident in Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan's (
Chen has made it clear that he will ensure that the referendum be held even if it costs him the election. The people of Taiwan can join hands and use their referendum ballots to say "no" to China loud and clear. Such an opportunity has not come easily and it should not be taken for granted.
The pan-blue camp must not get mired in their Chinese nationalist sentiments or try to obstruct the referendum through technicalities. Much less should they instigate riots to threaten the people. Their lack of confidence in the people -- and their blinding indifference to the best interests of the people -- has become their hallmark. The people should prove them wrong.
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