The assassination attempt against Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was, ironically, a turning point for Taiwan. In the aftermath, the pan-blues threw their chance away by questioning the integrity of Chen and the pan-greens' campaign tactics -- all without regard for due evidence, logic, humanity and above all, respect for a democratically-elected president.
The assassination attempt was abominable to say the least. Yet the pan-blues did not seize the opportunity to show a righteous and empathetic side, for there clearly was none. In response, the electorate clearly revolted and justice has again been served. Regrettably, the melodramas continue to unfold from the pan-blues who simply refuse to respect the values of democracy.
In every democracy, the majority decision wins. Whether this is a system preferred by all is debatable, but under Taiwanese laws at least, Chen has been rightfully re-elected by the electorate regardless of how small the margin of victory. This salient fact is what everyone must come to accept and be at peace with.
On what should have been a day to celebrate Taiwan's slowly maturing democracy, the pan-blues' relentless antics marred even the re-election of the better and evidently more honorable candidate.
Instead of resorting to Oscar-quality performances, Lien and Soong should use legal channels to resolve the issue of the ballot recount -- as any responsible "leader" who claims to respect the laws that govern Taiwan would in the same position -- rather than seeking for the only acceptable election result by any means possible, including creating civil unrest in the country they claim to love.
The pan-blues should tread carefully to ensure their already-shaky existence -- for every step of the way, the Taiwanese electorate will be watching.
Melbourne, Australia
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
At the same time as more than 30 military aircraft were detected near Taiwan — one of the highest daily incursions this year — with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (69kms) from the northern city of Keelung, China announced a limited and selected relaxation of restrictions on Taiwanese agricultural exports and tourism, upon receiving a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation led by KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁). This demonstrates the two-faced gimmick of China’s “united front” strategy. Despite the strongest earthquake to hit the nation in 25 years striking Hualien on April 3, which caused
In the 2022 book Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China, academics Hal Brands and Michael Beckley warned, against conventional wisdom, that it was not a rising China that the US and its allies had to fear, but a declining China. This is because “peaking powers” — nations at the peak of their relative power and staring over the precipice of decline — are particularly dangerous, as they might believe they only have a narrow window of opportunity to grab what they can before decline sets in, they said. The tailwinds that propelled China’s spectacular economic rise over the past