After a week-long mob protest in front of the Presidential Office incited by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong(宋楚瑜), it is obvious that KMT leaders and their followers do not understand or do not want democracy. Instead, they wish they were still under the authoritarian regimes of former dictators Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo(蔣經國) so they could declare the election invalid, nullify it and declare themselves the winners.
To the KMT, autocracy is always better than democracy. What a shame.
I was very surprised to learn that President Chen would be willing to sign a letter of consent to allow for an immediate recount without evidence of election fraud presented by the pan-blue camp ("Chen replies to pan-blue rally request," March 28, page 1). In a democratic country, even the president is not above the law and he must, in my opinion, obtain consent from the people who supported him because their rights should also be protected.
I hope Taiwan's High Court will not allow this to proceed. Evidence is the key to any legal challenge and procedure. And the KMT's army of lawyers, if they are competent, should not ignore the basic legal facts.
As Lien and Soong appealed their grievance to international reporters, many rally slogans were in English, such as "salvage democracy" or "democracy is dead," hoping to gain sympathy from the world media.
Fortunately, the international media and international opinion are mostly in support of Chen despite the KMT's propaganda machine.
Lien said his appeals were part of his heartfelt concern over the entire country's democratization. Surely he should know whose sacrifices gave birth to Taiwan's democracy. In the not too distant past, in an incident in Kaohsiung known as the "Formosa Incident," many DPP democratic activists were wrongfully jailed. Yet Lien, then minister of communications, and Soong, then director of the Government Information Office, never raised their voices against the unjust treatment of the activists. In fact, both Lien and Soong's contributions to Taiwan's democratic development have been rather insignificant, if not outright negative.
Lien and Soong said the crowds were out of their control during their massive rally. If so, are they fit to be the leaders if they have no control of their followers? You be the judge.
Kris Liao
California
A series of strong earthquakes in Hualien County not only caused severe damage in Taiwan, but also revealed that China’s power has permeated everywhere. A Taiwanese woman posted on the Internet that she found clips of the earthquake — which were recorded by the security camera in her home — on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. It is spine-chilling that the problem might be because the security camera was manufactured in China. China has widely collected information, infringed upon public privacy and raised information security threats through various social media platforms, as well as telecommunication and security equipment. Several former TikTok employees revealed
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday last week held a debate over the constitutionality of the death penalty. The issue of the retention or abolition of the death penalty often involves the conceptual aspects of social values and even religious philosophies. As it is written in The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the government’s policy is often a choice between the lesser of two evils or the greater of two goods, and it is impossible to be perfect. Today’s controversy over the retention or abolition of the death penalty can be viewed in the same way. UNACCEPTABLE Viewing the
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