Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) recently responded to a letter he received from several US congressmen by saying the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government was responsible for stalling the arms-procurement bill.
Lien accused the government of delays in submitting the special budget for arms procurement to the legislature. He also queried why the size of the budget was much higher than the amount the Ministry of National Defense had proposed.
In addition, he rationalized the pan-blue camp's refusal to allow the bill onto the legislative agenda by saying that the arms deal had been rejected at the referendum held in tandem with last year's presidential election.
Lien's arguments are characteristically disingenuous. They also provide the real answer to why the bill has been put aside: The pan-blue camp, led by the KMT, has blocked it at every opportunity using whatever reason has seemed convenient at the time. And it seems that the pan-blue camp will continue to exclude the bill from legislative business into the future.
The awful truth is that the pan-blue camp has blocked the bill from proceeding to legislative review 72 times.
Lien said in his letter that the KMT believes Taiwan must be credible in its ability to defend itself, but also that it must not unilaterally change the cross-strait status quo. This "yes, but" argument clearly reflects the pro-China complex that energizes the pan-blue camp's refusal to do business with the Chen administration. It is reluctant to do anything that might anger Beijing. China is no longer a military threat since the KMT lost power: it is now the "motherland."
The dispatching of a navy frigate on Tuesday to near the Diaoyutais (
But for many Taiwanese, Japan is actually a regional ally in the face of China's military threat. It therefore makes perfect sense to set aside disputes over the Diaoyutais' sovereignty and work together with a good friend.
But KMT politicians, for example, have other commitments, including the need to juggle campaigning for party chairman with comforting China. Hence the provocative language in recent days toward Japan -- politically and militarily.
As Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (
But instead, it continues to block the bill. Simple discussion of the problem at hand is completely out of order.
Before a united national identity can finally be forged, Taiwan's allies and friends need to reflect on just who their true friends in this country really are.
Taiwan needs to be equipped with advanced weaponry to strengthen its ability to defend itself against China's military juggernaut.
The US must continue to exert pressure, therefore, on the pan-blue camp so that a road can be paved for the passage of the arms bill.
Taiwan is rapidly accelerating toward becoming a “super-aged society” — moving at one of the fastest rates globally — with the proportion of elderly people in the population sharply rising. While the demographic shift of “fewer births than deaths” is no longer an anomaly, the nation’s legal framework and social customs appear stuck in the last century. Without adjustments, incidents like last month’s viral kicking incident on the Taipei MRT involving a 73-year-old woman would continue to proliferate, sowing seeds of generational distrust and conflict. The Senior Citizens Welfare Act (老人福利法), originally enacted in 1980 and revised multiple times, positions older
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has its chairperson election tomorrow. Although the party has long positioned itself as “China friendly,” the election is overshadowed by “an overwhelming wave of Chinese intervention.” The six candidates vying for the chair are former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), former lawmaker Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文), Legislator Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強), Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), former National Assembly representative Tsai Chih-hong (蔡志弘) and former Changhua County comissioner Zhuo Bo-yuan (卓伯源). While Cheng and Hau are front-runners in different surveys, Hau has complained of an online defamation campaign against him coming from accounts with foreign IP addresses,
Taiwan’s business-friendly environment and science parks designed to foster technology industries are the key elements of the nation’s winning chip formula, inspiring the US and other countries to try to replicate it. Representatives from US business groups — such as the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and the Arizona-Taiwan Trade and Investment Office — in July visited the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) headquarters and its first fab. They showed great interest in creating similar science parks, with aims to build an extensive semiconductor chain suitable for the US, with chip designing, packaging and manufacturing. The
When Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced the implementation of a new “quiet carriage” policy across all train cars on Sept. 22, I — a classroom teacher who frequently takes the high-speed rail — was filled with anticipation. The days of passengers videoconferencing as if there were no one else on the train, playing videos at full volume or speaking loudly without regard for others finally seemed numbered. However, this battle for silence was lost after less than one month. Faced with emotional guilt from infants and anxious parents, THSRC caved and retreated. However, official high-speed rail data have long
RSS