The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship race concluded with an overwhelming victory for Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Legislative Speaker and KMT Vice Chairman Wang Jin-pyng (
We believe that both Ma and Wang are mature politicians and will now show a sportsman-like spirit in the interests of maintaining party unity. The KMT cannot afford further divisions, and as the new party chairman, Ma should invite Wang to serve as deputy chairman as a goodwill gesture in the interests of party unity.
With the election of the new KMT chairman, the relationship between government and opposition will enter a new phase. Outgoing chairman Lien Chan (
The KMT's unresolved issues, such as the handling of party assets, have hurt it in elections and in many cases have become a burden for the party's workers. Although the KMT is transforming itself into a democratic party, it is still at its core a revolutionary party with a power structure that fails to respond to public opinion. Attending to these issues will be one of the most important duties of the new chairman.
Even if the KMT does not change its name, a rejuvenated focus on localization remains an urgent matter. The election campaigning has taken Ma into every corner of Taiwanese society, and he must realize that if the KMT fails to shed its image as an alien political party and become more localized, it will certainly be fighting an uphill battle to perform well in the upcoming mayoral and county commissioner elections -- not to mention the 2008 presidential election.
At the same time Ma's continuing lack of support among party heavyweights will be a major obstacle in his efforts to promote party reform. Since he had to rely on the Mainlander vote, the pace of party localization will likely be delayed, and this might also hurt the KMT's long-term prospects.
Although Ma defeated Chen in the 1998 Taipei mayoral elections, he might not be able to beat the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate in 2008 and win back the presidency for the party.
The KMT has been out of power for five years now, and it cannot win back power on its own. The key will be pan-blue cooperation. Unfortunately, there are too many similarities in the appeal of Ma and People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Ma has his work cut out for him in reaching his ultimate goal -- the presidency.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
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