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.
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised eyebrows recently when he declared the era of American unipolarity over. He described America’s unrivaled dominance of the international system as an anomaly that was created by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Now, he observed, the United States was returning to a more multipolar world where there are great powers in different parts of the planet. He pointed to China and Russia, as well as “rogue states like Iran and North Korea” as examples of countries the United States must contend with. This all begs the question:
When US budget carrier Southwest Airlines last week announced a new partnership with China Airlines, Southwest’s social media were filled with comments from travelers excited by the new opportunity to visit China. Of course, China Airlines is not based in China, but in Taiwan, and the new partnership connects Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 30 cities across the US. At a time when China is increasing efforts on all fronts to falsely label Taiwan as “China” in all arenas, Taiwan does itself no favors by having its flagship carrier named China Airlines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is eager to jump at
Liberals have wasted no time in pointing to Karol Nawrocki’s lack of qualifications for his new job as president of Poland. He has never previously held political office. He won by the narrowest of margins, with 50.9 percent of the vote. However, Nawrocki possesses the one qualification that many national populists value above all other: a taste for physical strength laced with violence. Nawrocki is a former boxer who still likes to go a few rounds. He is also such an enthusiastic soccer supporter that he reportedly got the logos of his two favorite teams — Chelsea and Lechia Gdansk —
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