Over the past few days, those who have dedicated themselves to the nation's democratization have commemorated the 20th anniversary of the passing of one of Taiwan's most revered democracy activists, Kuo Yu-hsin (郭雨新). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members, including President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), have described Kuo as a "democracy pioneer."
Kuo deserves this accolade. Although troubled by numerous misfortunes, Kuo's beliefs and perseverance kindled the torch of democracy among Taiwanese during the Japanese colonial period and passed it on to a younger generation of activists in the days before the founding of the DPP. Although he suffered for his political ideals, Kuo brightened the prospects for Taiwanese democracy.
Born in Ilan, Kuo was elected to the Taiwan Provincial Assembly five times between 1949 and 1975. Thanks to his eloquence and his fearless drive to challenge the government, Kuo was dubbed one of the assembly's "Five Tigers." However, aware of the growing dissent, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government put tight restrictions on these political dissidents' speech. They could only voice their opposition to the government in the assembly's hall in Taichung County, far away from the political center in Taipei.
In 1975, Kuo decided to run in the legislative elections in a direct challenge to the KMT. But the vote was rigged and Kuo's bid failed. The final count included more than 80,000 invalid ballots.
In 1977, Kuo was forced into exile in the US. In 1978, when Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) took over the presidency, Kuo announced his decision to run for president to highlight the nepotism of the Chiang regime. On Aug. 2, 1985, Kuo passed away in Virginia. Twenty years later, we would all do well to honor a man who never let himself be cowed by a brutal, authoritarian regime.
To keep a tight hold on power, whenever elections came around, the KMT would wheel out its considerable arsenal of election-rigging and vote-buying techniques, producing a long and ignominious record of electoral misdeeds. But this skulduggery was no match for Taiwan's democratic awakening. In 2000, power transferred peacefully to the DPP. Although democratization has not been without pain, a democratic system allowing for peaceful, bloodless transitions of power was firmly established.
Looking back, we can now see how Kuo -- and others who sought to reform the system from the inside rather than through violence -- greatly reduced the cost that the people of Taiwan had to pay for their democracy.
Now, as a new generation of politicians enjoys the fruits of the democracy that Kuo and others fought for, how can they bear to see the legislature's state of paralysis? How can the legislature withhold the joys of democracy from the people?
The pan-blue camp's policies of allying with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to stop Taiwan independence and establishing a platform for communication between the CCP and the KMT inject the poison of one of the world's most anti-democratic parties directly into the veins of this young democracy. This cannot benefit the nation's political development.
The opposition KMT and People First Party -- and even the ruling DPP -- should take a page from the book of early democracy pioneers such as Kuo, Lei Chen (
We must never return to the days of the Chiang family, which sacrificed the people's interests in order to maintain its grip on power, and at every turn obstructed Taiwan on its road to freedom.
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,
RSS