Once again, the pan-blue dominated Procedure Committee blocked the arms procurement bill from being placed on the legislative agenda.
At the meeting Tuesday in advance of the new legislative session starting next week, the committee also stonewalled on the confirmation of President Chen Shui-bian's (
This replay of the same stale scene at the Procedure Committee leads one to wonder whether the opposition will ever realize what it means to be the "loyal opposition," and whether it can prioritize the national interest.
A glance at the US Senate's recent response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster puts Taiwan's opposition to shame. The Senate last Thursday night convened an emergency session to approve an US$10.5 billion emergency budget request from the Bush administration for relief for victims of the disaster. The emergency money was unanimously approved.
In comparison, the pan-blue camp consisting of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) having continuously blocked policy initiatives launched by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government regardless of their urgency. They seem to enjoy their slim majority in the 225-seat legislature and use it to serve their party interests rather than serving the public, whose votes sent them to the Legislature Yuan in the first place.
In the face of China's rise, especially its military expansion, Taiwan must beef up its self-defense capabilities.
Yet, due to the opposition from the pan-blue camp, the budget for arms procurement has been blocked for two consecutive legislative sessions, on 26 separate occasions, according to President Chen.
In a goodwill gesture to the opposition parties, the government has adjusted the arms bill by funding the Patriot anti-missile batteries from the regular budget instead of from the special budget, as originally proposed.
But the opposition continues to be hogtied by political gamesmanship, and lets party interests push it as far as to sabotage Taiwan's national defense in the face of Beijing's growing military threats.
KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
After their meeting yesterday at KMT headquarters in Taipei, Ma and PFP Chairman James Soong (
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
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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