Things are not looking good for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) these days in the run-up to next month's local government elections. In the past, the party was known for its ability to generate debate topics and formulate and execute well-planned campaign strategies. However, in the campaign for mayoral and county commissioner seats, the DPP seems to be completely on the defensive. Even its offense seems weak and missing the point. With less than a month left until election day, DPP has little time to turn things around.
The two biggest indicators of the DPP's predicament are perhaps the races for the Taipei County commissioner and Ilan County commissioner. Both counties currently have DPP commissioners, which ought to be advantageous to the party's candidates for these posts. Both DPP candidates, Luo Wen-jia (
Theoretically both men should have been able to win their races with their eyes closed. However, in recent opinion polls, Luo is in a virtual tie with his main opponent, while Chen is trailing closely behind his biggest rival.
All would agree that the alleged corruption scandal involving former deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, Chen Che-nan (
Another problem is that the debate topics pitched by the DPP so far in this campaign have been largely non-starters. For example, while almost all voters would agree that the ill-gotten assets of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) are a major problem that has to be addressed, the DPP has failed to offer a practical solution to the problem, given the KMT's intransigence and thick skin.
In contrast, the scandal involving Chen Che-nan had been manipulated in a sensational manner that is almost soap-operatic, with new "findings" produced almost every day. Perhaps months from now, evidence will show that many of the allegations were unsupportable or that individuals named were innocent. But in the meantime the general public remains wrapped up in the saga.
On the other hand, from a legal standpoint, the scrutiny over TVBS' ownership is justified in every sense. If the station has violated media-ownership laws, then it should be dealt with in accordance with the law, with no questions asked. But the timing of the scrutiny -- coming after the station released several stories detailing Chen Che-nan's alleged misconduct -- may hurt the government more than the station. It gives TVBS a chance to claim that the government is threatening the freedom of the press at a highly sensitive point in the election campaign.
Last week, when Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (
The sad thing in Taiwan is that while the DPP may not have performed up to expectation, the KMT and the People's First Party (PFP) are even worse. On the other hand, if that is all the DPP is counting on to win the party, then no wonder many people are becoming disillusioned by politics.
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