The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus on Tuesday claimed that the Taipei Times, other local English-language newspapers and international agencies are bowing to pressure from the Chen administration by suppressing coverage of the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal and other government mishaps.
KMT Legislator Su Chi (
Su claims that he is a "long-time reader" of the Taipei Times, though this is doubtful, given that he missed every one of our numerous reports on the KRTC debacle. Perhaps, as a rookie at the Legislative Yuan and facing tough competition from the likes of grandstanding independent Legislator Chiu Yi (
Well, he sure has this time -- by making a complete fool of himself. And not just because the pro-unification China Post was on his list of targets.
This newspaper has not only reported on the KRTC scandal since day one, it also ran a full-page special report on the controversy on Monday. We also covered the arrest of Tu Shi-san (杜十三) on page 3 of Tuesday's edition, which Su claimed we failed to do. This did not stop him from propagating his conspiracy theory that the Taipei Times is attempting to play down the DPP's poor performance in government.
This is nonsense. Over the years this newspaper has taken to task any number of Democratic Progressive Party icons for their poor judgement and lack of achievement, including President Chen Shui-bian, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Chen's coterie of tainted advisers.
For Su to make one false accusation is forgivable, but how does a professor and former Government Information Office head -- and key figure at the KMT think tank that sent the risible Bulletgate pamphlet to the US Congress -- get it wrong again and again?
Su criticizes us for having a "clearly pro-green" tinge and an overt political stance.
This need not concern him. The Taipei Times cares to ally itself with neither the Chen administration nor the KMT. The people of Taiwan and Taiwan's national interest are the primary object of our editorial support. And it is the right of any media organization to express its opinions, a right that also applies to pro-China media outlets -- whom Su refuses to criticize.
Indeed, Su conveniently forgets the good old days under KMT rule when members of his own party's Central Standing Committee -- the KMT's highest decision-making body -- served on the management of two major Chinese-language newspapers, the United Daily News and the China Times.
If Su is right that the Taipei Times is the main source of information on Taiwan for overseas governments, think tanks and media outlets, then we take this responsibility very seriously: Our job is to report what happens here and to communicate both mainstream and fringe thinking to the international community.
We also make mistakes, and we correct them as they occur. It is hoped that Su will likewise show some grace and apologize to the Taipei Times for his comments, if only to soothe readers who fear a resurgence of pan-blue-camp shooting of messengers that once prevailed under seasoned spin doctors like him.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week. The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review. The
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said on Monday that it would be announcing its mayoral nominees for New Taipei City, Yilan County and Chiayi City on March 11, after which it would begin talks with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to field joint opposition candidates. The KMT would likely support Deputy Taipei Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) as its candidate for New Taipei City. The TPP is fielding its chairman, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), for New Taipei City mayor, after Huang had officially announced his candidacy in December last year. Speaking in a radio program, Huang was asked whether he would join Lee’s
RSS