Some have said that although last Saturday's local government elections were a debacle for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), they were a major victory for Taiwan's democracy. This is an excellent point. A number of renowned DPP candidates graciously admitted defeat and congratulated their opponents, and managed to contain their disgruntled supporters' emotions after the results were released. Such an attitude prevented a repeat of the chaotic scenes following last year's presidential elections, and indicates that the nation's democracy has matured.
Following the elections, pan-green camp supporters have begun to review why they lost. Instead of blaming the pan-blue camp, they have pointed fingers at the DPP leadership, criticizing the imprudent remarks made by President Chen Shiu-bian (
People should especially praise Luo Wen-chia (
Many corruption cases were uncovered in the lead-up to the vote -- including the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal, the excessive bad loans of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Taipei County Commissioner-elect Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and Kaohsiung County commissioner nominee Lin Yi-shih (林益世), the defamatory VCD against the KMT's Taoyuan County commissioner-elect Chu Li-lun (朱立倫), the disclosure of the medical records of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and recent developments in the Lafayette scandal. The judicial branch must hasten its investigations and deal with those who either committed crimes or made false accusations. We must not allow criminals to escape the reach of the law, for this would only encourage more negative campaign tactics in the future.
It doesn't matter much how the ruling party reorganizes in the wake of its defeat. But whatever it does, it should take this opportunity to establish a model of behavior within a democratic system. Democracies are built on the rule of law, and for this reason it is essential that a proper investigation be conducted into all of the disputes that arose during the campaign. The custom of letting accusations drop after the elections should not be continued, for that would encourage more bad behavior in future. Only in this way can we gradually improve the nation's political culture.
President Chen has done a poor job leading the DPP through legislative and local elections, and on both occasions a number of the party's elite were defeated. He should now focus on further consolidating Taiwan's democratic foundations.
In addition to pushing forward probes into allegations raised during the campaign, the DPP should also seek advice from scholars and experts to decide what the nation's government should look like. The nation must settle on whether it will adopt a presidential or Cabinet system, and whether it should have a five-branch or three-branch system of government.
President Chen should also work to establish an independent investigative system and a government watchdog to maintain ethical practices and monitor government officials' abuse of power. Only in this way will the DPP administration be able to justify its use of taxpayers' money, even if its powers to act in the current situation are considerably curtailed.
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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