Isn't it intriguing that a political party such as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would hold a demonstration to appeal to people and the Taiwanese government to focus their efforts on the economy rather than on politics?
In the martial law era, the KMT monopolized Taiwan's politics by enforcing its White Terror rule. Now, after polarizing Taiwan's politics since the transfer of power in 2000, it wants to shed its image as a political spoiler. This time, it wants the nation and its people to focus on the economy -- and leave politics to China and the KMT.
This is a deception. KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has vigorously talked about unification and cross-strait issues for the last couple of months. Unable to clarify his stance on the issues and make a sale, he has now retreated to asking people to stop the unification-independence quarrel and direct their efforts to economic improvement. That's something he's excelled at since selling billions of dollars of the KMT's ill-gotten assets.
Things like cross-strait relations, the economy and diplomacy all need to be heeded by Taiwan. Politicians and people should be encouraged to debate the issues fully and solve the issues according to their priorities, rather than retreat and seek a refuge.
The "status quo" is a temporary refuge for people who won't face a tough situation. This is an irresponsible approach for a sensible person, especially when a delay may aggravate the situation.
These days Ma, as KMT chairman, is back to playing the trick he does best: Being a darling of females. He portrayed himself as the Goddess Diana on a KMT Web site and tried to woo votes from women in Taiwan through such "soft" packaging.
Image is everything. Ma's deeds and words are nothing but politics. Groomed by a brutal, ruthless Leninist party, Ma is quite different from his predecessors. His gentle and soft pitch may win him many women's votes. But is that enough for a party that has never repented or been held accountable to win its 2008 presidential bid?
This is a serious question for all Taiwanese.
Yang Ji-charng
Ohio
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS