Nationalist ideology has become useless as a campaign tool for tipping elections. The effects of this are apparent across the main political parties. For the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Taipei mayor primary will rely on personal appeal to the rump of voters. If anything, former Environmental Protection Administration head Hau Lung-bin (
Ting has the support of former chairman Lien Chan (連戰). Lien is still smarting at his humiliating downfall and seems desperate for a spiritual comeback in the manner of Lee and the Taiwan Solidarity Union. In Taipei, Ting is his man (see Ting's Web site at www.tingsc.org for a priceless display of this), and considerable effort will be expended on his behalf. But all this is not about the nation or nationalism; it's about ego, power and the sense of lost entitlement.
The most important display of this process of change was the election of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
For the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the weakening of nationalist influence is more apparent in the executive rather than party primaries. This week, the Presidential Office closed down its human rights and science and technology committees, a big blow to the ego of Vice President Annette Lu (
Elsewhere, pro-independence activists and legislators continue to hammer away at ideological themes, which is admirable, although this week's championing of Taiwan the Green as the new national anthem is doomed to failure, if only because of the lyrics' divisive elements. Its campaign was met with a predictable yawn by the electorate, though it did provoke this remarkable quote from KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (
In national politics, the vacuum that is being left by public uninterest in nationalist warfare is proving difficult for many politicians to comprehend. Whoever exploits the increasingly well-defined pragmatism and ennui of the electorate will reap substantial rewards if they have the guts to take on the machinery of their parties. This, surely, is the sign of a democracy that is working: the ballot box doesn't lie. The danger is that this process will dilute the one element of nationalism that cannot be neglected: the capacity to rouse the public to defend their country from Chinese attack.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry