At one time, Shih Ming-teh(
At the trials following the Kaohsiung Incident in March 1980 he made a brilliant argument that Taiwan had already been independent for 30 years. President Chen Shui-bian (
In 1992 Shih lost the election for the chairmanship of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to Hsu Hsin-liang (
Elected in 1994, and then allied with the New Tide faction, Nori made some effort to reform the DPP, but without success.
In my view, after that Shih began to lose the idealism and clarity of purpose that had marked his earlier words and actions. His "coffee meeting" to make a deal with New Party in late 1995 was widely criticized as failing the cause of Taiwan independence, and in his defensive reaction he began to hobnob with former enemies, defenders of martial law such as now People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
In my opinion, despite his earlier steadfastness as a political prisoner, or perhaps because of it, Shih's lifestyle and habits did not prepare him for the daily grind of administration as a legislator and party chairman. A loner and a night-owl, he could not manage to keep office hours, or communicate effectively with his staff. Their dedication was mostly wasted. He was easily flattered by reporters and hangers-on, and addicted to women, alcohol and cigarettes.
I think it was these flaws of character that led Shih to seek the limelight with statements that were striking but badly coordinated with the rest of the DPP. Lawyers such as Chen were used to writing documents, hard work, early hours and teamwork and the lawyers soon upstaged Shih.
His bid for a legislative seat in Taipei in 2001 was unsuccessful -- and had been organized by Hsu's Rising Peoples' Foundation, whose founding was largely attended by liberal KMT figures. Shih did not support Chen's drive for the presidency in 2000. Among others, he gave a talk at Shih Hsin University sponsored by a New Party figure, and after presenting his philosophy of how he survived as a prisoner, he ended with pot shots at Chen.
According to Lin Chung-mo (
This is a brief glimpse of how I think Shih has come to play the role he has taken up now; people are continually asking me this. There has been a clear pattern of the KMT using former DPP figures to attack the DPP; and the KMT, formerly the richest political party in the world, has the resources to make this ploy attractive.
By now many years have passed, and although Shih announced last year that he was withdrawing from politics, he has now announced a campaign to unseat Chen, including the threat of extra-legal actions. Are we really to believe that Nori is doing this out of concern for the DPP and the highest of ideals?
For the last six years at least his activities and announcements have seemed mysteriously coordinated with the interests of the pan-blue camp, and even its extremes in the People First Party.
PFP members, I have been told, urged him to run for mayor of Kaohsiung, and provided the funding.
If he is so concerned about corruption, why hasn't he spoken out in the past on Soong's Chung Hsin Bills case, or the issue of KMT party property? Or the Lafayette case?
If Shih is to set himself up as the center of a crusade against corruption, then I think it is fair to ask him to make public his own finances for the last several years, and to face squarely whether he has any financial links to the KMT, which has been trying to bring down the DPP government from the very start for a variety of pretexts, the first being the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Corruption has been long ingrained in Taiwan society, down to the lowest levels, and the change of ruling parties has only begun to alter the rules. We cannot defend the DPP in general or the president in particular in so far as they have taken the easier route of continuing past habits, trying to buy off the obstacles, and perhaps even lining their own pockets with unearned rewards.
But his campaigning for Chen to step down now, without use of the present mechanisms of impeachment or recall, any advance toward democracy and the rule of law? Does it test or improve the present legal system? Or would it be a step back to the KMT's former easy appropriation of state resources and assets, which we can assume will rebound again with vengeance if KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) becomes president?
So why has Shih got involved in politics again? It seems anachronistic for him to raise the specter of revolution, when now finally the citizens can exercise their right to vote. Does he have a long-term vision of what he wants? Does he still stand for Taiwan's emergence as an internationally recognized nation? Or has he abandoned the ideals that he sacrificed 25 years of his life for, too?
Linda Gail Arrigo is the international officer for the Green Party Taiwan.
Labubu, an elf-like plush toy with pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, has become a global sensation, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Dua Lipa. These dolls are sold out in stores from Singapore to London; a human-sized version recently fetched a whopping US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing. With all the social media buzz, it is worth asking if we are witnessing the rise of a new-age collectible, or whether Labubu is a mere fad destined to fade. Investors certainly want to know. Pop Mart International Group Ltd, the Chinese manufacturer behind this trendy toy, has rallied 178 percent
My youngest son attends a university in Taipei. Throughout the past two years, whenever I have brought him his luggage or picked him up for the end of a semester or the start of a break, I have stayed at a hotel near his campus. In doing so, I have noticed a strange phenomenon: The hotel’s TV contained an unusual number of Chinese channels, filled with accents that would make a person feel as if they are in China. It is quite exhausting. A few days ago, while staying in the hotel, I found that of the 50 available TV channels,
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
There is no such thing as a “silicon shield.” This trope has gained traction in the world of Taiwanese news, likely with the best intentions. Anything that breaks the China-controlled narrative that Taiwan is doomed to be conquered is welcome, but after observing its rise in recent months, I now believe that the “silicon shield” is a myth — one that is ultimately working against Taiwan. The basic silicon shield idea is that the world, particularly the US, would rush to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion because they do not want Beijing to seize the nation’s vital and unique chip industry. However,
RSS