If former American Institute in Taiwan chairman Nat Bellocchi is to be believed, the push to oust President Chen Shui-bian (
If this is the case, the charade is not working. If anything, forces in the KMT are now using the maverick campaign to undermine Ma, accusing him of being a pushover. Presumably, these KMT hardliners would prefer Ma lead an armed assault on the Presidential Office with a few thousand stormtroopers in tow, or at least join the sit-in and pout for a few hours like former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Yesterday's developments offer Ma and his supporters a reminder that all is not well within their party, and that Ma's increasingly vocal enemies in the pan-blue camp are looking for opportunities to undermine his authority -- and eventually prevent him from being the KMT's presidential candidate.
When Ma was elected KMT chairman -- against the expectations of most media commentators and despite fervent opposition from the party's inner circle -- there was a sense among grassroots supporters that the party could be energized and taken in a new direction, if not one entirely free of thuggery and contempt for democratic principles.
This was based on Ma's history of cultivating a reasonably clean persona -- and exercising authority in this manner -- despite being surrounded by the filthiest of the filthy.
The problem is, the forces that would prefer the KMT return to its roots have decided that Ma is not their man, and they are regrouping. If he is to withstand these attacks from within, Ma is going to have to demonstrate that he can stand up for himself in ways other than weakly parroting the language of blue-camp firebrands.
Ma claims that he has "hardened up." Unfortunately, this is not reflected in Ma taking his own line and sticking to it, but in taking a harder line to disarm blue-camp extremists. This is not political strength, nor is it pragmatism; it is flat-footed, wishy-washy and manipulable behavior.
The average blue-camp voter does not endorse public disorder. It would therefore benefit Ma and the nation's morale if he spoke more for the broad majority of people that gave him his chance to be president and less for the rabble rousers within his party and without.
Ma's defense of his role as keeper of the peace in Taipei against the bleatings of KMT city councilors -- who would have anti-Chen protesters break the law and not be accountable -- is proof that Ma has the ability to stare down miscreants in his party. Unfortunately, he so often seems unable to stare down miscreants with any power. That is why he capitulated so readily when People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Reforming the KMT was always going to involve some bloodletting, but now it seems that Ma will have a serious struggle on his hands to achieve this. If Ma cannot control his troops, the DPP will be able to ask: "Who will really have power in a KMT government and can they be trusted?"
The skeletons in the KMT's closet are too many and too odious for the pan-green camp not to be able to exploit this angle, despite its complacency and ham-fisted politicking of late, and despite growing alienation among voters. If things continue in this direction, the DPP will be thrown a lifeline for an election that it should never have been able to win.
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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