The next few weeks could prove to be a make or break period for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
With former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh's (
An even sterner test of his leadership lies just around the corner when the new legislative session begins on Sept. 19 -- passage of the long delayed special arms procurement bill.
According to a recent interview with an anonymous US official, Washington has begun to have doubts about Taiwan's determination to defend itself in the event of a cross-strait war and the White House believes Taipei isn't serious about buying defensive weapons. These doubts are a result of the legislature's unwillingness to pass the arms bill.
The US official went on to say that the next two months would be crucial for the future of Taiwan's relationship with the US, saying that it could move forward, stagnate or take a step backward. If the arms bill is not passed within the first two months of the new legislative session, the official said, then the US doesn't believe it will pass at all during President Chen Shui-bian's (
The frustration caused by more than two years of delays has already forced Washington to make changes in the way it deals with arms sales to Taiwan. In future, the Pentagon will only announce sales when the budget has been passed by the Legislative Yuan. The first example of this new modus operandi is likely to be the purchase of 66 F-16 fighters, but even this proposal has already been rejected by sections of the KMT.
Only a dramatic shift in posture by the KMT legislative caucus will secure the passage of the bill, and Ma, as party chairman, is the one charged with prompting this shift.
Having visited the US in March and having met with top officials, Ma is aware of how much importance Washington places on swift passage of the bill.
Indeed, concerns about US relations and his aim of winning the presidency in 2008 are probably the rationales behind the "reasonable arms purchase" doctrine that Ma has preached over the last year.
To satisfy Taiwan's main ally and enhance his appeal to moderate voters that value close US ties, reject unification with China and would like Taiwan to maintain a defense capability, Ma needs to ensure the passage of the bill.
But maintaining the integrity of his leadership involves striking a delicate balance between deep and light-blue elements within his party and not upsetting the pro-China forces that are fiercely opposed to any arms deal and are working to undermine Ma's chairmanship.
Rumors of a watered-down arms deal passing the legislature are already circulating in the press.
If Ma manages to get an arms bill passed that is acceptable to the US, his pan-blue colleagues and the majority of Taiwanese then he will have navigated an extremely hazardous minefield.
But any failure to get a bill passed could jeopardize any US support for his candidacy, do lasting harm to his carefully cultivated domestic image and further embolden those within the pan-blue ranks who want someone else as their leader.
Because much of what former US president Donald Trump says is unhinged and histrionic, it is tempting to dismiss all of it as bunk. Yet the potential future president has a populist knack for sounding alarums that resonate with the zeitgeist — for example, with growing anxiety about World War III and nuclear Armageddon. “We’re a failing nation,” Trump ranted during his US presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris in one particularly meandering answer (the one that also recycled urban myths about immigrants eating cats). “And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War
Earlier this month in Newsweek, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to retake the territories lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. He stated: “If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [the PRC] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the treaty of Aigun?” This was a brilliant political move to finally state openly what many Chinese in both China and Taiwan have long been thinking about the lost territories in the Russian far east: The Russian far east should be “theirs.” Granted, Lai issued
On Sept. 2, Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal called “The US and Taiwan Must Change Course” that defends his position that the US and Taiwan are not doing enough to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from taking Taiwan. Colby is correct, of course: the US and Taiwan need to do a lot more or the PRC will invade Taiwan like Russia did against Ukraine. The US and Taiwan have failed to prepare properly to deter war. The blame must fall on politicians and policymakers
Gogoro Inc was once a rising star and a would-be unicorn in the years prior to its debut on the NASDAQ in 2022, as its environmentally friendly technology and stylish design attracted local young people. The electric scooter and battery swapping services provider is bracing for a major personnel shakeup following the abrupt resignation on Friday of founding chairman Horace Luke (陸學森) as chief executive officer. Luke’s departure indicates that Gogoro is sinking into the trough of unicorn disillusionment, with the company grappling with poor financial performance amid a slowdown in demand at home and setbacks in overseas expansions. About 95