However tedious Taiwan's political scene has become recently, the battle for Taipei mayor promises to be an exception now that People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Following hot on the heels of eccentric independent Legislator Li Ao (
While rumors of Soong's intention to run have long been circulating, he has never confirmed them. Instead he has been busy touring Taipei over the last few months on so-called "inspection tours" to get the lowdown on issues that concern residents in the city's 12 districts.
Soong has also used former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh's (
Soong's decision to run is more bad news for Ma, because it puts Soong in direct competition with Hau and could split the pan-blue vote, so it is likely to put pressure on the KMT and PFP to come to some sort of agreement in order to avoid what would be an embarrassing defeat.
But as PFP party caucus whip Lee Hung-chun (
Ma is also unlikely to drop Hau, as he was chosen using the KMT's new "democratic" primary system and Ma has personally endorsed his candidacy. Ma blasted the DPP for choosing Hsieh without the use of a proper selection process, so for Ma to drop Hau would be another hole in his already perforated armor of credibility.
But between Soong and Hau, it is the son of former premier Hau Pei-tsun (
Soong knows this and will use it to his advantage. Indeed, the KMT and PFP chiefs have already met to discuss the issue but to no avail.
With Li involved, at least we will be guaranteed that things will be eventful; the same goes for Chou, but realistically neither of them is likely to affect the overall result.
Soong's candidacy, if it happens, is great news for the DPP and the Hsieh camp, as two prominent pan-blue candidates would give Hsieh his best chance of winning this traditional KMT stronghold.
But with the pan-blue alliance loath to lose Taipei to the DPP like they did in 1994, when a New Party candidate and his KMT rival split the vote, we can expect the two parties to eventually thrash out some kind of deal.
And whatever kind of agreement the KMT and PFP come to -- if one is ever reached -- if it involves Hau or Soong stepping aside, then all Ma's talk of "high-class elections" and the "clean election pledge" policy he introduced last year will have gone out of the window, along with his lackluster efforts to reform the KMT and what little reputation he has left.
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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