Although everyone was aware that it would fail, the pan-blue camp's second motion to recall President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) went ahead and was defeated. In just four months, the same motion has been proposed twice, as if the pan-blues treat presidential recalls like a child's game. This would never occur in other democratic nations.
The actions of both pan-blue legislators and leaders of the anti-Chen campaign demonstrate that the anti-Chen campaign is not about opposing corruption or seeking to transcend the blue-green divide, but rather that it is just another pan-blue strategy -- possibly with support from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) -- to topple the Democratic Progressive Party government.
Although it is well known that the rift between the KMT and the People First Party (PFP) has widened to an almost irreparable extent, the two parties still appear united in support of the anti-Chen campaign. Following the KMT's failed attempt to recall Chen, the PFP filed a second recall motion. KMT Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) gave the green light to the anti-Chen demonstrations, and on Oct. 10, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) stood shoulder to shoulder with the KMT when PFP and KMT legislators tried to scupper national day celebrations.
Those who have shown support for Chen and participated in demonstrations opposing the anti-Chen campaign do not tolerate corruption, but instead convey two messages.
First, they uphold democratic principles and the rule of law, and support Chen's completion of his presidential term as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Second, the pan-green camp must work to protect its interests in its confrontation with the pan-blue camp.
However, the decision by the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) to take a neutral stance is troubling and will have at least three negative consequences.
First, it sends the message that the pan-green camp is split. The KMT and the PFP have joined the CCP to bully Taiwan's government, and pose a challenge that even a united green camp would have to work hard to overcome.
Second, the TSU's decision may help foster the pan-blue camp's illusion that it can split the pan-green camp with more presidential recall motions and push the TSU toward the pan-blue camp.
Third, the TSU's decision to remain neutral may cause the party to loose the support of pan-green supporters.
When the pan-blue camp was attempting to recall Chen for the first time in June, the TSU made an effort to distance itself from the DPP by casting invalid ballots in the legislature. At that time, I urged TSU legislators to emulate their DPP counterparts and abstain from voting. That would have sent a clear message that the green camp is united and would have minimized the pan-blue camp's illusions.
Recently I participated in some talkshows and found that most callers were strongly opposed to the behavior of Shih Ming-teh's (施明德) red-clad followers. At a forum organized by the TSU in Pingtung, the audience made it clear that supporting Chen meant supporting the pan-green camp and Taiwan.
Regrettably, the TSU still cast ballots in last week's presidential recall motion to maintain what they claimed to be a neutral stance. In reality, neutrality does not exist in politics.
Regardless of whether it is the TSU or the most senior political leader, ignoring the pan-green camp's interests and public opinion because of party infighting could be bad for everyone on the pan-green side. Today, the pan-green camp cannot afford a split, nor can the TSU afford to remain neutral.
Cao Changqing is a writer based in the US.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under