After first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Opinion polls show that support for the anti-corruption campaign has also dropped, which fascinated and confused me. I could feel a subtle change but was unable to explain it.
After reading the Nov. 9 open letter from Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (
In response to this letter, as with Lee's previous letters, politicians who did not want to stake out a position merely said they respect his view and appreciate his effort.
Politicians who wanted to respond labeled his views and praised or criticized him without restraint. They saw only their own stance and did not sense the social significance of the letter.
I want to thank Lee for writing the letter at a time of crisis in Taiwan. Through his letters, Lee has always observed Taiwan's developments patiently and optimistically, despite his own concerns.
I believe this is the attitude of most good and decent Taiwanese people. Unfortunately, confrontation can and does occur, caused by radicals on both ends of the political spectrum. But despite such confrontation, I believe that Lee sees how, in the long-term, good people create positive values.
From an overall perspective, there is no lack of criticism and freedom in Taiwan. What we do lack is a spiritual force that upholds positive values.
In the past, both the ruling and opposition camps failed to build and nurture positive values. Nobody talked about this before, but now Lee has highlighted the issue.
I hope that people will pay attention when they read two important passages in Lee's letter. The first says "On a deeper level, this crisis is a democratic result of Taiwan's power transfer."
The second says "Today, the judiciary has demonstrated an independence unprecedented in Taiwan. The investigation and indictment of the first family -- although that does not mean that they are guilty -- represents a giant leap for judicial independence; a great result of the power transfer in 2000."
Positive values can only grow with the help of positive attitudes. Lee reminded us that the indictments were a tangible result of Taiwan's power transfer and a key turning point for building positive values.
This letter shares similar ideas with Lee's previous letter in late June, in which he condemned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for "too few achievements and too much corruption."
On the other hand, he worried that perhaps the opposition was too eager to recall the president, saying that Taiwan's political situation would continue to tread water if the two camps constantly went opposite ways and that he did not see the possibility of forming positive values for Taiwan at that time.
However, in his recent letter, Lee's optimism and determination are apparent because he can now see the possibility for building positive values.
I now understand why people have stopped discussing whether the president should step down and why the "reds" have lost support: these issues reflected an anxiety caused by the absence of positive values in Taiwanese society.
Taiwanese are fundamentally good and decent. When a reliable, positive value such as that exhibited by the judicial system emerges, we must nurture it patiently so it can become stronger. Lee's letter showed us that this is possible.
Wang Szu-hsun is chief editor at Ruguo Publishing.
Translated by Eddy Chang
A series of strong earthquakes in Hualien County not only caused severe damage in Taiwan, but also revealed that China’s power has permeated everywhere. A Taiwanese woman posted on the Internet that she found clips of the earthquake — which were recorded by the security camera in her home — on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. It is spine-chilling that the problem might be because the security camera was manufactured in China. China has widely collected information, infringed upon public privacy and raised information security threats through various social media platforms, as well as telecommunication and security equipment. Several former TikTok employees revealed
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday last week held a debate over the constitutionality of the death penalty. The issue of the retention or abolition of the death penalty often involves the conceptual aspects of social values and even religious philosophies. As it is written in The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the government’s policy is often a choice between the lesser of two evils or the greater of two goods, and it is impossible to be perfect. Today’s controversy over the retention or abolition of the death penalty can be viewed in the same way. UNACCEPTABLE Viewing the
At the same time as more than 30 military aircraft were detected near Taiwan — one of the highest daily incursions this year — with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (69kms) from the northern city of Keelung, China announced a limited and selected relaxation of restrictions on Taiwanese agricultural exports and tourism, upon receiving a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation led by KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁). This demonstrates the two-faced gimmick of China’s “united front” strategy. Despite the strongest earthquake to hit the nation in 25 years striking Hualien on April 3, which caused