What started as probes into the use of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Last week, investigations were launched against several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights, including Vice President Annette Lu (
Also last week, KMT caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
If the purpose of all these lawsuits and investigations is to highlight that no one is above the law, then the mission has been accomplished. If the intent of all these lawsuits and investigations is to highlight that the system needs fixing, then that too has been successful.
However, if the mission is to convince the voters and the public that the manner in which special funds are used by some politicians is perfectly acceptable, then these people will have to do better. While it may be true that just about "everyone is doing it" and that the law is arguably fairly ambiguous in some critical components, it would be self-deceiving to say that these politicians do not know deep inside that they are treading in "gray areas." These are well-educated and intelligent people. They had a choice: to be just like everyone else or to rise above the fray. As to how some politicians performed on this test, the answer is pretty clear.
Ma's "saint-like" image has just about been destroyed. While his supporters run around the cities telling that everyone else was also doing "it," Ma has been reduced to just another one of those "politicians." The justification offered by Ma's advocates is reminiscent of that famous line uttered by Hong Kong action movie star Jacky Chan (
Ironically, if Ma is indeed indicted for forgery and corruption, then the KMT will not even be allowed to nominate him to run in the next presidential election. The party has an anti-corruption regulation under which members who are indicated must be suspended from the party. If Ma's membership is suspended, he will of course not be qualified for the nomination. Should that become a reality, it would be as devastating a blow to the party as it would be to Ma, as the entire pan-blue camp has pined its hopes on him for presidential victory in 2008.
Under the circumstances, some KMT members are already talking about amending the KMT regulation so that Ma would be able to run for the party despite his indictment. However, this would only serve to further damage Ma's -- and the KMT's -- image.
How to handle this crisis? This will require some serious wisdom on Ma's part and his party's -- but so far, neither is doing a good job.
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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