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.
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
The two major opposition parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), jointly announced on Tuesday last week that former TPP lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) would be their joint candidate for Chiayi mayor, following polling conducted earlier this month. It is the first case of blue-white (KMT-TPP) cooperation in selecting a joint candidate under an agreement signed by their chairpersons last month. KMT and TPP supporters have blamed their 2024 presidential election loss on failing to decide on a joint candidate, which ended in a dramatic breakdown with participants pointing fingers, calling polls unfair, sobbing and walking
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