President Chen Shui-bian (
This is arguably the case. Over the years Chen has proven indefatigable on the hustings and a formidable opponent for those without his energy. The 2004 presidential election showed that Chen could appeal to millions of voters who had voted against the DPP in local elections.
One problem with Chen -- and it has been this way from the first days of his presidency -- is his faltering sense of strategy. There have been myriad examples of Chen building momentum on an issue, only to blow it all on inexplicable actions and turns of phrase that alienated allies and fortified enemies.
Today, we are beginning to see this self-destructive behavior re-emerge just in time for the legislative and presidential elections thanks to an ill-advised broadside against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), based on the words of Ma's late father engraved on his urn allegedly supporting China's unification.
This is specious and repulsive politicking on Chen's part. Worryingly for the DPP, Chen seems unaware that attacks on politicians for the perceived sins of their parents can backfire badly.
It is bizarre that Chen would adopt a strategy based on indecent assumptions of family accountability when Ma's track record -- the things Ma has done for which he is solely responsible -- is fodder enough for political purposes.
Chen rightfully took responsibility for the single most damaging event to his government: the failure to capture the legislature in late 2004. He did so by resigning the party chairmanship -- a move that was highly appropriate considering that the loss was a strategic debacle. The DPP treated the poll like a presidential election, focusing on cross-strait sloganeering instead of local candidates and developing strategies for the then multiple-member districts.
Now Chen is chairman again, and the results so far have not been impressive. DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Instead of concentrating on the fate of DPP candidates, Chen is wasting his time sniping at Ma over what his father had engraved on his urn. This is even more laughable given that in the months before his death, Ma's father, Ma Ho-ling (
How the "sins of the father" can be credibly employed in this situation defies reasonable analysis.
Chen has strayed into such politicking before, never more memorably than when he exploited the misuse of Taichung Mayor Jason Hu's (
Ma Ying-jeou himself has sunk so deep into the gutter lately that sympathy for him on this matter should be tempered. But that doesn't excuse Chen.
One thing a "lame duck" president can do is exert a positive influence on the political environment by maintaining personal integrity and reminding the public of fundamental questions: What is good for a country? What contributes to a more productive political discourse? And how should Taiwanese conduct themselves for the betterment of all?
But now that Chen is adopting nonsensical and demeaning tactics to attack his foe, his chance to pave the way for a better environment has gone, and possibly with this some of the key support for the DPP that he obtained four years ago.
In late January, Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), completed its first submerged dive, reaching a depth of roughly 50m during trials in the waters off Kaohsiung. By March, it had managed a fifth dive, still well short of the deep-water and endurance tests required before the navy could accept the vessel. The original delivery deadline of November last year passed months ago. CSBC Corp, Taiwan, the lead contractor, now targets June and the Ministry of National Defense is levying daily penalties for every day the submarine remains unfinished. The Hai Kun was supposed to be
Most schoolchildren learn that the circumference of the Earth is about 40,000km. They do not learn that the global economy depends on just 160 of those kilometers. Blocking two narrow waterways — the Strait of Hormuz and the Taiwan Strait — could send the economy back in time, if not to the Stone Age that US President Donald Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran back to, then at least to the mid-20th century, before the Rolling Stones first hit the airwaves. Over the past month and a half, Iran has turned the Strait of Hormuz, which is about 39km wide at
The ongoing Middle East crisis has reinforced an uncomfortable truth for Taiwan: In an increasingly interconnected and volatile world, distant wars rarely remain distant. What began as a regional confrontation between the US, Israel and Iran has evolved into a strategic shock wave reverberating far beyond the Persian Gulf. For Taiwan, the consequences are immediate, material and deeply unsettling. From Taipei’s perspective, the conflict has exposed two vulnerabilities — Taiwan’s dependence on imported energy and the risks created when Washington’s military attention is diverted. Together, they offer a preview of the pressures Taiwan might increasingly face in an era of overlapping geopolitical
There is a peculiar kind of political theater unfolding in East Asia — one that would be laughable if its consequences were not so dangerous. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on April 12 returned from Beijing, where she met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and spoke earnestly about preserving “peace” and maintaining the “status quo.” It is a position that sounds responsible, even prudent. It is also a fiction. Taiwan is, by any honest definition, an independent country. It governs itself, defends itself, elects its leaders, and functions as a free and sovereign democracy. Independence is not a
RSS