THIS IS NOT rumor mongering but an imminent and present threat already looming over Taiwan. Using democratic common sense and personal observation, we can see that an urgent crisis is upon us.
The pan-blue camp won three quarters of the legislative seats. If Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wins the presidency, all five branches of government will be under KMT control and Taiwan will return to single party rule. This is tantamount to declaring that the efforts expended by Taiwanese for democracy in the last 50 years were in vain.
At the same time, the KMT's party assets would be rapidly legalized and continue to generate profit. In the next 30 years, no party will be able to compete against the KMT and democratic balance will be entirely lost.
Besides, left to Ma's cross-strait common market economic policy, Taiwan will rapidly transition from economic amalgamation to political annexation. Taiwan's national sovereignty will quickly be lost in misguided economic notions.
Ma's new "three noes" is merely campaign-speak, which cannot disguise his central ideology of eventual annexation and the concrete goal of unifying China, to be achieved through cooperation between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
If Ma is elected president, in the short term China would take him on a "honeymoon." However, the initiative for pulling the strings does not reside with Ma, but with China. Taiwan will eventually be imprisoned by the view that it is part of China, from which it will not be able to escape. Taiwanese sovereignty will be in a precarious position.
Furthermore, in the last seven years, the level of identification with Taiwan among the public has risen from 36 percent to more than 60 percent. If the KMT returns to power, all pro-localization education will return to focusing on China. In other words, the issue of identifying with Taiwan or China, which has plagued Taiwan for several years, will be inherited by the next generation. Our generation's pain will be passed to the next and the normalization of the country will be even further away.
Confronted with this imminent threat, we must come to realize that KMT legislators won 5 million votes, hence we must invest more than 7 million votes in a display of direct public will in Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) to give him greater public backing. Only then will it be possible to keep a check on the monstrous force of the legislature.
If Hsieh is elected, the 7 million votes should be given greater importance, so that he will not be at a disadvantage.
While policy can be discussed and compromises reached in accordance with democratic principles, political power cannot be conceded lest democratic election and votes be rendered meaningless. If necessary, we could consider the president's right to issue orders in an emergency as well as veto power. If the legislature passes legislation that damages the welfare of the majority or national interest, such as passing money-guzzling legislation benefiting minority groups, the president could use his right to issue emergency orders to veto the legislation.
The establishment of such a convention would make up for the shortcomings of the constitutional framework, or force the legislature to amend the political instability caused by the Constitution.
Friends ask me how Taiwan can be saved from this threat. I only know that our only chance is dependent on the efforts of each individual. The KMT relies on vote-buying to win elections, whereas we rely on our efforts. We can only depend on determination and force of will to stem the tide.
There is no time for pessimism. In the next two months, we must work like ants and endeavor to persuade our friends and family. We can spread our force if we each garner five votes.
In order to prevent democracy from marching backwards and to defend Taiwan's sovereignty and pro-localization consciousness, we must strive to the end. There is no retreat and we must win the ensuing battle.
Michelle Wang is the deputy secretary-general of the Northern Taiwan Society.
TRANSLATED BY ANGELA HONG
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath