President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) may have been elected in a democratic process, but after his inauguration, he has done all he can to destroy democratic mechanisms, moving the country toward dictatorship and dragging relations with China back to the civil war era as if they were an internal domestic issue between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party. By ignoring the nation’s sovereignty and democracy, he has forfeited legitimacy to rule Taiwan.
With his hired hands in the Referendum Review Committee, Ma has deprived the public of their referendum rights, directly challenging their freedom of speech. By letting his party lead the government, he has destroyed the balance of power by centralizing power in a one-man dictatorship.
Take, for example, Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊), on whom Ma relies heavily. Wang rarely supervises the government, his main responsibility, but loves to preach to others about Ma’s accomplishments. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who Ma has accused of being corrupt, acts like a deaf gangster who does everything Ma tells him to, even when it comes to the legislative process: He recently announced that the legislature was in session although the podium was surrounded by KMT legislators, disregarding objections from Democratic Progressive Party legislators.
By destroying the mechanisms for monitoring the government, Ma can ignore public opinion, reality and the legal code.
Not everyone is in favor of this state of affairs. Some people still try to reveal facts, and some media outlets refuse to become his tool. In this case, Ma uses a carrot-and-stick approach, declaring war on uncooperative media outlets and saying he will no longer “be polite” as he “fights back.”
Academics have called the media the fourth estate. Their main function is to report facts and monitor the government rather than act as a government mouthpiece. For example, the print version of the KMT’s party newspaper had to be withdrawn from a market that values freedom of expression.
The government’s role is to make and implement policy. In light of these powers, it is charged with explaining and defending its policies under public monitoring. If a policy is distorted or criticized for being unrealistic, it should offer an honest explanation.
However, the Ma administration is unaware of diversity in civil society and is hostile to criticism. Instead of meeting criticism with truthful explanations, it attempts to cover the truth and “fight back” using street language.
When media outlets criticize the government, it should provide a counter-argument rather than abuse because it plays a different role than the media. However, Ma ignores the differences between democratic mechanisms and tries to implement a dictatorial atmosphere where no dissent is tolerated. He has disarmed the legislature and the Control Yuan and learned from Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) how to threaten the media to hush them. In doing so, he has buried the legitimacy of his rule.
James Wang is a media commentator.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
Denmark has consistently defended Greenland in light of US President Donald Trump’s interests and has provided unwavering support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. Denmark can be proud of its clear support for peoples’ democratic right to determine their own future. However, this democratic ideal completely falls apart when it comes to Taiwan — and it raises important questions about Denmark’s commitment to supporting democracies. Taiwan lives under daily military threats from China, which seeks to take over Taiwan, by force if necessary — an annexation that only a very small minority in Taiwan supports. Denmark has given China a
Speaking at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on May 13, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that democracies must remain united and that “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism.” Earlier that day, Tsai had met with a group of Danish parliamentarians led by Danish Parliament Speaker Pia Kjaersgaard, who has visited Taiwan many times, most recently in November last year, when she met with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office. Kjaersgaard had told Lai: “I can assure you that ... you can count on us. You can count on our support
Many local news media over the past week have reported on Internet personality Holger Chen’s (陳之漢) first visit to China between Tuesday last week and yesterday, as remarks he made during a live stream have sparked wide discussions and strong criticism across the Taiwan Strait. Chen, better known as Kuan Chang (館長), is a former gang member turned fitness celebrity and businessman. He is known for his live streams, which are full of foul-mouthed and hypermasculine commentary. He had previously spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and criticized Taiwanese who “enjoy the freedom in Taiwan, but want China’s money”
Last month, two major diplomatic events unfolded in Southeast Asia that suggested subtle shifts in the region’s strategic landscape. The 46th ASEAN Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Trilateral Summit in Kuala Lumpur coincided with French President Emmanuel Macron’s high-profile visits to Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. Together, they highlighted ASEAN’s maturing global posture, deepening regional integration and China’s intensifying efforts to recalibrate its economic diplomacy amid uncertainties posed by the US. The ASEAN summit took place amid rising protectionist policies from the US, notably sweeping tariffs on goods from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, with duties as high as 49 percent.
RSS