It was announced last week that an election watchdog made up of prominent figures from at home and abroad would be set up to observe Taiwan’s Jan. 14 presidential and legislative elections.
The committee is tasked with ensuring that the presidential and legislative polls are free and fair, and it will also observe the four-month transitional period after the elections, a role that could prove crucial considering recent reports on Chinese meddling in the elections.
Although President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) denied that Beijing backed his re-election when he was interviewed by the BBC’s Chinese-language Web site late last month, numerous media reports have suggested otherwise.
Following an analysis published on Nov. 25 by Japan’s Sankei Shimbun which said that China is searching for ways to influence Taiwan’s presidential election, the latest issue of the Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday reported that Yang Xiaodu (楊曉渡), head of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department’s Shanghai office, voiced his support for Ma’s re-election at a meeting with a visiting Taiwanese group headed by Chang Chao-kuo (張朝國), who also happens to be deputy honorary chairman of Ma’s campaign support group.
It now looks as though the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will have to compete not only against Ma and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but also against the CCP, which has apparently decided that its support for Ma no longer needs to be kept secret, the Next Magazine report claims.
People First Party Chairman and presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) said that “Taiwanese need to be their own masters.”
The question is how can Taiwanese be their own masters when the KMT has joined hands with the CCP to campaign for Ma’s re-election.
While it is genuinely touching that so many international friends care enough about Taiwan’s democracy to want to serve on the election watchdog, Taiwan’s fate ultimately rests in the hands of Taiwanese themselves and their votes.
Anyone who takes pride in being Taiwanese and values the nation’s transformation into a genuine democracy is duty-bound to resist China’s threats and inducements, and to stand up and denounce anyone who uses outside forces to influence the outcome of the election. Any such act is clearly detrimental to the health of Taiwanese democracy.
Both Soong and DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday told China to keep its hands off Taiwan’s elections.
Ma’s re-election campaign office also said it is firmly opposed to any Chinese interference in the elections, but that is simply not enough.
As the sitting president, it is Ma’s responsibility to uphold Taiwan’s dignity as a democratic country. It is therefore incumbent upon him to issue a stern statement condemning Chinese attempts to influence Taiwan’s presidential election.
Failure to do so only indicates to Taiwanese that Ma is unable or unwilling to defend the nation’s pride and sovereignty, and the he does not deserve a second term in office.
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