“A head of state being heckled is not a big deal in a democratic society; there is no need to regard it as losing face.”
These were the words of then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in October 2006, spoken at the time of a campaign by red-clad protesters to oust then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic Progressive Party.
Fast-forward to Monday this week and Ma’s stance has changed noticeably now that he is the president and on the receiving end of people’s anger and discontent. Seeing his speech marking Human Rights Day at the Jingmei Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park disturbed by protesters — one of whom also threw a shoe at Ma — Ma appeared annoyed and raised his voice as he lectured all those present, in his message on human rights, that “it is the attitude of tolerance and mutual respect that serves as the fundamental value in Taiwan’s human rights development.”
The shoe-throwing episode reminded many people of a similar incident involving then-US president George W. Bush in December 2008 at a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq. Many recalled how Bush took it in his stride, saying that the shoe thrown at him was “a size 10.”
Even Chen, in comparison with Ma, appeared to be more mature and demonstrated a level of graciousness and class befitting a president when he, in the face of people protesting and heckling him, stated that the ruckus was a sign of a healthy democracy in Taiwan that people should cherish and be proud of.
As the president whose ill-conceived policies and poor performance fueled recent public demonstrations of grievances and dissatisfaction, Ma should be more receptive to people’s criticism, rather than fighting the protesters’ decibels with more decibels, as was the case on Monday.
In his speech, Ma called for respect from the protesters. However, does he practice what he preaches and treat his people with the respect they are due? Recalling the numerous demonstrations held by members of the public these past months on issues such as fuel and electricity price increases, forced land seizures and deteriorating social insurance systems, to name just a few, how many were the times that all that the people got in response from Ma were the words “thank you”? Ma’s lecture about respect was anything but convincing, as the public has on many occasions witnessed how he fails to respect his people by treating their complaints in a perfunctory manner.
Ma also likes to pat himself on the back for having ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, how can he say that his administration remains determined to protect human rights and to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy when many issues remain unresolved, such as the much-criticized judiciary system that lacks independence.
In case Ma needs a reminder, he said in his victory speech on March 22, 2008, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regained the key to the Presidential Office: “The KMT will be appreciative and humble. We’ll listen hard, care for people’s plights, and engage in policy reviews and introspection.”
Unless he keeps the meaning of “human rights” close to his heart, takes people’s plights seriously and takes concrete action to push reforms that would change people’s lives for the better, Ma remains unqualified to give a lecture on respect, let alone on human rights.
The US Senate’s passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which urges Taiwan’s inclusion in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise and allocates US$1 billion in military aid, marks yet another milestone in Washington’s growing support for Taipei. On paper, it reflects the steadiness of US commitment, but beneath this show of solidarity lies contradiction. While the US Congress builds a stable, bipartisan architecture of deterrence, US President Donald Trump repeatedly undercuts it through erratic decisions and transactional diplomacy. This dissonance not only weakens the US’ credibility abroad — it also fractures public trust within Taiwan. For decades,
In 1976, the Gang of Four was ousted. The Gang of Four was a leftist political group comprising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members: Jiang Qing (江青), its leading figure and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) last wife; Zhang Chunqiao (張春橋); Yao Wenyuan (姚文元); and Wang Hongwen (王洪文). The four wielded supreme power during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but when Mao died, they were overthrown and charged with crimes against China in what was in essence a political coup of the right against the left. The same type of thing might be happening again as the CCP has expelled nine top generals. Rather than a
Taiwan Retrocession Day is observed on Oct. 25 every year. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government removed it from the list of annual holidays immediately following the first successful transition of power in 2000, but the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led opposition reinstated it this year. For ideological reasons, it has been something of a political football in the democratic era. This year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) designated yesterday as “Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration,” turning the event into a conceptual staging post for its “restoration” to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Mainland Affairs Council on Friday criticized
The topic of increased intergenerational conflict has been making headlines in the past few months, showcasing a problem that would only grow as Taiwan approaches “super-aged society” status. A striking example of that tension erupted on the Taipei MRT late last month, when an apparently able-bodied passenger kicked a 73-year-old woman across the width of the carriage. The septuagenarian had berated and hit the young commuter with her bag for sitting in a priority seat, despite regular seats being available. A video of the incident went viral online. Altercations over the yielding of MRT seats are not common, but they are
RSS