Former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) has been trying to turn the Taipei mayoral election into a standoff between those who favor Taiwan remaining the “Republic of China” and those who support Taiwanese independence, in a repeat of the 1994 mayoral race that developed into a battle over national identity — It is as if the clock has been turned back 20 years.
At the heart of the Taipei mayoral contest is the question of whether the candidates can propose effective ways of handling the urgent problems posed by the city’s wealth gap, skyrocketing housing prices, falling salaries, food safety controls, an aging society, declining birthrates, urban renewal and a bloated local administration, to create an environment where residents can live and work in peace.
To wilfully turn the focus of the election away from municipal issues toward the independence or unification issue — which has nothing to do with the responsibilities of the Taipei City Government — is tantamount to treating voters as fools, and is nothing but a tasteless trick.
Looking back at the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) mayoral primary in April, KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) defeated KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) after receiving more than 10,000 votes, eclipsing Ting’s less than 5,000 ballots. In the opinion poll section of the primary, Lien also defeated Ting, garnering the support of 39 percent of respondents, compared with Ting’s 36 percent support rating.
No one is probably more confused over this result than Ting, who was fiercely attacked by his party comrades despite having been preparing for the role of Taipei mayor for 20 years and even being named “legislator with the most outstanding record.”
Lo Cheng-chung is an assistant professor at the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology Institute of Financial and Economic Law.
Translated by Perry Svensson
China badly misread Japan. It sought to intimidate Tokyo into silence on Taiwan. Instead, it has achieved the opposite by hardening Japanese resolve. By trying to bludgeon a major power like Japan into accepting its “red lines” — above all on Taiwan — China laid bare the raw coercive logic of compellence now driving its foreign policy toward Asian states. From the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas to the Himalayan frontier, Beijing has increasingly relied on economic warfare, diplomatic intimidation and military pressure to bend neighbors to its will. Confident in its growing power, China appeared to believe
After more than three weeks since the Honduran elections took place, its National Electoral Council finally certified the new president of Honduras. During the campaign, the two leading contenders, Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla, who according to the council were separated by 27,026 votes in the final tally, promised to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan if elected. Nasralla refused to accept the result and said that he would challenge all the irregularities in court. However, with formal recognition from the US and rapid acknowledgment from key regional governments, including Argentina and Panama, a reversal of the results appears institutionally and politically
In 2009, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) made a welcome move to offer in-house contracts to all outsourced employees. It was a step forward for labor relations and the enterprise facing long-standing issues around outsourcing. TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) once said: “Anything that goes against basic values and principles must be reformed regardless of the cost — on this, there can be no compromise.” The quote is a testament to a core belief of the company’s culture: Injustices must be faced head-on and set right. If TSMC can be clear on its convictions, then should the Ministry of Education
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) provided several reasons for military drills it conducted in five zones around Taiwan on Monday and yesterday. The first was as a warning to “Taiwanese independence forces” to cease and desist. This is a consistent line from the Chinese authorities. The second was that the drills were aimed at “deterrence” of outside military intervention. Monday’s announcement of the drills was the first time that Beijing has publicly used the second reason for conducting such drills. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership is clearly rattled by “external forces” apparently consolidating around an intention to intervene. The targets of
RSS