The new legislative session starts tomorrow and party caucuses are discussing the issues they plan to tackle. Some of the problems are related to recent events and some have urgency due to time constraints, while others are part of the new Cabinet’s agenda, which Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) inherited from his predecessor, former premier William Lai (賴清德).
One of the priority issues is child abuse, which came to the forefront of public attention after a number of incidents. There seems to be broad cross-party consensus on this issue.
However, the issue of same-sex marriage does not enjoy similar cross-party backing. The waters of that debate were muddied in November last year when a majority of voters backed proposals opposing marriage equality.
Although lawmakers need to listen to public will expressed through the referendums, they must also uphold the Constitution and act in accordance with Constitutional Interpretation 748, which requires the government to create legislation to ensure marriage equality within two years of the May 2017 ruling.
The results of the referendums, as well as the concurrent local elections, were largely interpreted as a backlash against the Democratic Progressive Party’s reform agenda of the past two years.
Su on Tuesday submitted a report to the legislature outlining the direction in which he would like to take the government. Many of his recommendations are a continuation of the policies launched by Lai.
However, there have been some additions, such as President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “four musts” and “three shields” that she announced in response to intimidation from the Chinese Communist Party, and new measures to address African swine fever and air pollution.
The continuation of Lai’s policies, despite the drubbing the party received at the local elections, is by no means a bad thing. Many of the government’s policies were unpopular because of their disruptive and painful nature — such as pension reform — or the government’s failure to communicate its intentions properly — such as transitional justice or the goal of achieving a nuclear-free homeland by 2025.
This does not mean that these reforms are not necessary. It is right for Su to push ahead, given the government changes its approach and improves its communication with the public.
Su’s report recommends boosting the economy by improving the nation’s infrastructure through public construction projects, encouraging Taiwanese firms based in China to return home, attracting more investment and carrying out industrial upgrades.
It also aims to improve Taiwan’s international competitiveness by continuing Lai’s policies to attract and retain foreign professional talent and ensure a stable demographic structure for a sustainable future.
The report also recommends a continuation of the government’s energy policy, encouraging the development of sustainable energy sources, a reduction in carbon emissions and the eventual phasing out of nuclear power.
As for curbing air pollution, the report recommends incentives for faster adoption of electric vehicles and the replacement of fossil-fuel vehicles.
Finally, it recommends continuing the efforts to deal with the ill-gotten assets of political parties and their affiliated organizations, improve access to historical documents, remove totalitarian symbols and right historical injustices.
The government should continue with these policies. Even though many of them might lead to to painful, disruptive or unpopular transitional periods, they are necessary for Taiwan to meet the challenges ahead and deal with the divisions of the past.
Su needs to hold his course, but he also needs to be more aware of public opinion than Lai and former premier Lin Chuan (林全).
The bird flu outbreak at US dairy farms keeps finding alarming new ways to surprise scientists. Last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that H5N1 is spreading not just from birds to herds, but among cows. Meanwhile, media reports say that an unknown number of cows are asymptomatic. Although the risk to humans is still low, it is clear that far more work needs to be done to get a handle on the reach of the virus and how it is being transmitted. That would require the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
On April 11, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a speech at a joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington, in which he said that “China’s current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge … to the peace and stability of the international community.” Kishida emphasized Japan’s role as “the US’ closest ally.” “The international order that the US worked for generations to build is facing new challenges,” Kishida said. “I understand it is a heavy burden to carry such hopes on your shoulders,” he said. “Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder
Former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) used to push for reforms to protect Taiwan by adopting the “three noes” policy as well as “Taiwanization.” Later, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) wished to save the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) by pushing for the party’s “localization,” hoping to compete with homegrown political parties as a pro-Taiwan KMT. However, the present-day members of the KMT do not know what they are talking about, and do not heed the two former presidents’ words, so the party has suffered a third consecutive defeat in the January presidential election. Soon after gaining power with the help of the KMT’s