Since former premier William Lai’s (賴清德) unexpected announcement last month that he will challenge President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and seek the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) nomination for next year’s presidential election, his campaigning performance has been middling — it is impossible to discern any sense of mission, nor is it possible to detect any particular strengths. His statements are not as incisive as Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌), nor is his reasoning as clear or as thorough Tsai’s.
DPP officials were ordered not to take sides, which made Lai’s supporters protest loudly. They can be divided into three groups, although with considerable overlap between them: pro-Taiwanese independence supporters, those who want a special pardon for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the “old green” camp, which is prejudiced against Tsai and displeased that she has appointed “old blue men” to her administration. They think they have reason to rebel and they are very loud.
The traditional pro-Taiwanese independence group supports Lai, because it thinks he is more pro-independence than Tsai, even making the mistake of thinking that he is an ally. His Harvard master’s degree of public health was a program for practicing physicians completed over three summer terms. Lai would have no chance to join the blacklisted independence camp. His definition of “pragmatic Taiwanese independence” is the same as the DPP’s Resolution on Taiwan’s Future.
Whether to issue a special pardon for Chen is a highly controversial issue. Chen has admitted that he made mistakes and quit the DPP, but he has not pleaded guilty. The lawsuits are not over yet, and Chen has not asked for a special pardon.
Some people have used former US president Gerald Ford’s presidential pardon of his predecessor, former US president Richard Nixon, as an example, but they do not mention that Ford and the Republicans suffered a crushing defeat in the following presidential election as a result.
After announcing his presidential bid, Lai said that Chen’s case was “a matter for the judiciary,” because he did not dare promise to grant Chen a special pardon.
People dissatisfied with former premier Lin Chuan (林全) recommended that he be succeeded by Lai, but Lai’s performance was also average. After the DPP’s defeats in the local elections last year, Tsai shouldered responsibility and tried to persuade Lai not to resign, but Lai insisted on “shouldering the responsibility.” His successor, Su, is doing a lot better than he did.
Now Lai wants to run for president to “shoulder the responsibility” — does anyone not find this a bit odd?
The selling point of Lai’s supporters is that he does better than Tsai in public opinion polls, but a public opinion poll is not an official mechanism, and the abuse of polls in Taiwan is scandalous. The two most popular people in public opinion polls are actually sharp-tongued and thick-skinned people who do not engage in honest work.
Some people use the example of the US to strengthen Lai’s legitimacy.
However, US parties’ presidential candidates are nominated through party member votes in publicly organized primaries, which is more representative of the party’s intentions.
Even if someone in the ruling party challenges a sitting president, it would not be a former Cabinet member.
Party politics is about the party’s shared philosophy, and a party would not win because of an individual hero’s sense of mission.
James Wang is a senior journalist.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
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.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with