DPP-KMT primaries flawed
The recent presidential nominee selection processes conducted by the Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lacked transparency. Both were conducted out of the view of the electorate, behind closed doors.
The two parties’ constant changing of the selection process and rescheduling created confusion and distrust among the electorate.
Many voters that I talked to admitted that the perpetual going back and forth frustrated their attempt to understand the selection process.
Allies of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), led by DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), repeatedly rescheduled the process to ensure that Tsai secured the nomination.
Ultimately, 15,000 telephone surveys were conducted, asking respondents which candidate they favored. One-half of the surveys were conducted on landlines and the other on mobile phones.
The KMT process was allegedly manipulated due to pressures that favored Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
It too was finally carried out on the basis of 15,000 phone interviews. However, all of the calls were made to landlines, which are thought to be the choice of older voters who favor Han; mobile phones, preferred by younger voters, were not used.
Tsai’s opponent, former premier William Lai (賴清德), felt the DPP’s process was stacked against him.
Two of the KMT’s candidates, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) and KMT Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), felt that the KMT’s process was unfair and gave preference to Han.
As a result, the unity in both the DPP and the KMT has suffered.
Given that the total voter tally for the 2016 presidential and legislative elections was 12.5 million people, surveys conducted by the two parties lacked representativeness.
Taiwan needs a nationwide primary election, held on a specific day during a predetermined time period, and conducted by the Central Election Commission. That would make the primary process more representative, open, transparent, understandable and democratic.
Bill Sharp
Hawaii
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