With the re-election of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) party-state edifice had collapsed, allowing the shadow cast upon Taiwan by the Chinese civil war to finally lift, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said yesterday.
"The cancelation of the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion (動員戡亂時期臨時條款) in 1991 signified that Taiwan no longer treated the People's Republic of China as a rebellious entity," Lee said. "But Taiwan didn't walk out of the shadow of the civil war until the March 20 election, when the KMT's party-state came to an end."
Lee was speaking at a seminar organized by the Taiwan Advocates think tank at Chunghsing University. Around 1,500 people packed the school's auditorium to hear the last of three seminars attended by Lee discussing the ramifications of the presidential election on the country's legal system and democracy as a whole.
Lee said that although the "Peace Revolution," or the process of peaceful democratization Lee advanced during his 12-year presidency, had contributed to the gradual erosion of the party-state structure, there remained a residue of that edifice, namely the people who were in power at that time and who remained powerful now.
"The post-election instability represents the final struggle of these party-state remnants to survive," Lee said.
However, Lee assured the audience that the battle for political survival by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Lee also criticized the recently formed "Democratic Action Alliance" (民主行動聯盟), which includes prominent film director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) and veteran political commentator Nan Fang-shuo (南方朔). The alliance accuses Chen of using populist methods to instigate ethnic confrontation and warns of impending tyranny.
"Some people use the slogan of `new democracy' to smear Taiwan's existing democracy and vilify this new majority leader as a populist," he said. "They lay claim to the only objective and truly democratic position, but this does not stand up to scrutiny in a democracy. I believe the Taiwanese people, who have experienced democracy, won't be manipulated by these politicians."
Lee said the election showed that Taiwanese identity had emerged as a mainstream mode of thought, and based on this consensus, he urged the public to help bring about a solid majority for those who identify in this way in December's legislative elections, bolster the process of referendum and support the rewriting of the Constitution.
Political commentator Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), also speaking at the seminar, said Chen's re-election meant that Taiwan had emerged as a successful and unique model for the third wave of democratization.
He said that the nation had successfully prevented an ancien regime from staging a counterattack, while many other new democratic countries, such as those in eastern Europe, had failed to do so.
Ruan Ming (
Yao Jen-to (姚人多), an assistant professor of sociology at National Tsinghua University (清華大學) who specializes in media criticism, yesterday said the presidential election was a triumph for Taiwanese people because they had prevented the pro-blue campmedia from deciding the presidential election.
Also See Story:
Terrill: KMT party-state era came to an end last month
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS