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
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2