To vote for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Saturday's presidential election would be to endorse one-party rule, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
"One-party rule is bound to have far-reaching repercussions on the development of democracy and people's livelihoods," Hsieh said.
Since the KMT won the legislative election in January, many have wondered whether the country's hard-earned democracy is doomed, he said.
PHOTO: TUNG CHEN-KUO, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsieh made the remarks after visiting Huang Kun-yen (
Urging undecided voters to come out and vote, Huang said he was worried the KMT's control of both the legislature and the executive would corrupt the party, whose lust for power manifested itself during its 50-year authoritarian rule.
"Power corrupts," he said. "Compared with the KMT's half-a-century rule, eight years of DPP rule is too short. We need another party to act as a check on the KMT's power."
If the KMT establishes the "cross-strait common market" and recognizes Chinese academic credentials, Huang said he expected medical quality to deteriorate, as there are as many as 5,000 medical practitioners in China waiting to enter the Taiwanese market.
While the KMT promised not to abuse its power if elected, Hsieh said the public could not afford to count on the party's goodwill alone.
"What if it [the KMT] cannot deliver on its promises? The only thing people could do is cry," he said. "We must establish a system in which the government continues to operate, but with checks and balances -- no matter who is in power."
If elected, Hsieh said, he promised to share administrative powers with the KMT and appoint a KMT member as premier.
The country would not be in idle spin, there would no longer be political infighting and government budgets would not be boycotted, Hsieh said. He would act as the gatekeeper of cross-strait policy and ensure that Taiwan-centered consciousness, national security and sovereignty are upheld while opening up to China.
At a separate setting yesterday, former national policy adviser to the president Huang Tien-fu (黃天福) expressed similar concerns, saying that Beijing's bloody crackdown on Tibet reminded him of the KMT's authoritarian rule.
"I'm afraid that Taiwan will become the next Tibet," he said. "If the KMT wins the election, we don't know when we will [get the presidency] back."
Huang Tien-fu is the brother of former DPP chairman Huang Hsin-chieh (黃信介), one of the individuals accused during the Kaohsiung Incident.
Also known as the Formosa Incident, the Kaohsiung Incident occurred on Dec. 10, 1979, when the KMT government cracked down and imprisoned participants in an anti-government parade organized by Formosa magazine.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS