Taiwan’s political system was described at a Washington conference on Tuesday as a sort of “liquid muck.”
Former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan Richard Bush used the analogy as he described President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) ongoing problems.
Bush said that he had been searching for an image to capture the nature of the nation’s political system.
“The one that comes to mind is quicksand,” he said.
Now director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, Bush was a member of a panel at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that was analyzing Ma’s videoconference to the US earlier in the week.
“Many of us will remember, from watching Western movies and serials, the episodes where the hero is dragged down by this liquid muck,” he said.
Unless something happens, Bush said, the hero is pulled under and asphyxiated.
“Taiwan’s political system is a lot like that, or at least its relationship with its president is a lot like that,” Bush said.
He said there were pressures on the president coming from every direction — the president’s own party, the opposition party, the legislature and incessant media coverage.
“It is hard to maintain focus, to maintain direction and strategy,” Bush said.
This was why, he said, the videoconference was “very important.”
He said that Ma’s speech acted as a reminder to the president and to his constituency about “where we were, where we intend to go and how we are doing.”
Bush admitted that his analogy was derogatory and went on to praise Taiwan’s democracy as a “stabilizing force.”
He said it acted as a break on initiatives that “suggest independence” and also as a break on “mindless and rapid movement” toward unification with China.
He said that the nation’s democracy set the boundaries within which any Taiwanese leader must work.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or