Noting that ethics and integrity are essential to those aspiring to engage in politics and social movements, former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) yesterday said that empty campaign promises have cheapened Taiwanese politics.
In a speech delivered at an event organized by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Yilan County, Lin said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) made many pledges during his presidential campaign that he failed to honor after being elected.
Among the well-known examples of Ma’s unfulfilled campaign pledges are his “6-3-3” promise made in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election — annual GDP growth of 6 percent, unemployment of less than 3 percent and a per capita yearly income of US$30,000.
Saying that he would rather talk to his building’s management staff than meet with Ma, whom he said deceived people with false promises and abused his power after being elected, Lin added that the position of the president has become seemingly so worthless that he did not even want to bother running.
“All of the political parties will fail, because they court their own self-destruction with lies,” Lin said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is on the verge of destruction for lying to the public so much, Lin added, calling for the “third force” — parties not affiliated with either the KMT or the DPP — not to become another KMT should they manage to overthrow it.
“Those who fight with monsters must be careful not to become monsters themselves,” Lin said.
Those in the realms of politics and social movements have to commit themselves to something they can be proud of and place public interests above their own, while establishing a deep connection with Taiwan, Lin said.
In related news, SDP convener Fan Yun (范雲) on Saturday said that the newly formed party was preparing for next year’s legislative elections by raising campaign funds through small donations.
Fan accused the KMT of using its enormous party assets as political leverage, saying that the electoral imbalance created by money could not be solved unless the KMT loses its majority in the legislature in next year’s elections, after which the KMT’s asset issues could be properly dealt with.
Politicians could collude with large business groups to manipulate legislation at the expense of workers’ rights, she said, adding that the SDP is against such a venal practice and would be campaigning on small donations.
The SDP insists on limiting the size of campaign donations and will launch a series of online fund-raising campaigns soon, Fan said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS