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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
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