Independent presidential candidate James Soong (
He has been getting himself free-of-charge publicity in the mass media by coming up with a different possible running mate almost every day.
However, with too many skeletons in the closet of his camp, Soong has finally decided to pick a Mr Clean. Those previously named by the media as Soong's possible running mates have enjoyed a surge in their political status as a result. Without spending a penny, and just by releasing rumors through the media, he has won deep gratitude from many politicians -- to the extent of destabilizing the KMT.
Fortunately, such maneuvering has ended now that he has formally announced his choice.
Trained as a surgeon, the gray-haired Dr Chang Chao-hsiung (
Public response to his choice has been largely positive. This will help raise Soong's popularity ratings.
However, Chang's assets lie not in his own personal qualifications, but in his relationship with Formosa Plastics (台塑), which runs the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. During the press conference, Chang emphasized the spirit of Formosa Plastics, hinting that he had corporate support. Unfortunately, Formosa Plastics immediately came up with a clarification. The company apparently does not want to be pulled into troubled waters for the sake of Chang, since meddling in politics often bad for business.
Most importantly, the choice of a running mate is hardly a decisive factor in elections. No candidate has ever been elected because he chose a good running mate. In the last presidential election, Chen Lu-an (
A clean but inexperienced running mate may well be better in looks than use because his or her ability in governance will be a cause for concern.
Of course, putting together a trustworthy administrative team will be of much greater help in an election campaign. Unfortunately, most of the people named by Soong as his possible teammates are either retired KMT functionaries or frustrated politicians and Chang's participation alone will not be enough to change this image.
Soong is a savvy politician who can be all things to all men. For retired military veterans, he is a defender of the Chiang family. For the New Party, he is an anti-independence advocate. For those opposing "black gold" politics, he is a reformer. For black gold politicians, he is an honorable chieftain. For the general populace, he is a good, hard-working official. He speaks a different language and stands on a different platform for each of these groups. Like a dexterous juggler, he exercises his skills to nurture contradictory images.
But sooner or later, populists will have to clarify their platforms. They cannot just rely on boosting their popularity ratings through media manipulation.
Soong is a politician too smart, too calculating, too dexterous, too popular, too scheming, and too easy. This is exactly what worries people.
The first Donald Trump term was a boon for Taiwan. The administration regularized the arms sales process and enhanced bilateral ties. Taipei will not be so fortunate the second time around. Given recent events, Taiwan must proceed with the assumption that it cannot count on the United States to defend it — diplomatically or militarily — during the next four years. Early indications suggested otherwise. The nomination of Marco Rubio as US Secretary of State and the appointment of Mike Waltz as the national security advisor, both of whom have expressed full-throated support for Taiwan in the past, raised hopes that
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
Authorities last week revoked the residency permit of a Chinese social media influencer surnamed Liu (劉), better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), who has more than 440,000 followers online and is living in Taiwan with a marriage-based residency permit, for her “reunification by force” comments. She was asked to leave the country in 10 days. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Tuesday last week announced the decision, citing the influencer’s several controversial public comments, including saying that “China does not need any other reason to reunify Taiwan with force” and “why is it [China] hesitant
We are witnessing a sea change in the government’s approach to China, from one of reasonable, low-key reluctance at rocking the boat to a collapse of pretense over and patience in Beijing’s willful intransigence. Finally, we are seeing a more common sense approach in the face of active shows of hostility from a foreign power. According to Article 2 of the 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), a “foreign hostile force” is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff with the Republic of China [ROC]. The same stipulation applies to
RSS