The outpouring of democracy that we witnessed during the presidential election will be consummated today, as Chen Shui-bian
While most foreign observers are eagerly awaiting Chen's inauguration address, and especially the impact it might have on cross-strait relations, the substantive changes in Taiwan that today's ceremonies entail will go far beyond that. Consolidation and deepening of Taiwan's democracy is the most important mission of the new government.
The experience of the transition period gives us hope for real progress. Throughout the process, Chen has successfully maintained, and even increased, his political capital. In fact, his public approval ratings have risen steadily since the election. The reason is not hard to see.
Chen received only 39 percent of the vote and many people decided not to vote for him out of concern about either his perceived immaturity or the prospect of an irrational overreaction from China, or a combination of the two. Since the mere fact of Chen's election did not, as some had feared, automatically trigger a dangerous outburst from Beijing, the second source of anxiety has significantly diminished. More importantly, Chen's statesmanlike behavior throughout these past two months has largely convinced those who doubted his ability. Thus, the closet supporters have now come out and Chen has gained a longer breathing space at the outset.
This is by no means to imply that the new government's ride will be effortless. On the contrary, the new battlelines are clearly taking shape. In the coming months and years, the locus of political struggle will lie between the executive branch and the legislature.
Such a cohabitation feels daunting to many Taiwanese, who have grown up knowing only strong leadership -- even if the substantive decisions made by previous leaders have caused resentment. But, although it will likely be much more difficult to enact major policies, and the volume level will certainly be louder, in the long term such a situation may be a boon for Taiwan's democratic development. Precisely by weakening the dominance of the executive, the importance and weight given to the representative institutions will increase, leading to a more effective set of checks and balances. We can expect that citizens will begin to raise their expectations, as well as their scrutiny, of their legislators, and that this process will eventually raise the quality of legislation.
The relationship among the political parties will also change. Until today, the DPP and the other opposition parties have only needed to criticize KMT policy. Now the DPP is being forced to grow up rapidly, as it becomes the party of government. Likewise, the KMT is going to have to learn how to be an opposition party. Both parties will become more mature in the process. Taiwan's political environment will never be the same.
Moreover, the end of continuous KMT rule will inevitably bring positive adjustments in the mentalities of the civil service and the judiciary. Indeed, we have already seen the beginnings of such a shift. The way in which corruption and financial scandals are being handled is one example. A base of momentum already exists for the new government to push ahead with its promised cleanup campaign.
The impact of these changes will be felt beyond the realm of politics. The economy as well society will be further liberated and invigorated. Thus it can be said truthfully that today is the first day of a new Taiwan.
Xiaomi Corp founder Lei Jun (雷軍) on May 22 made a high-profile announcement, giving online viewers a sneak peek at the company’s first 3-nanometer mobile processor — the Xring O1 chip — and saying it is a breakthrough in China’s chip design history. Although Xiaomi might be capable of designing chips, it lacks the ability to manufacture them. No matter how beautifully planned the blueprints are, if they cannot be mass-produced, they are nothing more than drawings on paper. The truth is that China’s chipmaking efforts are still heavily reliant on the free world — particularly on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday last week apologized over allegations that the former director of the city’s Civil Affairs Department had illegally accessed citizens’ data to assist the KMT in its campaign to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors. Given the public discontent with opposition lawmakers’ disruptive behavior in the legislature, passage of unconstitutional legislation and slashing of the central government’s budget, civic groups have launched a massive campaign to recall KMT lawmakers. The KMT has tried to fight back by initiating campaigns to recall DPP lawmakers, but the petition documents they
A recent scandal involving a high-school student from a private school in Taichung has reignited long-standing frustrations with Taiwan’s increasingly complex and high-pressure university admissions system. The student, who had successfully gained admission to several prestigious medical schools, shared their learning portfolio on social media — only for Internet sleuths to quickly uncover a falsified claim of receiving a “Best Debater” award. The fallout was swift and unforgiving. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Taipei Medical University revoked the student’s admission on Wednesday. One day later, Chung Shan Medical University also announced it would cancel the student’s admission. China Medical
Construction of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) started in 1978. It began commercial operations in 1984. Since then, it has experienced several accidents, radiation pollution and fires. It was finally decommissioned on May 17 after the operating license of its No. 2 reactor expired. However, a proposed referendum to be held on Aug. 23 on restarting the reactor is potentially bringing back those risks. Four reasons are listed for holding the referendum: First, the difficulty of meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets and the inefficiency of new energy sources such as photovoltaic and wind power. Second,
RSS