Exciting times? We've been living in them, folks. So what did we learn in 2000 and what would we like to see in 2001?
First, to reflect on the past, we learned that Taiwan has the mechanisms of democracy in place and that they work, but it doesn't have even a primitive understanding among its politicians of the way that democracy has to work. Chen Shui-bian (
Much of the government's current troubles stem, of course, from its behavior over the cancellation of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and this displayed ineptitude on a Baroque scale. It was not merely the stupid timing of the announcement. Rather it was the government's failure to see what was perfectly obvious to any cub reporter, namely that most Taiwanese cared more about regular electricity supplies than about the dangers/problems of nuclear power and they had to be first reassured about the former and then educated in the latter before the government was in any position to cancel the plant, and the onus of this campaign was on the Presidential Office, the astute use of what the Americans call the "bully pulpit" of the presidency. Once again, lack of basic understanding of how to use what you find in the democracy toolbox.
What will the coming year bring? Much depends on the KMT, ruling party though it isn't. Its upcoming party congress will see the first popular elections for its leadership. There are two possibilities. Either the neo-conservatives who grasped the helm in the wake of the election debacle last March will be trounced and the party will swap its current status as a mouthpiece of Beijing for something more in tune with mainstream voter opinion. Or not. In which case the KMT will marginalize itself, leaving a vast area of middle ground, economically liberal, socially conservative, disliking China, otherwise pragmatic in its political topography, up for grabs. Who will claim it may be the story of 2001.
As for the government, so much could have changed by the end of January, depending on the Council of Grand Justices ruling over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, that it seems otiose to make predictions. A council ruling against the government -- which would ensure Chang Chun-hsiung's (
What would we like to look back on next Jan. 1? The sidelining of the KMT's neo-conservatives either within the party or at the ballot box. An effective and workable resolution to the government-legislature standoff -- and a DPP majority in the legislature is one but not the only solution here, a healthier economy, of course, oh, and James Soong (
The recent passing of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), known to many as “Big S,” due to influenza-induced pneumonia at just 48 years old is a devastating reminder that the flu is not just a seasonal nuisance — it is a serious and potentially fatal illness. Hsu, a beloved actress and cultural icon who shaped the memories of many growing up in Taiwan, should not have died from a preventable disease. Yet her death is part of a larger trend that Taiwan has ignored for too long — our collective underestimation of the flu and our low uptake of the
For Taipei, last year was a particularly dangerous period, with China stepping up coercive pressures on Taiwan amid signs of US President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, which eventually led his Democratic Party to force him to abandon his re-election campaign. The political drift in the US bred uncertainty in Taiwan and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region about American strategic commitment and resolve. With America deeply involved in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the last thing Washington wanted was a Taiwan Strait contingency, which is why Biden invested in personal diplomacy with China’s dictator Xi Jinping (習近平). The return of
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), known affectionately as “Big S,” recently passed away from pneumonia caused by the flu. The Mandarin word for the flu — which translates to “epidemic cold” in English — is misleading. Although the flu tends to spread rapidly and shares similar symptoms with the common cold, its name easily leads people to underestimate its dangers and delay seeking medical treatment. The flu is an acute viral respiratory illness, and there are vaccines to prevent its spread and strengthen immunity. This being the case, the Mandarin word for “influenza” used in Taiwan should be renamed from the misleading
Following a YouTuber’s warning that tens of thousands of Taiwanese have Chinese IDs, the government launched a nationwide probe and announced that it has revoked the Republic of China (Taiwan) citizenship of three Taiwanese who have Chinese IDs. Taiwanese rapper Pa Chiung (八炯) and YouTuber Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) in December last year released a documentary showing conversations with Chinese “united front” related agency members and warned that there were 100,000 Taiwanese holding Chinese IDs. In the video, a Taiwanese named Lin Jincheng (林金城), who is wanted for fraud in Taiwan and has become the head of the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park