Another tempest in a teapot, more political hypocrisy -- has there ever been a politician in Taiwan willing to stand on principles when their personal interests are challenged?
Former interior minister Chang Po-ya (
Newspapers and TV call-in shows pounced on the story, turning their guns on the DPP and TSU. The accusations from Chang and people like KMT Legislator Li Chia-chin (
However, Chang and Li were not so willing to tell their stories once prosecutors launched an investigation. Both played hide-and-seek with prosecutors for several days -- until the prosecutors threatened to ask the courts to issue summons to them. When Chang and Li finally showed up at the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office on Wednesday, they had changed their stories, saying that they had merely overheard allegations of vote-buying. After leaving the prosecutors' office Chang told reporters that she had never said she saw people buying or selling votes inside the legislature. She had only said "one of us" had seen it. Li, in turn, said his responsibility was only to blow the whistle and that looking for evidence was the prosecutor's job.
Such irresponsible sophistry and groundless claims are not just ludicrous -- they are libelous. Chang has seriously damaged her career with this mud-slinging vendetta. If she has an axe to grind, it should be with the opposition parties which had promised to support her nomination. Chang lost, by one vote, because both the KMT and the PFP banned their lawmakers from the legislative floor that day to prevent them from voting for Yao.
As an independent, Chang's political career has always been a balancing act between the DPP and the KMT. Chang's political support stems largely from the admiration and respect for her mother, Hsu Shih-hsien (
How disappointing to see how low Hsu's daughter has fallen that she would stoop to such slander. It would appear that her years of power and privilege have gone to her head. The public has learned to expect little more than such outlandish comments from KMT politicians and lawmakers, but such actions should be condemned nevertheless. The same can't be said of Chang. Both Chang and Li should publicly apologize for their false accusations and for creating yet another divisive scandal.
Labubu, an elf-like plush toy with pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, has become a global sensation, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Dua Lipa. These dolls are sold out in stores from Singapore to London; a human-sized version recently fetched a whopping US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing. With all the social media buzz, it is worth asking if we are witnessing the rise of a new-age collectible, or whether Labubu is a mere fad destined to fade. Investors certainly want to know. Pop Mart International Group Ltd, the Chinese manufacturer behind this trendy toy, has rallied 178 percent
My youngest son attends a university in Taipei. Throughout the past two years, whenever I have brought him his luggage or picked him up for the end of a semester or the start of a break, I have stayed at a hotel near his campus. In doing so, I have noticed a strange phenomenon: The hotel’s TV contained an unusual number of Chinese channels, filled with accents that would make a person feel as if they are in China. It is quite exhausting. A few days ago, while staying in the hotel, I found that of the 50 available TV channels,
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
There is no such thing as a “silicon shield.” This trope has gained traction in the world of Taiwanese news, likely with the best intentions. Anything that breaks the China-controlled narrative that Taiwan is doomed to be conquered is welcome, but after observing its rise in recent months, I now believe that the “silicon shield” is a myth — one that is ultimately working against Taiwan. The basic silicon shield idea is that the world, particularly the US, would rush to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion because they do not want Beijing to seize the nation’s vital and unique chip industry. However,
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