The DPP appears to have shed the "minority government" straitjacket that has confined it for so long. During the legislature's vote last month on the nomination for Executive Yuan president, the "pan-green" camp managed to scrape together 113-votes, even though the DPP and the TSU combined hold just 102 seats. It was the "pan-green" camp's first taste of a legislative majority and it prompted President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to talk confidently of building a cross-party "alliance for national stability." During yesterday's face-off over a special budget for cleaning up the Keelung River, the "pan-green" camp beat the "pan-blue" camp 103 to 98 -- showing once again that the opposition's hold on the legislature is slipping.
The central government and the Taipei City Government have long been at loggerheads over the clean-up budget. The administration thinks the city is rich and should therefore shoulder a NT$1.98 billion portion of the budget. The city believes political considerations -- the mayoral election in December -- are behind the government's decision to give financial support to all the counties and cities involved in the project except Taipei City. Round after round of negotiations have failed to achieve anything since neither side will give ground.
Yesterday's vote should give the DPP a better handle on how to operate in the legislature and how to build the alliance that it has been talking about for months.
The KMT caucus has been unravelling ever since last December's legislative elections, but most of the KMT lawmakers who left the party have become independents. The "pan-green" camp gained only two more seats and 102 seats is a long way from a stable 120-seat majority. To build a majority alliance, the DPP will have to absorb as many lawmakers as possible, regardless of their quality. New members may not necessarily subscribe to the party's political concepts or be willing to abide by party discipline. Such marriages of convenience could soon collapse if lawmakers find a better deal somewhere else and the DPP could easily find itself held hostage by a minority group.
The DPP needs to learn how to capitalize on the kind of schisms that were evident during yesterday's vote in the "pan-blue" camp. If it tries to build an alliance before the time is ripe, it will waste both time and energy and have little to show for its efforts. However, if it were to align with opposition lawmakers on an issue-by-issue basis instead of seeking to build a more permanent alliance, not only would it legitimize the concept of legislators voting independently, it would also pre-empt pay-off accusations. Such a strategy is not only eminently feasible, but its political costs would be less than going the alliance route.
The DPP should also take advantage of the interface opportunities provided by groups such as the Taiwan Advocates (
Adopting an issue-oriented strategy could prove to be a winning move for the "pan-green" camp.
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
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