Pan-blue legislators have accused President Chen Shui-bian's (
Are Chen's comments on the Wu case correct? As far as purpose and result are concerned, he is perfectly correct. He used a former deputy of PFP ChairmanJames Soong's (宋楚瑜) to test the political strength of pan-blue resistance. He not only tested whether the pan-blues had the resolve to resist what they declared to be an illegitimate government, but whether they had the ability to do so.
Put simply, Chen hopes that if the pan-blues can be persuaded to play by the rules and thereby be brought into the political structure, it will be increasingly hard for them to maintain that this structure doesn't rest on a legitimate political foundation. There are many issues more important than that of "the two bullets."
For example, there is the matter of arms purchases. Legislators from both the blue and green camps feel that footing the huge bill for the US weapons might be a waste of money. But what about US pressure? It is not confined to the ruling party, but is felt by pan-blue legislators as well.
Then there is the pension issue. Both camps are under pressure from their supporters, who include both labor and management, to resolve this issue. Solving such problems is practical, substantial and much more helpful to voters.
Even issues relating to various legislators themselves, such as the possible effects of the participation of Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
As for what Chen said, the blue camp should just admit: "Chen got us!" Unfortunately, in terms of practical political interests, this is true. And politically speaking, it allows the debate between the greens and the blues to descend from the heights of bitter acrimony to a routine style of debate.
Chen may well have got the pan-blues on this one, but not so the electorate, the majority of whom are hoping for a return to political normalcy to enable important issues to be dealt with. Nevertheless, a number of recent statements makes one doubt this will happen.
Following the election, Chen probably felt indignant at the accusations, and his supporters were forced to keep quiet in order to avoid confrontations. Consequently, now that things have calmed down, Chen has on several occasions made his feelings known, criticizing pan-blue politicians as well as some members of the public who had doubted him. These sentiments cancel out the soft approach and friendly overtures of before.
Everybody understands that comments on cross-straits issues are sometimes intended for Beijing, sometimes for Washington and sometimes, during elections, for the electorate.
Chen, Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan (
Ku Er-teh is a freelance writer.
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
As it has striven toward superiority in most measures of the Asian military balance, China is now ready to challenge the undersea balance of power, long dominated by the United States, a decisive advantage crucial to its ability to deter blockade and invasion of Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). America expended enormous treasure to develop the technology, logistics, training, and personnel to emerge victorious in the Cold War undersea struggle against the former Soviet Union, and to remain superior today; the US is not used to considering the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)
The annual summit of East Asia and other events around the ASEAN summit in October and November every year have become the most important gathering of leaders in the Indo-Pacific region. This year, as Laos is the chair of ASEAN, it was privileged to host all of the ministerial and summit meetings associated with ASEAN. Besides the main summit, this included the high-profile East Asia Summit, ASEAN summits with its dialogue partners and the ASEAN Plus Three Summit with China, Japan and South Korea. The events and what happens around them have changed over the past 15 years from a US-supported, ASEAN-led
Lately, China has been inviting Taiwanese influencers to travel to China’s Xinjiang region to make films, weaving a “beautiful Xinjiang” narrative as an antidote to the international community’s criticisms by creating a Potemkin village where nothing is awry. Such manipulations appear harmless — even compelling enough for people to go there — but peeling back the shiny veneer reveals something more insidious, something that is hard to ignore. These films are not only meant to promote tourism, but also harbor a deeper level of political intentions. Xinjiang — a region of China continuously listed in global human rights reports —
President William Lai’s (賴清德) first Double Ten National Day address had two strategic goals. For domestic affairs, the speech aimed to foster consensus on national identity, strengthen the country and unite the Taiwanese against a Chinese invasion. In terms of cross-strait relations, the speech aimed to mitigate tensions in the Taiwan Strait and promote the coexistence and prosperity of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in China and the Republic of China (ROC). Lai is taking a different stance from previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administrations on domestic political issues. During his speech, he said: “The PRC could not be the
RSS