If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then the government has finally found an infrastructure project that it can complete on schedule.
When a letter written by an anonymous "group" of military personnel was sent to the Ministry of National Defense (MND) complaining about pan-blue opposition to the arms procurement package, the military responded -- at first -- by saying it was neutral and would not comment on political matters.
This was the correct response. However, later comments made by the MND and the remarks of President Chen Shui-bian (
"I clearly understand the frustration of lower-level soldiers, who cannot agree with the irrational opposition from legislators who have boycotted the arms procurement package 43 times," Chen said.
He is wrong to encourage this partisan display.
Since coming to power in 2000, one of Chen's worthiest accomplishments has been progress in de-politicizing and "nationalizing" the military. Unfortunately for Chen, this is not something that lends itself well to rhetoric. It is difficult to explain to people how a non-partisan military affects their daily lives.
But one does not have to be a political science expert to believe that these efforts have already paid dividends. A politicized military would not have kept its mouth shut during the difficult period after last year's disputed presidential election. But the MND behaved admirably at a time when fanatics on both sides of the political spectrum were trying to drag it into the fray. The military did what it was supposed to do: Stay neutral and let democratic processes take their course.
But as difficulties beset the Chen administration, the pan-green camp stands in real danger of adopting the tactics used by its erstwhile enemies.
As Taiwan struggles to shape a workable democratic system out of the remains of a one-party state, its leaders are often tempted to use the mechanisms of authoritarianism -- vestiges of which remain at the government's disposal.
The problem is that this would be shortsighted and self-defeating. Although the pan-blue camp has gone to unreasonable lengths to block the arms procurement package, that is no reason for the pan-greens to abandon reason as they try to provide for Taiwan's defense.
Military personnel, of course, are also private citizens and are entitled to their political views. But they are under no circumstances entitled to "stand behind their uniforms" when presenting their politics.
The military personnel that sent the letter should be punished, for they have forsaken one of their most sacred duties. They have forgotten that they have sworn an oath not to a political party or a segment of society, but to their country. This country is a democracy; within it are people who embrace a host of differing views. As a member of the armed services, one has an obligation to defend all of them.
On the MND Web site's home page is a statement of the military's policy: "The Ministry of National Defense maintains an unwavering neutral stance in keeping with the policy of nationalization of the military."
But the same statement then continues: "At this time, the MND would like to reiterate its position on the national defense procurement legislation ..."
It is hypocritical to declare one's neutrality while simultaneously outlining a policy stance.
Certainly the government has made a strong case as to why the arms package is necessary. But how can any weapons system be worth the price of undermining civilian control of an impartial military?
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
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
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is pressuring Taiwan using high intensity tactics to tire out Taiwanese forces and force them into making mistakes, The Economist cited Navy Commander Admiral Tang Hua (唐華) as saying in an interview published on Thursday last week. China is “using an ‘anaconda strategy’ to squeeze the island,” he said, adding that it is “slowly, but surely” increasing its presence around the nation. “They are ready to blockade Taiwan at any time they want,” Tang said. It is welcome to see a high-level official give an interview to international media on this matter. Although Taiwan is one
RSS