The problems that Taiwan now faces with regard to its survival are the Chinese military threat to national security and the magnetic effect of China on economic affairs. I believe that with strong national security our people will gain confidence in their investments, therefore the economy in Taiwan will grow stronger.
Due to Taiwan's inability to join any international organization, it is extremely difficult for the nation to buy advanced weaponry in order to build up its own national defense. However, although the Bush administration agreed to Taiwan's special arms procurement, even in the face of strong opposition from China, the procurement has still not been made because of political arguments.
On the other hand, China has undertaken many military exercises in recent years and is building up its military power.
It has more than 700 missiles pointing toward Taiwan and yet Taiwan continues to send fruit and vegetables to China. People in Taiwan don't realize the importance of national defense and the role of democratization.
The Ministry of National Defense is starting to educate people on how important national defense is. The ministry has already taken action regarding the special arms budget and opening military facilities to the public.
On the other hand, the government hasn't done anything about educating its own people on the role of democratization. There are so many people who are still confused about Taiwan's future. How can they be expected to invest their hard-earned money when the situation is totally unclear? The public wants to see something done as soon as possible.
Perhaps the governing party should conduct dialogue with China in public and the opposition should start processing arms procurement, to secure national defense, as well as strengthening ties with the US, to build up people's confidence.
Chiu Yen-Lung
Miaoli County
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In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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