Last Sunday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mobilized its supporters in a demonstration to denounce the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's termination of the National Unification Council (NUC), saying the move was an attempt to seek de jure independence. They believe that it was done at the expense of improving the livelihood of the people and promoting Taiwan's economy.
In response, the DPP has mobilized supporters to attend a demonstration scheduled for this Saturday in support of the termination of the NUC and to criticize the opposition for "joining hands with the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] against Taiwan."
Actually, all of this is no more than preparation for the year-end Taipei mayoral and city council elections, and has nothing to do with the livelihoods of the Taiwanese people. Neither demonstration is particularly significant. However many people the DPP's rally attracts, this will not hide the party's administrative ineptitude. This was underlined by the DPP loss in the Chiayi City by-election last Saturday. The DPP government has disappointed voters, whose only recourse is to punish them at the polls. In addition to a poor administrative record, the honesty of government officials has also come into question following a number of recent scandals.
At the same time, there are all sorts of internal wranglings and power struggles going on. Not long ago the New Tide faction of the DPP called a press conference to accuse former premier Frank Hsieh (
If the DPP has been incompetent, the KMT has blindly pandered to Beijing, and is seemingly incapable of telling fantasy from reality. The pan-blue leaders are pinning their hopes for an economic revival on the "three links" -- the establishment of direct trade, postal and transportation ties with China. Meanwhile, they hold up unification as their ultimate goal. This kind of thinking, which plays right into China's hands, leaves one unsure whether to laugh or cry.
The direct links policy will lead to an acceleration in the outflow of industry and capital from Taiwan. This will lead to increased unemployment, crime, social entropy, a worsening of the investment environment and economic fatigue. If this happens, Taiwanese will lose the confidence and motivation to build up the nation as an advanced technological and cultural center. Beijing has used cunning strategies to lure Taiwanese businesses into investing blindly in China, and as a result many of these businesses have collapsed. Doesn't KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Of all the promises made by Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Taiwan's two main political camps should wake up to reality and not needlessly engage in the mass mobilization of supporters against each other. This is a waste of our political resources and sharpens the confrontation between the pan-green and pan-blue camps. They only see their domestic rivals' faults, but fail to notice the deadly trap that looms ahead of them both.
In a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste on Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) vowed to continue providing aid to Haiti. Taiwan supports Haiti with development in areas such as agriculture, healthcare and education through initiatives run by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). The nation it has established itself as a responsible, peaceful and innovative actor committed to global cooperation, Jean-Baptiste said. Testimonies such as this give Taiwan a voice in the global community, where it often goes unheard. Taiwan’s reception in Haiti also contrasts with how China has been perceived in countries in the region
The world has become less predictable, less rules-based, and more shaped by the impulses of strongmen and short-term dealmaking. Nowhere is this more consequential than in East Asia, where the fate of democratic Taiwan hinges on how global powers manage — or mismanage — tensions with an increasingly assertive China. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has deepened the global uncertainty, with his erratic, highly personalized foreign-policy approach unsettling allies and adversaries alike. Trump appears to treat foreign policy like a reality show. Yet, paradoxically, the global unpredictability may offer Taiwan unexpected deterrence. For China, the risk of provoking the
On April 13, I stood in Nanan (南安), a Bunun village in southern Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪), absorbing lessons from elders who spoke of the forest not as backdrop, but as living presence — relational, sacred and full of spirit. I was there with fellow international students from National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) participating in a field trip that would become one of the most powerful educational experiences of my life. Ten days later, a news report in the Taipei Times shattered the spell: “Formosan black bear shot and euthanized in Hualien” (April 23, page 2). A tagged bear, previously released
Eating at a breakfast shop the other day, I turned to an old man sitting at the table next to mine. “Hey, did you hear that the Legislative Yuan passed a bill to give everyone NT$10,000 [US$340]?” I said, pointing to a newspaper headline. The old man cursed, then said: “Yeah, the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] canceled the NT$100 billion subsidy for Taiwan Power Co and announced they would give everyone NT$10,000 instead. “Nice. Now they are saying that if electricity prices go up, we can just use that cash to pay for it,” he said. “I have no time for drivel like
RSS