When speaking about last Saturday's rally, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that the government should not stir up trouble, and that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should use law and policy if they didn't want society to descend into chaos.
On the surface, Ma's words seem fair enough, but a closer analysis reveals the flaws.
First, you cannot equate a peaceful rally with stirring up trouble, and if you do, you could level the same accusation at the KMT's own rally a few days ago.
Second, it should be remem-bered that the pan-blues have a majority in the legislature and thus have more control over legislation. Ma says the government should use legal means and policy: With his legislative majority, why doesn't he take a leaf from his own book instead of organizing anti-government rallies and causing trouble?
Third, there were very clear differences in the three recent rallies in Taipei. The rallies organized by the KMT and People First Party (PFP) were aimed directly at a democratically elected president. Sure, the KMT said it was about saving the economy, but in reality it was just one, big anti-Chen Shui-bian (
The DPP rally last Saturday, by comparison, was not aimed at the opposition: It was in protest against the Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan, and Communist China's "Anti-Secession" Law, which seeks to deprive Taiwanese of their right to choose. Neither the KMT nor the PFP has uttered a word against the law since it was passed a year ago. They have also consistently boycotted any public protests against it.
When the chairmen of the two parties went to Beijing last year, the Chinese Communist Party declared that Taiwan was a part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Again, there was no voice of protest forthcoming from the KMT or the PFP. Given this, one wonders where Ma's heart lies when he equates Taiwanese protestations at Beijing's intimidation with stirring up trouble.
The next point concerns protest rallies organized by the KMT and the PFP over the last few years. Ma considers the KMT to be a democratic party. Why, then, does he not study how opposition parties in Western democracies conduct themselves, and see how two-party politics is done?
The US Democratic Party has serious doubts about the performance of Bush's administration, and opposes many of the White House's policies, especially the toppling of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Nevertheless, since the start of the Iraq war, the streets of Washington have seen no anti-war or anti-Bush rallies organized in the name of the Democratic Party. This is because both the Republican and Democratic parties are equally strong, and if one person can organize a political rally, then anyone can. This would lead to politics being played out on the streets, making it difficult to conduct a constitutional democracy.
If the opposition has issues with the government, they should right these in the legislature: They should seek their own political ideals through constitutional means as civilized people do. Ma made a point of saying that the DPP was good at staging protests, but that was back in the days when Taiwan was a dictatorship and the people didn't have conventional channels through which to express themselves.
Today's Taiwan enjoys freedom of the press, freedom of speech and holds regular elections. If Ma and other leaders choose to stage these rallies at the drop of a hat, they are not only showing a lack of respect for, and confidence in, Taiwan's constitutional democracy, they can also be accused of stirring up trouble.
Cao Changqing is a freelance journalist.
TRANSLATED BY PAUL COOPER
Criticisms of corruption, a poorly managed bureaucracy and uninformed, unprincipled or unaccomplished policy in China are often met with harsh punishments. Many protesters in the “blank paper movement,” for example, have been disappeared by the authorities. Meanwhile, the WHO has asked China to provide data on its COVID-19 situation, with the Chinese government choosing to disseminate propaganda instead. The first amendment of the US Constitution, written in 1791, prohibits the US government from abridging the freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition, or religion. More than 200 years later, China, the world’s second-largest economy, still lacks the freedoms of speech and the press,
As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) constantly strives to rewrite the Taiwan narrative, it is important to regularly update and correct the stereotypes that the PRC tries to foist on Taiwan and the world. A primary stereotype is that Taiwan has always been a part of China and its corollary that Taiwan has been a part of China since time immemorial. Both are false. Taiwan has always been a part of the vast Austronesian empire, which stretched from Madagascar in the west to Easter Island in the east and from Taiwan in the north to New Zealand in the south. That
The latest Cabinet reshuffle retains top economic and finance officials in their posts. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花), National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang (黃天牧) and Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) are all to remain. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who is to be sworn in as the new premier tomorrow, reportedly wanted them to complete unfinished tasks and maintain coherent policymaking. This indicates that Tsai’s administration wants to formulate consistent and stable policies, reassure the business community and restore
To boost Taiwan’s international competitiveness, the government has launched a “bilingual nation” policy, pledging to achieve this goal by 2030. After the new Cabinet takes shape, it should promptly review the implementation of the policy, and then make adjustments if needed. How can Taiwanese’s English be improved? The answer is simple: Better English education would be a start. Oddly, many universities and even the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC) are doing the opposite at the moment, taking Taiwan further away from becoming a “bilingual nation.” The CEEC, for example, which holds the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT) in January as well
RSS