Estranged allies People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
But things weren't always so cozy. Only last Thursday, the PFP broke ranks and sabotaged the KMT's efforts to block Chen Tsung-ming's (
Ma says he hopes that a formal alliance will help lead to closer unity in the legislature, which will help produce more policies beneficial to all of Taiwan. Soong said he hopes to stabilize Taiwanese politics by using more moderate, soft power to rebuild the foundation of the nation's democratic system as he sees it: the pan-blue alliance. Born of the same ideology, the KMT and PFP have always been political partners. That the two say they want to cooperate is not surprising, nor are their diplomatically chosen words.
The KMT doesn't want the PFP to cause trouble and split the pan-blue vote. Meanwhile, the PFP is coveting the quota for legislators-at-large and working for its own interests as it tries to stave off its destruction. Both parties know they need each other, but they don't have the resolve to make a long-term commitment, so instead they're just moving in together. However, this is merely a marriage of convenience in response to new electoral rules.
The new electoral system will halve the total number of legislative seats and the new electoral districts offer only 73 seats. This will lead to an explosive contest between the KMT and PFP as candidates vie for a much smaller number of seats. Both parties could use surveys to select candidates with the best chance of winning, similar to the election tactics they used before. But that cooperation failed in 2005, when KMT candidate Hsu Tsai-li (
The nomination system must be transparent and fair and potential candidates must be willing to concede defeat for it to work. The parties must stick to their guns and expel candidates who insist on running even after being eliminated by the nomination process. Otherwise, a dispute over just one legislative seat could shatter the alliance, leading the two into mutual attacks rather than cooperation.
After announcing that he was leaving Taiwanese politics following his crushing defeat in last year's Taipei mayoral election, Soong's actions certainly cast new light on the sincerity of his intentions. He witnessed the forming of the alliance from the US, and as he and PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (
Regardless, the forming of the alliance is just the beginning of a new headache for the KMT chairman.
In an article published in Newsweek on Monday last week, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged China to retake territories it lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. “If it is really for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t China take back Russia?” Lai asked, referring to territories lost in 1858 and 1860. The territories once made up the two flanks of northern Manchuria. Once ceded to Russia, they became part of the Russian far east. Claims since then have been made that China and Russia settled the disputes in the 1990s through the 2000s and that “China
China has successfully held its Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, with 53 of 55 countries from the African Union (AU) participating. The two countries that did not participate were Eswatini and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which have no diplomatic relations with China. Twenty-four leaders were reported to have participated. Despite African countries complaining about summit fatigue, with recent summits held with Russia, Italy, South Korea, the US and Indonesia, as well as Japan next month, they still turned up in large numbers in Beijing. China’s ability to attract most of the African leaders to a summit demonstrates that it is still being
Trips to the Kenting Peninsula in Pingtung County have dredged up a lot of public debate and furor, with many complaints about how expensive and unreasonable lodging is. Some people even call it a tourist “butchering ground.” Many local business owners stake claims to beach areas by setting up parasols and driving away people who do not rent them. The managing authority for the area — Kenting National Park — has long ignored the issue. Ultimately, this has affected the willingness of domestic travelers to go there, causing tourist numbers to plummet. In 2008, Taiwan opened the door to Chinese tourists and in
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday was handcuffed and escorted by police to the Taipei Detention Center, after the Taipei District Court ordered that he be detained and held incommunicado for suspected corruption during his tenure as Taipei mayor. The ruling reversed an earlier decision by the same court on Monday last week that ordered Ko’s release without bail. That decision was appealed by prosecutors on Wednesday, leading the High Court to conclude that Ko had been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and it ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Video clips
RSS