Demos Chiang (
Demos Chiang condemned former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Several senior KMT figures such as Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Apologizing for her son's criticism of Lien, Chiang Fang Chih-yi (
Is this what the KMT is about? A party that cannot tolerate dissenting opinions or listen to views voiced by young people?
Everyone in the country saw Lien's poor sportsmanship after his richly deserved defeat in the 2004 presidential election.
Demos Chiang merely wrote the truth, so why does the old guard of the KMT so quickly dismiss it as a youngster's lack of maturity and understanding?
The KMT, after losing power in Taiwan eight years ago to the Democratic Progressive Party, has since made attempts to strengthen its pro-localization stance as it tones down talk of eventual unification with China.
But winning people's hearts is more than just about adopting new party platforms. It requires a willingness to take in different opinions, especially from the younger generations.
After all, maturity does not necessarily come with age, and young people can often be critical thinkers with an acute understanding of history.
Some have questioned Demos Chiang's motives in criticizing the KMT. But whatever these are, he should be given credit for daring to challenge Lien and for speaking out in a political culture in which seniority seems to carry more weight than ideas.
If the KMT wants to look like a progressive party and leave behind its authoritarian past for a more open-minded and democratic future, it should respect new ideas from young people rather than dismissing them as "immature youth."
As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, cutting power to more than 170,000 homes and water supply to more than 400,000 homes, and leading to more than 600 injuries and four deaths. Due to the typhoon, schools and offices across the nation were ordered to close for two to four days, stirring up familiar controversies over whether local governments’ decisions to call typhoon days were appropriate. The typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) at noon on Thursday, but it weakened into a tropical depression early on Friday, and its structure
Since the end of the Cold War, the US-China espionage battle has arguably become the largest on Earth. Spying on China is vital for the US, as China’s growing military and technological capabilities pose direct challenges to its interests, especially in defending Taiwan and maintaining security in the Indo-Pacific. Intelligence gathering helps the US counter Chinese aggression, stay ahead of threats and safeguard not only its own security, but also the stability of global trade routes. Unchecked Chinese expansion could destabilize the region and have far-reaching global consequences. In recent years, spying on China has become increasingly difficult for the US
Lately, China has been inviting Taiwanese influencers to travel to China’s Xinjiang region to make films, weaving a “beautiful Xinjiang” narrative as an antidote to the international community’s criticisms by creating a Potemkin village where nothing is awry. Such manipulations appear harmless — even compelling enough for people to go there — but peeling back the shiny veneer reveals something more insidious, something that is hard to ignore. These films are not only meant to promote tourism, but also harbor a deeper level of political intentions. Xinjiang — a region of China continuously listed in global human rights reports —
RSS