Recent polls in Taiwan suggest one-sided support for Ma over Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh (
It is pathetic that younger people have forgotten how their parents and grandparents lived through the White Terror period and Martial Law era.
Many good people and young leaders were ruthlessly killed by the KMT regime. Their parents' generation were scared to death.
They chose to be silent over the 228 Incident for many many years.
Some chose to leave their loved ones and homeland behind to seek exile in other countries.
Some were blacklisted and not even allowed to return to Taiwan to attend their parent's funerals.
Ma is no different than People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Soong lost the trust of the people after his ill-fated vice-presidential campaign when he could not explain where he got the money to buy his son five expensive properties in the US.
Ma still cannot explain how he amassed a fortune which does not match his income. Is he telling the truth about having a US green card?
Has he changed his old beliefs about uniting with China just to appease Taiwanese voters?
To these important questions he simply replies "thank you."
Now it is fine for KMT Chairman Wu Po-hsiung (
I am pained to see younger Taiwanese enjoy the fruits of hard-fought democracy and freedom while being blinded to the history of what happened getting there.
Tien C. Cheng
Libertyville, Illinois
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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