KMT murdered democracy
The campaign theme of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) recent presidential run was “fairness and justice.”
Ironically, Tsai and her vice presidential candidate, Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), were the victims of unfairness and injustice in the election.
Early in the elections Su gave up his farmhouse in Pingtung in response to dubious accusations by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The KMT used its huge assets against the impoverished DPP. The “three little pigs campaign” made the point that the DPP was running against a big bad wolf. However, it shows that the unfairness and injustice Tsai suffered in her campaign was in the present and progressive tense. Simply put, the theme was too weak and unconvincing.
Examples of the unfairness and injustice in the election include abuse of the government apparatus, the unprecedented voting date change, and the discounted airfares provided to Taiwanese businessmen in China, which amounted to a large-scale vote-buying scheme.
However, Tsai failed to address these issues effectively. She should have protested vigorously and even boycotted the whole election. Now, a precedent has been set and the KMT will not give up its new-found unfair advantages in the next round of elections. The KMT was never a democratic party. Before, it controlled Taiwan using martial law; now it wins elections using unfair advantages.
The elections in Taiwan were free, but not fair. Compared with the election in 2008, this is a big setback. Taiwan is not a democracy anymore, rather it is now an autocracy in disguise, where the KMT uses its unbridled political power to rig the elections and the DPP can do nothing about it.
There is no point or pride in Taiwanese taking part in this democratic shambles until the unfairness and injustice can be effectively addressed.
The Chinese Communist Party and the KMT have successfully killed democracy in Taiwan, while the US is a co-conspirator and the whole world just watches!
Yang Ji-charng
Columbus, Ohio
Makiyo owed an apology
I am pushed to make a comment about the state of the news media. I refer, in particular, to the broadcast media and some of the print media.
There were times during the recent election that I had a problem believing that there was such a thing as an “unbiased” news outlet. The latest example is the Makiyo incident.
Not one official has stated or in any way indicated that she is being charged with a crime related to the alleged assault on a taxi driver. Is she guilty of poor judgement? Probably. However, no formal charges have been filed as yet.
Yet this young woman is being demonized in both the press and on television as the “second coming of Beelzebub.” From newscasts I have watched and news stories I’ve read she has and is being crucified for the actions of a friend. If Taiwan is bemoaning that it is feeling some limitations on press freedom, maybe they need to do a little “self-policing” and clean up their own act.
Report the story! Get rid of the drama and personal suppositions that are coming out with every newscast. This woman is at least owed an apology for shoddy journalism.
Tom Kuleck
Greater Taichung
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