Keep watching the KMT
It seems to me that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) needs to do a little more than apologize and reflect on his low public approval rate. He needs to make right that which he promised to do and then reneged. When the president apologizes, it often appears to many that he is whining and making excuses for his less-than-stellar performance in office.
There comes a time when national leaders must take their highly paid “advisers” and put them in the corner and tell them to “sit and stay,” but do they have the intestinal fortitude to do it?
It appears that the “tail is wagging the dog” here in Taiwan. About 30 percent of the population is ramming national policy down the throat of the majority.
“Promise them anything and once we have the votes we dance to our own tune.”
Ma knows full well that if “unification” with China were put to a national referendum, it would fail miserably. And so, little by little, he draws the lines closer and closer. And for his actions, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) reaps mega dollars from deep-pocketed supporters.
Sadly, it is too late to undo what was done in the last presidential election. What can and must be done is to keep voters well-informed of the failures of the KMT in general and this administration in particular. The opposition parties must show leadership in outing corruption and cronyism when it appears and keep this administration on notice that it is and will continue to be watched closely.
Tom Kuleck
Greater Taichung
More tourists, less fun
Is it not axiomatic that a visitor’s level of enjoyment of a natural scenic area is inversely proportionate to the number of other visitors doing exactly the same thing at the same time?
Simply put, if too many tourists are in one place at any given time, the quality of the experience of each and every one of them is significantly diminished as a direct function of the crowded conditions.
For example, a family is enjoying a sunset on a beautiful beach when a tour bus suddenly appears and disgorges 40 tourists who immediately begin shouting, smoking and aimlessly traipsing about. Would the magic not be completely spoiled for the family? Would they not feel put off and compelled to leave for more secluded surroundings? What if it were five buses? What about 10? The fact of the matter is that many of Taiwan’s premier tourist locations have become no-go zones for both local Taiwanese and foreign residents because of the influx of tourist hordes that have descended upon these areas.
Still, the government is intent on boosting tourist numbers, if only for the sake of the numbers themselves, despite the obvious deterioration in the overall quality of the experience for all visitors alike.
As long as those in the tourism sector are making money, the quality of visitors’ experiences clearly do not concern the government. The Ma administration ought to wake up to this reality before it’s too late. When it comes to tourism, more does not always mean better.
Jason Grenier
Hualien
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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