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
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS