As the US presidential election is scheduled to take place in November next year, the Republican Party has begun its series of primaries. Three decades ago, candidates locked horns over issues like balancing the budget, the legalization of abortion, gun control and racism. Decades later, these issues still come up on the agenda, meaning that the problems have not been satisfactorily addressed. A new issue has been added to this year’s election, with both the Democratic Party and Republican Party agreeing on its core outline, that of countering China. The US presidential election is about choosing a candidate who can keep the nation in place as the world’s predominant superpower.
In contrast, aside from the foreign policy issue concerning Taiwanese independence or Chinese unification, Taiwan’s Jan. 13 election campaign has seen the copious and all too usual mudslinging against candidates. The question about Taiwan’s status has always concerned people’s ideology and values. Those who are familiar with history would know that when the Constitution was first promulgated, the territory included both China and Taiwan. However, in the intervening period after the Chinese Civil War, with the victory of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) and defeat of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), China naturally “vanished” from its place in the Constitution, with Chiang keen to keep inciting his people to launch a counteroffensive to reclaim the lost territory and recover China.
Since 1949, the territory outlined in the Constitution has been Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. Similar to the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, in which Mexico ceded a large tract of its territory after defeat — 55 percent to be more precise — which included the present-day US states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming. Like Taiwan, Mexico could no longer lay claim to the lost territory as its own.
Some people are of the view that changing the name of the nation would be an act of pushing for Taiwanese independence. However, for the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), whether under the name of the Republic of China (ROC) or Taiwan, as long as Taiwan is de facto separated from the PRC and is not subordinate to it, then it is already a form of independence. From the time of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民) up to the present day under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Beijing seethes at Taiwan holds presidential elections.
Former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) used to say that people who identify either with the ROC or Taiwan should embrace each other so that China would not be able to sow discord and that Taiwan should adopt a pro-US policy. Jan. 13 happens to mark the 36th anniversary of his death. His stance rings true and is worthy of being remembered.
This year’s election should be focused on the following issues:
First, how to elevate people’s sense of national identity, so that fewer people identify with the aggressor, China, as their homeland.
Second, how to increase public investment and bolster economic development, for example, by developing plans to extend the high speed rail network around Taiwan proper, including Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung.
Third, how to facilitate judicial reform and improve the quality of prosecutors, lawyers and judges so that people can have greater trust in their judicial system. These issues are of greater significance and importance and should be discussed in the campaign, instead of the unfocused public discussion we see now, engulfed in personal attacks, fake polls and fake news.
Chuang Sheng-rong is a lawyer.
Translated by Rita Wang
The first Donald Trump term was a boon for Taiwan. The administration regularized the arms sales process and enhanced bilateral ties. Taipei will not be so fortunate the second time around. Given recent events, Taiwan must proceed with the assumption that it cannot count on the United States to defend it — diplomatically or militarily — during the next four years. Early indications suggested otherwise. The nomination of Marco Rubio as US Secretary of State and the appointment of Mike Waltz as the national security advisor, both of whom have expressed full-throated support for Taiwan in the past, raised hopes that
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
Authorities last week revoked the residency permit of a Chinese social media influencer surnamed Liu (劉), better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), who has more than 440,000 followers online and is living in Taiwan with a marriage-based residency permit, for her “reunification by force” comments. She was asked to leave the country in 10 days. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Tuesday last week announced the decision, citing the influencer’s several controversial public comments, including saying that “China does not need any other reason to reunify Taiwan with force” and “why is it [China] hesitant
We are witnessing a sea change in the government’s approach to China, from one of reasonable, low-key reluctance at rocking the boat to a collapse of pretense over and patience in Beijing’s willful intransigence. Finally, we are seeing a more common sense approach in the face of active shows of hostility from a foreign power. According to Article 2 of the 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), a “foreign hostile force” is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff with the Republic of China [ROC]. The same stipulation applies to
RSS