The results of the mass recall are in, and not a single Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator lost their seat. Taiwanese voters have shown themselves to be principled citizens, but the results suggest that a civic awakening — or “spiritual reform,” to borrow a term from former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) — remains insufficient.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) needs to reflect on this. “Spiritual reform” was the cornerstone of Lee’s governing philosophy, an idea that upholds civic virtues and promotes an unwavering consciousness of Taiwanese national identity.
He understood clearly that if a nation’s citizens could be easily swayed by short-term economic gains, they would likely flee in panic at the first sign of an invasion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), rendering the country defenseless. He therefore promoted “spiritual reform” as a critical foundation for nation-building.
The name of the country is not what truly matters; without collective determination, even if Taiwan were officially renamed the Republic of Taiwan, it would not endure for long.
Ukraine’s circumstances are the result of a hasty charge for independence that lacked a thorough spiritual redress. Following Ukraine’s establishment of independence, pro-Russian politicians virtually handed the country over on a silver platter.
It was not until the Orange Revolution stirred public consciousness that Russia shifted tactics — co-opting politicians in the Donbas region to stage the farcical creation of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was initially more fluent in Russian than Ukrainian, and even once went to Russia to pursue a career in entertainment. However, when Russia invaded, he did not surrender nor yield a single city. Instead, he chose to lead his people in resolute resistance.
That resilience stemmed not from linguistic or regional identity, but from the awakening fostered by Ukraine’s “spiritual reform.”
Unwilling to accept Ukraine’s political injustices, Zelenskiy himself had created the television series Servant of the People. His trajectory from a comedian portraying a fictional president to becoming the leader of a nation at war exemplifies the transformative power of “spiritual reform.”
Likewise, the 2019 Hong Kong district council elections were a clear expression of the will and spirit of Hong Kongers. Historically, such elections were typically landslide victories for the CCP. However, in 2019, despite Beijing funneling vast resources toward petty handouts and the outright purchase of operatives carrying out its political will in the territory, CCP proxies were almost entirely swept out.
It was only then that the Hong Kong Government abruptly annulled the Sino-British Joint Declaration and enacted its national security legislation. Yet Hong Kongers abroad continue to flourish in Western countries.
After effective “spiritual reform,” even if the homeland is lost, the national spirit would endure until the nation is restored.
Alongside urgently strengthening national defense education in preparation for a potential war, Lee’s call for “spiritual reform” is more relevant than ever, and should form a crucial part of the nation’s ideological defense. To properly implement “spiritual reform,” media reform is equally indispensable. These matters demand serious attention. From my perspective, as a foreign observer, what has been accomplished thus far has been woefully inadequate.
Martin Oei, who is originally from Hong Kong, is a current affairs commentator residing in Germany with British citizenship.
Translated by Lenna Veronica Suminski
In the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. As expected, bilateral trade emerged as a major priority for the new Trump administration. To secure a favorable trade deal with Taiwan, it adopted a two-pronged strategy: First, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” chip business from the US, indicating that if Taipei did not address Washington’s concerns in this strategic sector, it could revisit its Taiwan
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) challenges and ignores the international rules-based order by violating Taiwanese airspace using a high-flying drone: This incident is a multi-layered challenge, including a lawfare challenge against the First Island Chain, the US, and the world. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) defines lawfare as “controlling the enemy through the law or using the law to constrain the enemy.” Chen Yu-cheng (陳育正), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies, at Taiwan’s Fu Hsing Kang College (National Defense University), argues the PLA uses lawfare to create a precedent and a new de facto legal
Chile has elected a new government that has the opportunity to take a fresh look at some key aspects of foreign economic policy, mainly a greater focus on Asia, including Taiwan. Still, in the great scheme of things, Chile is a small nation in Latin America, compared with giants such as Brazil and Mexico, or other major markets such as Colombia and Argentina. So why should Taiwan pay much attention to the new administration? Because the victory of Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, a right-of-center politician, can be seen as confirming that the continent is undergoing one of its periodic political shifts,
The stocks of rare earth companies soared on Monday following news that the Trump administration had taken a 10 percent stake in Oklahoma mining and magnet company USA Rare Earth Inc. Such is the visible benefit enjoyed by the growing number of firms that count Uncle Sam as a shareholder. Yet recent events surrounding perhaps what is the most well-known state-picked champion, Intel Corp, exposed a major unseen cost of the federal government’s unprecedented intervention in private business: the distortion of capital markets that have underpinned US growth and innovation since its founding. Prior to Intel’s Jan. 22 call with analysts
RSS