The presidential and legislative elections conducted on Saturday were “mostly free, but partly unfair,” because of concerns about an authoritarian legacy and foreign interference, an international election watch group said in Taipei yesterday.
“Taiwan’s autocratic past has become interlinked with pressures from an authoritarian China, which have framed an unfair political context in the elections,” said Michael Danielsen, chairman of Danish group Taiwan Corner.
Danielsen and former US senator and governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski were among 21 observers from eight countries who were invited to Taiwan by the International Commission for Fair Elections in Taiwan (ICFET), a watchdog group of more than 80 international and domestic politicians, academics and democracy advocates, to form an International Election Observation Mission (IEOM).
The mission issued an official statement yesterday after meeting with campaign organizers, staff and candidates, and observing rallies and activities nationwide for the three major political parties between Tuesday and yesterday.
The structural problems of vote-buying, misuse of government power and a huge imbalance in party wealth and resources observed in the elections are at least in part legacies from Taiwan’s authoritarian past, Danielsen said.
Influences from the US and China also posed concerns, in particular those from Beijing, the mission said.
“The cross-strait relations in the context of an economically and politically rising China weighs heavily on the election process in Taiwan. It puts tremendous pressures on Taiwan’s democracy and the freedom and fairness of the choices that its voters must take,” Danielsen said.
“In our view, the fear factor is very important in the elections,” said Gerrit van der Wees, editor of the Taiwan Communique, adding that the factor had built a sense of “fictional stability” for Taiwanese voters.
Murkowski, known for his support for Taiwan’s democracy, said judicial reform should also be in place to ensure fair elections.
The former senator said that fear has been a major factor in people’s deciding which party to support and the “golden rule” — he who has the gold, rules — of political party competition appeared to reflect the imbalanced political situation in Taiwan.
The imbalance between foreign interference and international support for Taiwan’s fair elections was also alarming, said Bruno Kaufmann, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe, who has observed 11 Taiwanese elections.
The development of Taiwan’s democracy means a lot to Asia, as Taiwan could be a beacon of democracy for all of Asia in the next 20 years, said John Tkacik, senior fellow and director of the International Assessment and Strategy Center’s Future Asia Project.
However, Tkacik warned, looking at what happened in the past 15 years in Hong Kong and Macau, he could not predict what kind of impact China’s system would have on Taiwan in 20 years and it would very likely reflect China’s influence on other Asian democracies over the next 20 years.
“This is the real significance of Taiwan’s democracy. It is a harbinger and a precursor, helping predict the impact of China on democracies throughout the rest of Asia,” he said.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old