Promoting a Cabinet-style system of government for Taiwan when the nation is leaning more toward a presidential system, former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) seems to be holding on to his romanticized view of politics. It is this romance, and his distance from either political camp, which might win him a seat in the next legislature. Shih is running for a seat in the Taipei north constituency, where 23 candidates are running for 10 seats.
Saying he has little funding for the election campaign, Shih is putting his ideas on his Web site (www.nori.org.tw) -- one of the most well-designed among the hundreds of legislative candidates.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
His campaign film, which presents the concept of a divided society by showing bank notes torn to two pieces, is also only viewable on his Web site -- unlike other candidates who are able to broadcast campaign films of commercial on television.
Besides his ideas on a Cabinet system, Shih says that the most important reason he decided to run in the legislative election was because he could not allow the split -- created by constant squabbling among the pan-green and pan-blue camps -- in Taiwanese society to continue.
Shih said that fighting among the political camps has created bitter divisions society, "but there is only one Taiwan."
"There has to be a neutral force standing up against the two camps. I cannot forsake Taiwan and allow the conflict to continue, so I decided to run in this election," Shih said.
"The polls have shown me to be in the fifth or the sixth place, and I am cautiously optimistic about the outcome," he said.
Shih said that he has been getting support from voters who usually support one of the political camps, saying many people feeling disappointed with the camps.
Shih's long-time acquaintance, DPP legislator-at-large Lin Choi-shui (林濁水), said Shih enjoyed a good chance of winning a seat in the legislature.
"In the past three years there have been voters who have become dissatisfied with both camps. Those who have become distant from pan-blue and pan-green parties and feel anxious about the current political situation may vote for a neutral and independent candidates this time," Lin said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), who is running in the same constituency as Shih, said that Shih was actually attracting votes away from the pan-blue camp.
"Shih is not affecting the pan-green campaign much, and he has not interacted much with the pan-green candidates. He is getting the votes from those who are disappointed or angry with the pan-blue camp, especially the People First Party (PFP)," Chen said.
"As a pan-green candidate, I am happy to see Shih run in the election," he added.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS