The White House and the US State Department have said nothing publicly concerning the results of Taiwan’s local elections and remain reluctant to comment in private beyond saying that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) “should be pleased” with the outcome.
A White House source said the elections showed Taiwan was a “healthy two-party democracy” and that a strong opposition party was to be encouraged.
Washington is likely to pay more attention now to DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who has gained considerable respect with the results.
An Associated Press news story printed by the Wall Street Journal spoke of the DPP “pro-independence opposition” making a strong showing and “clawing its way back to respectability.”
Agence France-Presse was quoted in the US press as saying the polls were widely seen as a mid-term test of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) performance and voters had “punished” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for the government’s push for a “controversial trade agreement with China.”
For the most part, the US media ignored the elections, but several news organizations used Reuters reports saying the elections were a test for Ma’s policy of engagement with Beijing and that “voters may have feared that a broad trade deal to be signed with China next year will affect their livelihoods.”
Foreign reports, particularly by British news outlets, were quoted by US radio stations.
The BBC said the results were seen in Taiwan as a “setback” for Ma and that analysts believed that if the voting trend continued “it could threaten President Ma’s chances of re-election in 2012.”
The Financial Times, well-read and respected in US business circles, said the elections must have been a “salutary lesson” for Ma. It said Ma looked “drawn and chastened” by the results.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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