An organization dedicated to monitoring democracy under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has released a list of the top 10 national news items on democracy, hoping to raise public awareness on possible crises that the hard-earned democracy of Taiwan might be facing.
Taiwan Democracy Watch released the list of items related to the nation’s democratic development that occurred between May 20 last year and the end of last month with the participation of 192 academics, lawyers and rights activists.
The forced demolition of the Wang (王) family’s homes in Taipei City’s Shilin District (士林) ranked first, followed by Want Want China Times Group’s plan to acquire cable TV services owned by China Network Systems (CNS) and China’s interference in Taiwan’s presidential election.
Other news items on the list include the government’s plan to relax the ban on the importation of US beef under pressure from the US government, exposure of an avian influenza outbreak by freelance journalist Kevin Lee (李惠仁), a petition by 500 judges to reform the Supreme Court, the nation’s first female presidential candidate, an anti-nuclear demonstration by Tao Aborigines on Orchid Island, Ma’s proposed cross-strait peace pact and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) honorary chairman Wu Poh-hsiung’s (吳伯雄) proposal that touted Taiwan and China as “one country, two areas (一國兩區).”
A commission formed by Taiwan Democracy Watch members first selected 63 news items, after which 192 academics, lawyers and social activists voted to select the top 10 news items from the list.
“The top 10 news items list shows that Taiwan’s democracy is in serious crisis,” Chu Hai-yuan (瞿海源), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Sociology, told a press conference on Thursday.
“Taiwan does not have a well-structured democratic system. That’s why the government is making a lot of decisions without informing the public,” he added.
For instance, the Wangs in Shilin were not fully informed about how to express their objection to an urban renewal project that led to the forced demolition of their homes, he said.
“It is worrisome that local governments are allowing construction firms to initiate urban renewal projects almost without checks and when a certain percentage of property owners agree to it, the construction firm could ask the government to tear down all properties to allow the development,” said Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮), chair of National Chengchi University’s Department of Land Economics. “This is depriving people of the right to properties protected by the Constitution.”
Former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) said he was worried that China is interfering in Taiwan’s politics, including manipulating media reports and mobilizing Taiwanese businessmen investing in China to vote for pro-unification candidates in elections.
“The Want Want Group has strong connections with top Chinese government officials and if it takes control of CNS, China could easily manipulate news reports in Taiwan,” Lin said.
“We all know that China wants to take over Taiwan. When that happens, Taiwan’s democracy would collapse,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and