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Taiwan democracy ★ freedom comments ★ this site's world No.1 in 2020~23, 2017~19, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2010~12 ★ Top since 1998 ★ |
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Taiwan democracy ★ freedom comments ★ this site's world No.1 in 2020~23, 2017~19, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2010~12 ★ Top since 1998 ★ |
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Taiwan |
Taiwan's democracy |
is at surface level |
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2024 presidential election & 2022 midterm elections
♣ Fox News, 2023-10-1: with Taiwan's opposition now divided into three camps — barring some increasingly unlikely last-second unity ticket — President Tsai’s anointed successor, current Vice President William Lai of the ruling DPP, looks set for almost certain victory.
♣
Economist, 2023-9-26:
Taiwanese voters will in effect be asked to decide whether Taiwan should remain
aligned with America in strengthening deterrence against a possible Chinese
invasion,... the one-fifth of voters who are not
aligned with any party and could be a decisive bloc.
|
Taiwan presidency - Lai (DPP), Ko, Hou, Gou (opposition) |
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| ◆ BBC, 2023-8-29 | Opinion polls also show that around 40% of voters are pretty solid supporters of the ruling DPP. That means the ruling party can be beaten. But to have any chance the opposition would have to unite around a single candidate. Now Taiwan's opposition vote will be split three ways. |
| ◆ Economist, 2023-8-29 | The opposition would not end the tensions, but it would probably reduce them by placating China. A win for Mr Lai, might have the opposite effect. |
| ◆ Washington Post, 2023-8-28 | Taiwanese voters could either fuel or dampen the mounting tensions. Their choice is between a ruling party determined to maintain Taiwan's political independence, and an opposition that sees closer ties with China as the only viable path. |
| ◆ Wall Street Journal, 2023-8-25 | analysts said Lai's lead could erode by the time voters cast their ballots in January, given Taiwan's reputation for volatile politics. |
| ◆ Reuters, 2023-8-28 |
Any split on the non-DPP side would mean Lai's sure victory in January.
Terry Gou's main theme in his pre-campaign events has been that the only way to avoid war with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, is to get the DPP out of office. |
| ◆ AP, The Hill, 2023-8-28 | Terry Gou announces run for Taiwan presidency. He has received criticism that he was splitting the vote,“I will definitely not allow Taiwan to become the next Ukraine”. He has received criticism that he was splitting the vote |
♣ Washington Post, 2023-8-20: The election of a third consecutive DPP administration would confirm that Beijing's attempts to bring Taiwan under its closer control through coercion and intimidation are failing. Although Lai is currently leading in the polls, opposition candidates who are much friendlier to Beijing might be able to amass a majority if the three top contenders chose one to rally around
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/20/william-lai-taiwan-china-reunification/ Josh Rogin♣ Bloomberg, 2023-8-14: Taiwan's Election Is All About War... it's concerning that the opposition may not be able to coalesce behind one candidate. That's an election Lai (DPP Lai Ching-te) can win. bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08-14/why-taiwan-s-2024-election-is-all-about-threat-of-war-with-china
♣ Bloomberg, 2023-6-15:
US Presses Taiwan Opposition Candidate Over China Policies - Washington will want to be assured that Hou has "a clear stance on China and international policy"; Michael McCaul told Japan's Nikkei that if a “preferred candidate” of China wins, he or she “essentially will be their installed puppet candidate.", otherwise "will probably lead to “a more aggressive response” by China. "。Hou...backs closer ties with China, raises the stakes for US engagement and could put the Biden administration’s pledge of neutrality to a test. msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-presses-taiwan-opposition-candidate-over-china-policies/ar-AA1cAQyL♣ Reuters, 2023-6-21:
Exclusive: Taiwan on alert for Chinese-funded election interference / details of how Taiwan thinks China may use illicit funding have not previously been reported. reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-alert-chinese-funded-election-interference-2023-06-21/| Denmark's Democracy Perception Index 2023: "% of people living in democracies perceive the threat of foreign election interference", Taiwan ranks the 7th from last |
♣ Washington Post , 2023-5-19:
The key campaign issues are China policy and the economy. washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/19/explainer-taiwan-2024-elections-and-why-they-matter-from-beijing-to-washington/caee9d5e-f69b-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html Cindy Wang
♣
Brookings, 2023-4-17:
The
Taiwan voters are deeply pragmatic.
A
significant majority of the Taiwan voters are in the middle.
brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-serious-is-the-risk-of-war-over-taiwan/
Richard C Bush Ryan Hass David Dollar
♣
DW (Germany), 2023-4-19: Taiwan's choice: China or the United States?
KMT: "peace
or war."
DPP: 'Democracy or authoritarianism'
dw.com/en/taiwans-choice-china-or-the-united-states/a-65369312
♣
The Guardian, 2023-4-2:
The KMT has long maintained it is not “pro-China” but pro-peace and prosperity –
an attractive message after years of cross-strait turmoil.
theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/apr/02/war-in-taiwan-will-dwarf-ukraine-unless-the-us-shows-china-its-teeth
Simon Tisdall
♣
Economist, 2023-3-29:
a Taiwanese policy adviser frames voters'
choice as one between “peace or war”. The kmt can
defuse tensions by promising the Communist Party that it rejects Taiwanese
independence...The dpp has
criticised KMT's “embracing appeasement” But it, too,
worries about conflict
economist.com/china/2023/03/29/taiwans-president-tsai-ing-wen-starts-a-sensitive-visit-to-america
♣
United States Institute of Peace,
2023-3-30 : Relationship
with China is on the Ballot for Taiwan's Presidential
Elections /
vice president, Lai Ching-te,
running for 2024 president, has emphasized that
he would not advocate for Taiwanese independence, but rather seek to defend the
de-facto independence Taiwan already enjoys. However,
any DPP candidate will be seen as inherently threatening by Beijing.
usip.org/publications/2023/03/tensions-over-taiwan-rise-tsais-us-stopover
Rosie
Levine; Jennifer
Staats
♣
Economist, 2023-3-6:
The KMT
has
been unable to articulate a new cross-strait strategy beyond continuing dialogue
with the Chinese Communist Party.
the DPP
has also been
hesitant about telling voters to prepare for war. The DPP
has already softened its messaging,
from Ms Tsai's slogan of “Resist China and protect
Taiwan”, to the more pacific “Peacefully protect Taiwan”.
economist.com/special-report/2023/03/06/taiwanese-politics-faces-a-crucial-election-in-early-2024
♣
Bloomberg, 2023-1-16: Midterm
races were dominated by issues such as cost of living and deaths from Covid, but
China will play a larger role in the contest to be the next president.
Voters then will have to decide between a candidate like
William Lai (“political worker for
Taiwanese independence”),
who will have a more confrontational relationship with Beijing, or likely
someone from the KMT, who would adopt a more conciliatory approach.
news.yahoo.com/dpp-picks-worker-taiwanese-independence-063131571.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
♣
SCMP, 2023-1-10: Messy Taiwan politics means KMT’s return to power is far from
assured. If the US-China relationship remains strained or worsens, which seems likely,
the DPP will be advantaged. "Ethnic voting" will also favour the DPP.
msn.com/en-xl/news/other/messy-taiwan-politics-means-kmt-s-return-to-power-is-far-from-assured/ar-AA16bqa8
♣
Bloomberg, 2022-11-24: Voters will choose new city and county leaders on
Nov. 26. Tsai needs a strong showing by
DPP candidates to strengthen her hand over the final two years of her presidency...
It would also give Tsai
greater say on a potential successor from within the DPP in the next
presidential contest in 2024.
(news.yahoo.com/chiang-kai-shek-great-grandson-084636608.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall)
♣
Wall Street Journal, 2022-11-28:
Taiwan Ruling Party's
election drubbing could
ease tension with China and persuade Chinese leaders
that they can peacefully influence politics there.
♣
Voice of America,
2022-11-23: "black
gold"-"heijin."
Corruption in Local Politics
/
The term directly translates to "black
gold" but most in the audience understand that it refers to
corruption, vote buying, or illicit money used for political purposes... vote buying, and even
candidates with ties to organized crime have been hard to erase completely in
more rural areas...
in Nantou, because it is relatively rural,
buying votes is actually very serious, I would say prevalent
voanews.com/a/taiwan-struggles-to-shake-off-era-of-corruption-in-local-politics/6846530.html
brief
|
"Taiwan's midterms"
CNN,2022-11-27: Taiwan's President billed midterms as
all about China. The pro-independence DPP's losses come as a heavy blow for Tsai as she had tried
to frame the election – as a way to send a message against
Beijing’s rising bellicosity toward the island.
edition.cnn.com/2022/11/27/asia/taiwan-election-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html |
|
|
media |
comments |
| Reuters, 2022-11-27 | Tsai had tried to frame the elections as more than just a local vote, saying the world is watching how Taiwan defends its democracy amid tensions with China... But her strategy failed to win public support. news.yahoo.com/taiwan-presidents-election-strategy-backfires-185831747.html |
| Independent (UK), 2022-11-27 | Tsai's DPP campaigned on the political anger against China's stance towards Taiwan, the KMT focussed more on the self-ruled island’s democracy and freedom; Its campaign also pointed to whether the government favoured a local vaccine over imported ones. msn.com/en-gb/news/world/taiwan-election-president-tsai-ing-wen-resigns-as-ruling-party-chair-after-disastrous-results/ar-AA14BJm0 |
|
Global Times (China), 2022-11-28 |
A loud "No" to DPP authorities' policies on a wide range of topics related to people's livelihoods including the chaotic COVID-19 response and the failure to rein in rising prices, and also demonstrated that Tsai Ing-wen''s "China threat bet" has backfired. Such results proved the mainstream public opinion on the island was for peace. Besides, failures in handling frequent scandals violating "values" it boasted about, corruption, black gold politics and nepotism severely violated what the DPP had pledged to the people, in many cases DPP sacrificed the interests of ordinary people and local companies such as relaxing a ban on food imports from Japan's sites of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and the US pork with ractopamine, DPP appeared to be incapable of handling the prices and livelihoods crises, and have also mulled lengthening the mandatory military service, a very unpopular idea among the youth. globaltimes.cn/page/202211/1280569.shtml |
| Reuters (UK), 2022-11-27 | The KMT bristles at accusations it will sell out Taiwan to China or is not committed to democracy, but accuses the DPP of deliberately hyping confrontation with Beijing for political benefit; the issue of succession may breed internal contradictions, damaging the combat effectiveness of having all guns pointing outwards news.yahoo.com/attention-turns-presidential-poll-taiwan-025519599.html |
|
China Times (Taiwan), 2022-11-27 |
A very critical and important factor is the Taiwanese people's fear of war, which made Tsai's "resist China and defend Taiwan" policy fail, possible extending military service to resist China is unpopular among young voters .... Besides, Yilan county magistrates Lin Zimiao (林姿妙) and HsinChu mayoral candidate Gao Hongan(高虹安) both appealed for "suppression by the state apparatus". chinatimes.com/opinion/20221127002671-262110?chdtv brief 黃智賢 |
| Economist, 2022-11-29 | many Taiwanese are tired of squabbles over national identity, especially after Ms Tsai’s refusal last year to accept an offer of much-needed vaccines from China ... seemed anxious about the economy and aggrieved by the coronavirus-related strictures economist.com/asia/2022/11/29/across-the-taiwan-strait-another-lockdown-protest |
| VOA, 2022-11-27 | The personality [of the candidates] was also an issue. There was plagiarism ... unclear government budget use and the vaccine (procurement) policy was pretty opaque. ...a combination of several domestic policies that really made Taiwanese people uncomfortable voanews.com/a/taiwan-elections-seen-as-a-warning-to-ruling-party/6852716.html |
| Diplomat, 2022-11-29 | negative campaigning was the dominant tactic in this election...The DPP was particularly hurt by a thesis plagiarism scandal thediplomat.com/2022/11/cross-strait-relations-after-the-2022-midterm-election-in-taiwan/ |
| Wall Street Journal, 2022-11-28 | Taiwan Ruling Party's Election Drubbing Could Ease Tensions With China |
| Bloomberg, 2022-11-26 | Taiwan Counts Votes in Elections Set to Shape Presidential Race ; Expert: The winners of elections will have a say in who get picked to in the subsequent presidential elections news.yahoo.com/taiwan-votes-local-elections-set-000000672.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall |
| DW, Germany, 2022-11-26 | the opposition Nationalist party shows they remain a strong political force at the local level in Taiwan... there were limits to a "resist China and defend Taiwan" electoral message ; China said the result shows that "mainstream public opinion in the island is for peace, stability and a good life. dw.com/en/taiwan-president-resigns-as-party-head-after-election-losses/a-63901750 |
| LA Times, 2022-11-25 | DPP has been riding on the wave of its Taiwanese nationalism card since 2014 and is inevitably facing a degree of voter fatigue. The bigger challenge for the KMT looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election may be persuading voters that it can adeptly navigate cross-strait relations without acceding to pressure from Beijing. latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-11-25/la-fg-taiwan-kmt-taipei-mayor-election-chiang-wanan |
| First Post, India, 2022-11-25 | |
| SCMP, HK, 2022-11-25 | Voters to head to the polls in what is seen as a referendum on Taiwanese president's policies and the independence-leaning DPP; Outcomes will offer clues about potential 2024 presidential candidates; "If this arguable overuse makes the [Taiwanese] public sphere gradually immune from the DPP's nationalism card on election day, it may potentially carry over into the 2024 presidential election - Not great for DPP," Australian scholar said. msn.com/en-xl/news/other/what-will-taiwan-s-local-elections-mean-for-tsai-ing-wen-s-party-and-rival-kmt/ar-AA14wVUM |
|
United Daily (Taiwan), 2022-11-27 |
Public grievances erupted, the DPP suffered the biggest frustration ever since founding the party; the nationals do not agree with the current route. Tsai admin. governs the country by repeatedly threats, without following principle of democracy therefore lose the public's support (民怨大爆發，民進黨遇創黨以來最大挫敗 ; 人民並不認同目前的執政路線 蔡政府中央執政太失民心，治理卻未遵循民主原則，而是動輒恐嚇) udn.com/news/story/7338/6796175?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2 |
|
China Times (Taiwan), 2022-11-27 |
Tsai's administration has completely failed, the overbearing government undermines democracy, acts recklessly, uses its power completely unrestrained, Furthermore, the epidemic prevention work is full of loopholes and hidden corruptions. Chairman Tsai Ing-wen miscalculated the situation and nominated wrong candidate for running Taipei mayor campaign. Young voters are particularly dissatisfied with DPP's breaking promise of taking care for the youth... chinatimes.com/opinion/20221126003550-262101?chdtv (蔡執政完全失敗 霸道執政，破壞民主，恣意妄為，中央權力完全不受節制，防疫工作漏洞百出且能隱含的貪腐情事 ， 蔡英文主席錯估形勢，又獨攬提名大權 ， 年輕選民尤其不滿民進黨照顧青年的承諾全然落空) |
| VOA, 2022-11-27 | ...internal chaos in the DPP. Power is not distributed well. |
Brookings, 2022-8-19:
the
conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party's 20th Party Congress this fall,
and/or in the run-up to Taiwan's 2024 presidential and legislative elections,
when Beijing may attempt to use shows of force to influence voter preferences.
The Diplomat, 2022-7-25:
Midterm
elections in Taiwan are often more a reflection of local politics going
down to the microlevel of neighborhood relations, it will still be an important
signal of each political party's level of popularity.
Public opinion research shows that cross-strait
relations do still factor midterms.
thediplomat.com/2022/07/previewing-taiwans-2022-midterm-elections/
Macau Business, 2022-9-10:
factionalism remains serious within the
KMT party, the moderately
blue camp led by party chair Eric Chu is eager to steer a middle-of-the-road
approach to dealing with the US and mainland China, to win the hearts and minds
of voters. macaubusiness.com/opinion-kuomintang-politics-in-taiwan/
United Daily, editorial and China Times, editorial (2022-11-23): More pan-blue political inclination voters are losing their voting rights by the authority's technical foul ─ expatriates like Taiwanese businessmen in China are blocked by CovID "Mini-three-links (小三通)", soldiers are blocked by "Maximizing the number of military personnel on duty" 、The number of those voters plus CovID infected people in Taiwan might be at least 0.4 million. By contrast, Japan and Korea can take alternative way such as post voting, laborers from Indonesia and Philippines can vote in Taiwan, but Taiwan's ruling party rejects post-voting. udn.com/news/story/7338/6785646?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate chinatimes.com/opinion/20221122004507-262101?chdtv
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US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 2022-4-12 : In 2020 presidential and legislative elections, President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election,...there were allegations of vote buying by candidates and supporters of both major political parties. National Interest, 2022-7-9: Taiwan is a young democratic country that is vulnerable to demagoguery by politicians trying to win elections ... extremist lines can easily win support from the public during economic downturns. it is possible that a Taiwanese political leader could promote independence as a solution to Taiwan's worsening economic situation. Foreign Affairs, 2022-6-23: the anti-unification Democratic Progressive Party has controlled both the presidency and the legislature, and it looks well positioned to win the next set of national elections in 2024. Brookings, 2021-12-27: Beijing have bandwidth and incentive to try to create a political environment in Taiwan conducive to their preferences for the 2024 election. (brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/12/27/steadying-taiwan-for-a-storm-on-the-horizon/) Global Times, 2021-12-11: "If the DPP faces difficulties in the next election in 2024, it's likely to create trouble and further unbalance the current situation, as the political environment in Taiwan is too ideologically-driven and politicized". United Daily, editorial, 2022-4-24: All political parties try to influence public opinions or do media framing by manipulating polls (udn.com/news/story/7338/6262274?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2). |
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pic.: Slovakia congressman and governor perfect
imitated the way
Taiwanese law-makers often did while visiting
Legislative Yuan.
2022-6-9; |
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n
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Brookings, 2021-7-30
(brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/07/30/examining-the-role-of-cross-strait-relations-in-taiwans-politics/):
Lev Nachman:
from extensive political science research we know
that the dominant political factor in every Taiwanese election is the China
factor. All other issues are secondary or filtered through the China factor
lens. Taiwanese voters are far more pragmatic than we typically assume ... TIME
2021-7-26 (time.com/6083748/taiwan-vaccines-terry-gou-foxconn/
) : Most people, 48%, are non-partisan and some
now support smaller parties, like TPP led by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je. Foxconn
Terry Gou has earned a place in Taiwanese hearts for his determination
to provide Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The
Hill, 2021-11-24: Beijing does not want Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to be succeeded in early
2024 by her vice president, Lai ... undoubtedly would
cause Beijing to accelerate its efforts to take Taiwan.
ps: UDN, WorldJournal, 2021-12-9: Taiwan's former pres. Ma: Taiwan is an "illiberal democracy", "a democratically-elected autocracy" |
|
Global Times,
2022-8-11:
under the guise of "democracy", the DPP authorities are practicing
"green terror".
Reuters, 2022-11-23: Taiwan sees less Chinese
interference ahead of elections
news.yahoo.com/taiwan-sees-less-chinese-interference-105940773.html edition.cnn.com/2021/10/27/asia/tsai-ingwen-taiwan-china-interview-intl-hnk/index.html Taiwan Pres: "Democracy sometimes is chaotic. It's messy, confrontational, ..." |
★
●
"Black-Gold" politics vs. democracy
New
York Times, 1-11-2020 :
Taiwan's young and vibrant, if messy at times, democratic society.
N.Y. Times,
12-1-2019: the
soft underbelly of
Taiwanese politics: patronage networks.
They continue to
allow
community leaders, farmers’ associations and even
organized-crime figures to buy votes
( NY Times, opinion : https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/opinion/china-taiwan-election.html
). USA
Country Reports on Human Rights
practices, 2021-3-30:
There were allegations of vote buying by
candidates and supporters of both major political parties (KMT and DPP) in
Presidential election in 2020.
'Mr
Democracy'
Lee Teng-hui
(李登輝)
employed
"Black-Gold"
politics ( SCMP, 7-30-2020:
the use of extensive factional networks, regardless of whether they were linked
to local interest groups or underworld figures
scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3095139/lee-teng-hui-controversial-figure-hailed-taiwans-father
;
Heritage, 3-17-2000:
local slang for the party's ties to gangsters, corruption and illegal financial
transactions.
) ,
for
a long run, the rottenness in the
powerful political family
and
patronage networks
have been a structural issue, and
never changed regardless of
transitions of power.
|
Economist,
2022-3-12: Taiwan ranks top 10~11 on the
crony-capitalism index |
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United Daily ( editorial 8-6-2020, opinion 8-3-2020) : Corruption in parliament seems never end. Lawmakers in similar cases were judged not guilty or not decided yet after more than 10 years' investigations, therefore UDN questions "Does Taiwan's judiciary fail to find out the truth once facing lawmakers ??" At Aug. 2, 2020, top presidential aide resigns amid nephew's ( a DPP lawmaker ) bribery allegations, the image of parliament and Taiwan's democracy tarnishes again after some lawmakers detained for graft probe at 8-4-2020. The China Times (8-6-2020) points out the ruling party DPP is good at winning the vote, instead of governing the state, huge expense spent for election needs to be 'returned', therefore, results in abusing their power and corruption. In today's Taiwan, even county councilmen needs election expenses up to USD 3 millions, not to mention lawmakers or president. Apple Daily, editorial, 8-3-2020: Lawmakers of same party share illegal benefits or cover each other, and usually won't disclose political rivals' greasy palms, that's Taiwan's political culture and 'ecology'. ( brief of https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/20200803/BQXMSWTYOVERHBPGLUKPXAA5LQ/) Since 2018's basic-level election, totally 12 speakers/chairpersons of city council or county council handed in their position to relative or son. ( Apple Daily, editorial 8-4-2020 https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/20200804/FH6DI3F3CYJV2SOIIEGKRGDHKQ/ ; for more Pork Barrel examples, see TVBS news, 12-10-2019 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY6TP7JW398 ) In addition to greedy politicians, Brookings (1-22-2021) : Only 23% Taiwanese people thought that democracy was more important than economic development, 16% believed that protecting political freedom was more important than reducing economic inequality. (brookings.edu/articles/taiwans-democracy-and-the-china-challenge/)
◆
● Democracy is harmed for national security, national security is harmed for democracy
Taiwan's democracy
influences its national security.
N.Y. Times, 2022-6-19:Taiwan
is a democracy, and politicians have electoral considerations. Extending
military conscription, for example, would probably not be very popular.
China keeps inching
closer to Taiwan, hence western experts (e.g., Foreign Policy,
10-28-2020, Financial Times (UK), 7-12-2020 ) warned Taiwan
to make
urgent defense
reforms such as increasing the existing four-month conscription and improving
reservist systems , but, Taiwanese politicians
are afraid to discuss these issues with the public
for months because they believe Taiwanese people are not willing to sacrifice, and
considering electoral realities,
Taiwan’s leaders don't want to shift from volunteer military service to
mandatory military service
with same training period as Singapore's or Korea's,
because such a policy could be deeply unpopular among the young voters courted
by the ruling party (DPP), according to Foreign Policy (10-19-2020). New
York Times
(5-18-2017) criticized Taiwan's
nearly two million reservists "exist in name only" - but nothing big has changed till
present, in spite of western analyst's warning "With
China’s rapid military buildup, that may be time that Taiwan
does not have.".
On the other hand, Taiwan's democracy is harmed in the name of national
security.
An academic paper of NanHua
University published in June 2020 concludes:
Taiwan’s democracy has shown a
retrogressive trend in recent years, the freedom of speech, publication,
assembly etc were persecuted by excuses such as national security. (Shih-Yueh Yang, Ph.D, Walish Temu)
United Daily,
editorial,10-10-2020 (https://udn.com/news/story/7338/4924067):
The democracy and freedom of speech are falling back for being threatened by
"certain power". Some western politicians
giving Taiwan compliments or rhapsody are merely based on political purpose to
needle China.
Taiwan deserves becoming a safe haven, but at
the moment is far
from "a beacon for democracy and human rights" or
"a
model democracy". Global
Times, 9-17-2020: The Taiwan authorities often
brag about "freedom and democracy" in the island, which are
self-comforting empty slogans.
◆
|
pic. : TOP
rank "Taiwan democracy", on Microsoft Bing,
2023-5-1, 2023-2-28, 2023-1-21, 2023-1-1,
2022-9-9, 2022-6-12, 2022-5-29, 2022-3-21, 2022-2-10, 2022-1-31,
2022-1-2, 2021-12-28, 2021-11-28,
2021-11-15
pic.
: No.1 "Taiwan democracy", on Microsoft Bing,
2023-2-28, 2023-1-1, 2022-12-5, 2022-11-29, 2022-9-10, 2022-6-13, 2022-5-30, 2022-3-22, 2022-2-11, 2022-1-30, 2022-1-3, 2021-12-29, 2021-12-16, 2021-12-9, 2021-11-29, 2021-11-21, 2021-11-1, 2021-10-7,
2021-9-6,
2021-8-5, 2021-6-24, 2021-6-1, 2021-5-13, 2021-10-6, 2021-9-5, 2021-8-1, 2021-6-1, 2021-5-9, 3-12-2021, 2-28-2021, 2-12-2021, 1-27-2021, 1-24-2021, 1-11-2021, 01-01-2021;
top 2
"Taiwan democracy", on
Microsoft Bing, 2022-10-19, 2022-10-10;
pic. : Topics on "Taiwan democracy" of intlHumanRights.com , Microsoft Bing, 2022-9-10
pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Ecosia of Germany, 2022-6-13, 2022-5-30, 2022-3-22, 2022-2-11,
2022-1-30,
2022-1-3, 2021-12-29,
2021-11-29, 2021-11-15,
2021-5-31,
2021-5-9,
2-28-2021,
11-14-2020,
8-8-2020,
7-24-2020,
6-25-2020,
6-21-2020; among top ranks at 2023-2-28
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US Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices
released at 2022-4-12
:
In
2020
presidential and legislative elections, President Tsai Ing-wen won
re-election,...there were allegations of vote buying
by candidates and supporters of both major political parties.
|
N.Y. Times,
12-1-2019: the
soft underbelly of
Taiwanese politics: patronage networks.
|
◆
● Scuffles are common in the parliament
The New York Times
declared in a 1992 editorial : "
New York Times, 6-28-2020: Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fights and protests inside the parliament building are not an uncommon occurrence. The Express (UK) and SCMP at 6-29-2020 : Taiwan’s democracy is boisterous with fights and protests a common occurrence inside the parliament building... The ruling DPP's large parliamentary majority and obstinacy had left the KMT ( main opposition Kuomintang or Nationalist Party) with no alternative but to occupy the parliament ( Legislative Yuan ) to protest against government “tyranny” ( AFP: KMT refuses the list of corrupt nominees, the Diplomat: Chen Chu will not be impartial to head oversight board as she is top aide & advisor to President Tsai , Australian Associated Press: KMT has accused the DPP of cheating in part of the vote on nomination ). A lot of scuffles erupted as lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) broke through barricades erected by KMT... Such brawls are a fact of life in Taiwan and happened regularly for about 30 years in parliament, 40+ years in the streets ( Formosa TV, 7-2-2020, China Times, 7-4-2020 ). Two weeks later, more fighting as Taiwan opposition again occupies parliament, Reuters, New York Times, 7-14-2020: Violence and protests inside the chamber are not unusual in Taiwan. AFP UK, Australian Associated Press, CNA Singapore, 7-17-2020: Taiwan is a boisterous, sometimes unruly democracy. France24, AFP, 7-14-2020: Taiwan's parliament was once notorious for mass brawls among lawmakers and has been the location of frequent protests. Scuffles broke out over reform policies and pension cuts when President Tsai first took office four years ago... After four months, chaotic clashes are seen again, French AFP and France 24 (11-27-2020) described scuffles in this time as "particularly novel", Guardian UK (11-27-2020) called it "disgusting" ― unlike hair pulling, throwing punches, chairs, eggs and even water balloons in previous protests, lawmakers hurl pig intestines, hearts, liver, lungs and other organs at their DPP rivals and exchange ham-fist punches, leaving the chamber's crimson carpet streaked with ropy strands of intestine and milky viscera for government's allowing imports of U.S. pork containing ractopamine, an additive that enhances leanness but is banned by More than 150 countries including European Union and China. The KMT also accused DPP of hypocrisy because they were heavily against ractopamine while as opposition. Reuters (11-23-2020) reports opposition's slogan "Taiwanese pigs don't eat ractopamine and yet you are asking Taiwanese people to?". Washington Post (11-27-2020) : scholar says Taiwanese voters generally viewed brawls negatively but that they were important ways to send signals to each party's die-hard supporters.
◆
|
|
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| L.A. Times, 11-22-2020:
thousands march in Taiwan streets against US pork imports, a giant
inflatable pig (slogan: Betraying pig farmers) flown above the crowd.
www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-22/thousands-march-in-taiwan-streets-against-us-pork-imports |
Guardian UK, 11-27-2020: Parliamentarians in Taiwan have
thrown pig guts at each other before coming to blows over plans to allow
US meat imports. www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/27/taiwan-politicians-throw-pig-guts-meat-row UDN 11-23-20: gov. refuses "import from US" mark and allows US pork on campus ( to smooth trade relations with the Trump adm.) |
| ★ Brookings, 2021-7-12: if Taiwan voters reverse Tsai’s pledge to open Taiwan’s market to the same pork products that American citizens eat... would seal shut the door to anything more than incremental progress on U.S.-Taiwan trade relations...other major economies would follow suit. brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/07/12/taiwan-voters-should-look-before-they-leap-on-pork-referendum/ | |
◆
In 2014, hundreds of students occupied parliament for weeks
in protests
demanding KMT ruling party more transparent politics,
some students became today's lawmakers.
But now DPP has accused the KMT of
subverting the democratic process.
The
Diplomat (7-16-2020) called the
scuffles
"the
return of what was once an internationally known tradition in Taiwan: brawls in
the legislature over controversial votes on bills or appointments",
"opposition parties have
used violence to stop votes on laws or confirmations, with the KMT resorting
to the tactic several times since the DPP gained a legislative majority in
2016". N.Y.
based Canadian media VICE
analyzed
at 6-30-2020 that lawmakers' apparently quick tempers ( vandalism, hurling chairs, pulling hairs, wrestling
opponents
to the ground...
according to a history compiled by the BBC ; punch, water balloons thrown, "bites"
& stuck to lawmaker's arm, pulled across the ground, reported by AFP, Next TV )
are rather a form of political theater to show
their voters and supporters who do buy the moves. Brookings (1-22-2021)
comments the performance of Taiwan's democracy
―
the political system does not do so well
on its "performance". This is partly
because of a set of structural factors. Selecting the president and legislature
on a majoritarian basis fosters a degree of polarization and complicates the
crafting of policy compromises. (brookings.edu/articles/taiwans-democracy-and-the-china-challenge/)
◆
● Weak opposition
Taiwan lacks good separation & balance of powers between the ruling party and the opposition, the executive and the legislative, the government and the media. Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (《日本経済新聞》, editorial, 5-21-2020 ) and Taiwan's Apple Daily ( editorial, 6-10-2020 ) : Taiwan's democracy without a strong opposition to question the government and hold them accountable is in grave danger, the biggest opposition, KMT, needs to regain its strength. But New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/28/world/asia/28reuters-taiwan-politics.html) and US News & World Report comment at 6-28-2020: The KMT is undergoing a policy revamp to try and win back popular support, but faces an uphill struggle. such as:
◆ al jazeera, 2022-5-30: Taiwan legislature erupts in violence over "secret expenses" bill / KMT lawmakers try to block bill they say could be used to overturn ex-President Chen Shui-bian’s corruption conviction. Lawmakers armed with signs and loudspeakers, pushed and shoved each other and threw water and paper (fake money) to prevent a third reading of the bill. Chen was found guilty of misusing funds by fake receipts etc. brief from aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/30/brawl-breaks-out-in-taiwan-legislature United Daily, Taiwan, 2022-5-31: A formal member of Special Investigation Division says if losing the last line of defense, there would be no law to punish president's connecting public monies with a private or personal burse... udn.com/news/story/122808/6352386?from=udn_ch2cate6638sub122808_pulldownmenu_v2
◆ New York Times, 2-12-2021 (nytimes.com/2021/02/12/world/asia/taiwan-kuomintang-china.html) : The Beijing-friendly party, KMT has been criticized (1) out of touch with modern Taiwanese life (2) mind-set is more conservative (3) signal the identity crisis ... They have espoused democratic values and human rights, promised to recruit younger members and better engage the public, and sought to distance the party from Beijing.
◆ National Interest, 2-4-2021 ( nationalinterest.org/feature/taiwan’s-kmt-ideological-crossroads-177608?page=0%2C1 ): Taiwan’s KMT Is at an Ideological Crossroads. As China exerts immense pressure on Taiwan, the party will have to make a choice between more viable electorally or become a pro-Beijing wrecking ball?
◆ aljazeera 11-12-2020 (aljazeera.com/features/2020/11/12/why-are-taiwans-new-generation-a-test-for-the-kmt) points out the China-friendly party KMT is on the ropes in that the coffers are running dry, greying heavyweights're still trying to manipulate the agenda, and their patriarchal culture makes reforms difficult.
◆
Diplomat,
4-21-2021:
the “pro-mainland” Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je’s Taiwan People’s Party pose no
credible opposition against the prevailing ruling party
(thediplomat.com/2021/04/beijings-military-heavy-approach-to-taiwan-locks-the-us-and-china-in-a-security-dilemma/
)
◆
United Daily, 11-14-2020 editorial,
(udn.com/news/story/7338/5014020?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2):
the ruling party threatened the opposition to silence important issues like national
security, food safety, economic industry chain, by "questioning the government
is equal to anti-USA".
◆
Japan's
Nikkei Asia (11-19-2020) notes that
as China ramps up its threats
against Taiwan, the KMT is "burdened" by its pro-China image.
the
KMT believes maintaining the consensus brings stable cross-strait relations,
although youngsters may say the KMT is old and conservative (e.g., on
same-sex marriage issue).
◆
South China Morning Post, 2-6-2021:"Taiwan
needs a strong leader"!
Jaw
Shaw-kong's
return to politics could spark infighting within KMT and would be a serious
threat to the DPP if allowed to run for president.
◆
China Times, 2021-6-18, editorial: opposition law
makers now are even hard to to request for data files, not to mention to boycott
the ruling party. chinatimes.com/opinion/20210617005424-262101?chdtv
◆
United Daily, 2021-8-1,
editorial:
KMT lacks aggressions,
political landscape on political issues and agenda, its member put personal
future above party's future.
udn.com/news/story/7338/5641637?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate (民進黨失德失能失政)
◆
United Daily,
2021-7-12, editorial:
Legislative Yuan (parliament) suppose is the
highest public opinion institution, however,
the leader of law-makers of ruling
party is willing to follow president's intention and cover up administration's
mistakes, opposition failed to stop they pass every their legal cases, Taiwan's
democracy therefore is more and more opaque. udn.com/news/story/7338/5594717?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2
◆
The China Times (chinatimes.com/opinion/20200806005356-262105?chdtv), opinion (8-7-2020): Originally the parliament provides effective checks and balances on the power of president, but 6-times amendments of the Constitution by former president Lee T.H. eliminated the key mechanism of democracy, balance of powers, therefore leads to endless corruptions - the "Sunshine Law" trickly Justifies taking bribes , and a weird phenomenon - the premier takes the responsibility but lacks of power, the president hold the power but no responsibility. United Daily, 7-28-2020, editorial: CPP lawmakers in parliament are worse than a "rubber stamp", just followed every order the administration gave, therefore the parliament already lost its own voices. Moreover, the president seriously intervened Judicial Yuan, and the Control Yuan now becoming a oversight board with political inclination and partization. Once all five powers are under president's control, how can we maintain a system of democracy & freedom ? Therefore, even DPP friendly media, the Liberty Times, (editorial, 1-12-2020) criticized the ruling party ( dominance in power ) was rotten and smells. One example is the opposition DPP in 2012 staged a brute-force, five-day-four-night-long occupation of the Legislative Yuan podium to resist "toxic beef" ( US beef with Ractopamine ), but now in 2020 the ruling party DPP announced the decision on easing restrictions on US pork and beef imports without consulting parliament, legislative caucus, and farmers.
| Taiwan midterm election 2022: disastrous results for the ruling party | |
| CNN (USA), 2022-11-27 | Taiwan's President billed midterms as all about China. The DPP's losses come as a heavy blow for Tsai as she had tried to frame the election – as a way to send a message against Beijing’s rising bellicosity toward the island. edition.cnn.com/2022/11/27/asia/taiwan-election-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html |
| BBC, 2022-11-26 |
The vote has drawn global attention as Taiwan becomes a bigger geopolitical flashpoint between China and the US. bbc.com/news/world-asia-63768538 |
| ABC News (USA), 2022-11-26 | "...the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge” said the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/taiwan-votes-lower-voting-age-mayors-city-councils-93973508 |
| CNN, 2022-11-25 | Taiwan votes in local elections billed as message for China and the world edition.cnn.com/2022/11/25/asia/taiwan-local-election-china-intl-hnk/index.html |
| ABC (Australia) , 2022-11-27 | international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat ... Voters in Taiwan overwhelmingly chose the opposition Nationalist party in several major races in an election in which lingering concerns about threats from China took a back seat to more local issues. abc.net.au/news/2022-11-27/taiwan-votes-for-opposition-nationalist-party-in-local-polls/101703012 |
| Bloomberg (USA), 2022-11-27 | The DPP needed to -- but largely failed to -- marshal a strong campaign in Taipei, the center of attention. Instead it got bogged down with negative campaigning; Taiwan midterm elections set stage for tighter Presidential Race news.yahoo.com/taiwan-elections-set-stage-tighter-090909384.html |
| Forbes (USA), 2022-11-27 | Taiwan Ruling Party Drubbed In Local Vote; Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shi-chung lost the race as his popularity dipped and the public lost patience with government Covid policies. msn.com/en-us/money/news/taiwan-ruling-party-drubbed-in-local-vote-ex-exec-at-tech-billionaire-terry-gou-e2-80-99s-foxconn-elected-chip-hub-mayor/ar-AA14BeBs |
★★
Taiwan treats democracy as a tool,
instead of a principle or value, to gain power or benefits. Taiwan
likes "villains" too,
Japan Times (2022-4-6,
japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2022/04/06/commentary/world-commentary/taiwans-fatal-attractions/)
comments Taiwanese leaders
lavished praise on people
who undermined that democracy's security
and gave financial supports to corrupt
regime and "White Terror" operations in
some countries; further more, Taiwan is criticized or reported
to be a
"Green Terror"
by
People's Daily, commentary, 10-15-2020.
|
The recent issue of <Yazhou Zhoukan
> (亞洲周刊)
published in Hong Kong depicts Taiwan president Tsai I. W. as an
"Empress
with Imperial
robe and crown"，<DW>
of Germany
(Chinese
edition,
12-25-2020)
and <RFI>
of France
(Chinese edition, 12-27-2020)
both quoted its reports such as the
founder
of
DPP, the
ruling party and former Taiwan president chastised
the new
democratic authoritarianism
leading to a
submissive
Legislative Yuan and a yes-man judiciary, Taiwan became the first
democratic country
to shut
a TV channel by denying the
license renewal,
and to abuse police power to investigate & interview ordinary people
with
opposing views which have snowballed......
Who makes
Taiwan's "democratic
authoritarianism"
?
(2)
<RFI> 12-27-2020 : A highly esteemed
academician
of Sinica (中央研究院)
points out: Containing China
is
the biggest
goal of U.S. foreign policy, Taiwan's
democracy good or bad is not the point for western media,
therefore Taiwan president
has a free hand
and
a strong backing
to
carry on
authoritative
or
aggressive activities under the cloak of legality.
United Daily, editorial, 12-31-2020
(udn.com/news/story/7338/5135316?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate)
comments Western media have not seen those dark sides of Taiwan's
"democratic
authoritarianism".
|
pic.
: Taiwan president Tsai I. W. was turning into image of "台灣民選獨裁幕後", Yazhou Zhoukan https://www.yzzk.com |
|
ref.
to Euro. media Chinese edition - DW, https://www.dw.com/zh/蔡英文变蔡皇帝亚洲周刊批蔡英文独裁/a-56059525;
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★
★
●
Foreign
countries' influence VS.
Taiwan's democracy
Toronto Star (Canada), 2022-10-8: Yet
in the West, discussions over the future of the island democracy too often
exclude the voices of Taiwanese people...thestar.com/news/world/2022/10/08/who-do-the-taiwanese-think-they-are.html
Denmark's Democracy Perception Index 2021
( DPI ) shows that
democracy in
Taiwan was threatened by US: 58%, Russia: 20%,China : 65%, Foreign election interference - agree 55%, unfair
elections and/or election fraud - Agree 46%.
allianceofdemocracies.org/initiatives/the-copenhagen-democracy-summit/dpi-2021/
After the ruling
party DPP picked up legislative majorities. Lawmakers changed the law so as to
easily recall current mayors or law-makers, which successfully ousted a China-friendly
Kaohsiung mayor in June 2020,
correspondingly, the opposition KMT
recently worked on recalls of pro-independence law-makers
antagonistic
toward China. In Wall
Street Journal at 2022-1-7 (wsj.com/articles/revenge-recalls-spark-debate-in-taiwan-how-much-democracy-is-too-much-11641558601),
Lev Nachman at the Harvard thinks Taiwanese politicians should hopefully spend
their time on Chinese infiltration and Taiwan preparedness for a potential
Chinese invasion; National Chengchi University's Mr. Lin Jia-he (林家和)
said:“In Taiwan, opposing recalls means you're against democracy".
France 24, Reuters, 2021-12-18: Taiwan's opposition suffered a major setback on Saturday after voters rejected
four referendums (france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20211218-taiwan-votes-against-referendums-on-us-trade-in-major-setback-for-opposition) al jazeera
, 2021-12-18: Referendums that, if approved, might have affected Taiwan's ties with key
backer the United States and its energy security failed to pass on Saturday,
in a major setback to the opposition which had cast the votes as a show of
no-confidence in the government.
(aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/18/taiwan-referendums-fail-in-major-setback-for-opposition)
United Daily
,
editorial, 2021-12-19:
Pan-Blue
(opposition) internally attacked each other, some among them intentionally kept
a distance with four referendums
。(udn.com/news/story/7338/5972353?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2)
★
● CovID-19 - Taiwan's democracy
|
CovID-19 / politicians abusing power VS. democracy |
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