2015 - 4th Quarter
Pinning down Chu's "One Taiwan"
With the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections around the corner, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu has chosen "One Taiwan" as his campaign slogan. It is a catchy slogan and far better than the "Taiwan Up" cry that left many puzzled when they saw it blazoned across Taipei 101 and heard President Ma Ying-jeou and then Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin chanting it as Taiwan entered 2010. ...
Democracy and Taiwan's Identity
In less than a month, Taiwanese will be going to the polls to democratically elect both a new president and new members of the Legislative Yuan. As they prepare to make the important choice in those who will rule their nation over the next four years, there are questions they must ask. What makes their nation, a nation? What brings the people together? ...
Taiwan's Real 1992 Consensus
With the coming January elections, Taiwanese are taking serious stock of which path they wish their nation to follow. Fresh in their minds is Ma Ying-jeou's so-called "Singapore moment." It was a moment clearly crafted for posterity by both Ma, as lame duck ROC president with little to show for eight years in office and by Xi Jinping, the PRC president in need of a distraction from China's faltering economy. ...
Ma's Failure to Accept Democracy
As Taiwan voters gear up for the January 16th presidential election and legislative elections, a stark irony has become apparent. Not only has Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou's popularity continued to hover at its extremely low level of 9 to 19 per cent for the past year, but he has also been described by the international media as a "yesterday man" even before he has completed his second term as president. ...
Taiwan, Old Soldiers and James Soong's Last Hurrah?
Nearly two decades have passed since 1996 when all eligible Taiwanese began electing their president. Time moves on and in that passage, Taiwanese have gone through a natural and expected learning curve on selection and voting. Slow but sure, they have learned to seek out what qualities they want and expect in their politicians and what they don't. Thus with the upcoming January 2016 presidential elections drawing near, some find it surprising that some of the politicians who were active even back in the one-party state days of the 1980s are still around. ...
Taiwanese Owe Hung Gratitude
The storm clouds remain over the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and are forcing the different camps within the party to align themselves with one side or the other. The fate of its presidential candidate - Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu who has played by all the rules - will apparently be determined at a special party congress on Saturday. ...
The Battle for the Legislative Yuan and Taiwan's Soul
The Ides of January are approaching and with them come two national, major elections crucial to Taiwan's future, namely that for the presidency and that for the majority control of the Legislative Yuan. From 2008, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has held both the presidency and control of the Legislature. However change is in the air. ...