Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A great wave of recalls is approaching, a grassroots movement initiated by progressive citizens that is both fierce and unstoppable. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators’ destructive constitutional revisions and disruptive politics have plunged Taiwan into its most severe democratic and national security crisis. It is all happening before the public’s eyes.

First, the Constitutional Court would be frozen. The court is the last line of defense for the nation’s democratic system, and the final mechanism for protecting the public’s rights and determining the constitutionality of legislation. If it is effectively frozen, our democracy’s last line of defense would be dismantled, giving KMT and TPP legislators free rein to do as they please. Taiwan’s democratic system would collapse as a result, marking the beginning of a parliamentary dictatorship.

Tensions between the US and China continue to escalate, with the Taiwan issue at the heart of potential conflict.

The US-based RAND Corp think tank on Wednesday published a report titled Thinking Through Protracted War With China, which analyzed the forms a US-China war could take. The report envisions nine potential scenarios — ranging from proxy wars to direct conflict — two of which directly involve Taiwan.

In the first scenario involving Taiwan, China attempts to seize Taiwan through a naval blockade and launches an amphibious invasion. After the US intervenes, the armed conflict reaches a stalemate; both sides see catastrophic losses and are unable to achieve victory through military means.