Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

The consequences of war for China

Paul Lin 林保華

From May 31 to June 2, 37 ministers of defense attended the 21st International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, including Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍).

Anyone who tried to separate Taiwan from China would be “crushed to pieces,” he said during the premier defense summit.

In response to the threat, US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo revealed the US military’s “Hellscape” strategy, with the aim of thwarting a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Legislative ‘reform’ populist assault

Lee Chi-en 李其恩

Less than a month into William Lai’s (賴清德) presidency, domestic politics saw dramatic turmoil over the legislature’s new reforms that would grant it expanded powers to investigate and question, with punitive force behind it. The controversial amendments are being contested for several reasons. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says it would seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the bills.

The Constitutional Court is likely to be where the next battle over the reforms would be fought. Academia Sinica law institute research professor Su Yen-tu (蘇彥圖) warned against attempts to undermine the authority and trust in the grand justices, adding that it is a common tactic from the playbook of “authoritarian populists”: attacking independent or neutral institutions such as the media and the judiciary to exacerbate political polarization. As all of the serving grand justices were nominated by former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), it would be an easy vector of attack for the opposition to label them as biased.

Taiwan committed to self-defense: Lai

Taipei Times

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday emphasized Taiwan’s determination to defend itself and cooperate with other democracies to handle global challenges, in a meeting with former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman James Moriarty.

The nation is to continue strengthening its defensive capabilities and show its resolve to defend itself and democracy, he was cited as saying by the Presidential Office in a statement.

Taiwan would also maintain its cooperation with the US and other like-minded nations in dealing with global challenges posed by pandemics and climate change, he said.

Lessons leading to democracy 3.0

Lin Jui-hsia 林瑞霞

Montesquieu once noted that the full realization of a constitution demands that it is burned into the hearts and minds of every individual.

What a pity it is that due to certain historical factors of the political culture, Taiwan’s constitutional democracy bears all the markings of a representative democracy, and yet the path to its continued progress is plagued with obstacles. This is most recently evident from the blue and white camps’ aggressive pushing through of ill-thought out “reform” bills by dint of their slight legislative majority. In crisis comes opportunity, and we need only look to the Bluebird movement as an evolution of the Wild Lily and Sunflower movements.

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