Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan could have the first of a new fleet of diesel-electric submarines operating in its waters in seven years, a US military expert predicted on Tuesday.

Speaking at the close of the 13th annual US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, 2049 Institute executive director Mark Stokes said that if Taipei remains committed to the submarine program, “I don’t have any doubt they will succeed.”

Many have been hopeful that Taiwan’s democratization, touted as a success story, would lead the nation toward the maturation of its democracy every step of the way, with every election freer and fairer than the previous ones as the state protects democratic values by upholding the principle of administrative neutrality.

However, recent incidents suggest otherwise, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration again managing to amaze with its brazenness. In the ongoing controversy over the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) MG149 bank account involving independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), it appears the entire party-state apparatus has been mobilized to attack Ko on all fronts.