Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

The rise of people power

Taipei Times Editorial

Some people believe the Republic of China is in a pre-revolutionary state. Although many scoff at this idea, saying that the nation’s democracy is in a good place, with a stable society and functioning economy, they may have to re-evaluate their position after Saturday, when more than 200,000 people descended upon Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard to protest the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘).

Forum discusses DPP’s China, 2016 strategy

Taipei Times

Ketagalan Foundation chairman Mark Chen speaks at a forum discussing the Democratic Progressive Party’s strategy for returning to power.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

Comparing the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) China policy under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the party’s current policy is hard because of the rapidly changing dynamics of international politics, but there is no doubt that cross-strait policy during the Chen era was more than “eight lost years,” as some say, DPP members and academics said yesterday.

“The years between 2000 and 2008 were not lost years, but eight legendary, glorious years,” You Ying-lung (游盈隆), deputy executive director of the DPP’s think tank, told a forum in Taipei.

Hung case defines Taiwan

Taipei Times Editorial

The Ministry of National Defense and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) are probably wondering why the death of late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) has become perhaps the single most important news event in Taiwan in the past month, ruffling feathers in every part of society and showing no signs of stopping.

One reason it raised a high degree of public attention was because people imagined themselves in one of the roles in Hung’s family — the son who died from institutional injustice, the heartbroken mother whose grief over the loss of a son was almost too much to bear, or the sister who was determined to find the truth behind her brother’s death and hold people accountable.

Repressing dissent kills democracy

Liu Ching-yi 劉靜怡

The right to dissent is an important fundamental value that is universally cherished by modern democratic states. In democratic culture and under constitutional rule, the need to respect dissenting views is seen as self-evident. Truly democratic societies do not just tolerate dissent, they encourage it.

Democratic governments should use institutional means to ensure that dissidents can openly express opinions that differ from the mainstream without fear of reprisal. Authorities should also safeguard the right of dissidents to criticize the government, even provocatively.

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