Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan needs to make a choice

Nathan Novak

The open letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration first published in Chinese on April 10 and in English on April 11 and signed by 34 academics and officials was met with a mix of strong language, snide comments and attempts at professional assassination by the Ma administration. Although much has been said recently about the KMT sounding increasingly like its once-arch nemesis, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), especially in its handling of Taiwan’s sovereignty, it might be of some interest to examine how both the KMT and CCP have in the past, and continue to this day, to meddle in the internal affairs of another nation — the US.

DPP frontrunners leading against president: poll

Taipei Times

A survey released on the eve of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) official telephone poll to pick its candidate for next year’s presidential election showed that its frontrunners had a very good chance of beating President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) — but not necessarily each other.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily survey showed Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who took a leave of absence as DPP chairpedson to concentrate on the primaries, has a slight advantage over former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as the polls open, although both would win over Ma by double-digit figures.

Merging elections has hidden costs

Pan Han-shen 潘翰聲

On Tuesday, the Central Election Commission (CEC) decided to combine the presidential and legislative elections next year. This violates the Constitution by depriving small political parties of their right to run for the presidency. It also increases tensions between the two main parties, while not really producing any cost savings.

Recklessly deciding the nation’s mid to long-term power distribution based on ill-considered responses to opinion poll results instead of rational communication and persuasion seriously hurts democracy. As the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) compete for the presidency, these two giant elephants are trampling on small parties, hampering the development of pluralist democracy.

The ugly face of misogyny

Taipei Times Editorial

It’s often hard to feel sorry for politicians because one day’s victim can turn around and be equally offensive to someone else the next. However, it has to be acknowledged that female politicians the world over have a tougher time than their male counterparts.

If they are not married, their sexual preferences are queried or they are ridiculed for not being able to find a partner. Married or not — and with or without children — their maternal instincts are mocked, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, among others, can attest. Either way, they are challenged as men rarely are for putting their career over or before a partner and family.

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