Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

KMT’s paternalism is self-defeating

Taipei Times Editorial

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) attributed his party’s poor performance in Saturday’s by-elections — it only won one of the four legislative seats up for grabs — to “not working hard enough.”

This assessment has a long list of precedents in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, where defeats and setbacks are blamed on poor communication or lack of effort. Never, from its handling of Typhoon Morakot to the US beef debacle, did the KMT admit that political decisions that did not appeal to the public — or policies that are downright wrong — were the principal factor in the administration’s dwindling popular support.

Another lesson for Ma sent by Taiwan voters

Taiwan News Editorial

Saturday's set of four legislative by-elections sent another clear signal to President Ma Ying-jeou and the ruling rightist Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) most Taiwan citizens desire honest, effective, sincere and progressive government and are fed up with deception, incompetence and arrogance.

The loss of three of four legislative seats Saturday marked the latest in a series of electoral setbacks for Ma and the KMT that began with a victory by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in a legislative by-election in Yunlin County and was followed by a strong DPP showing in the Dec. 5 local elections and a DPP sweep of three legislative by-elections Jan. 9.

China is Ma’s ‘opiate of the masses’

Liberty Times Editorial

Public support for an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) is waning. Far from pulling back from the brink and saying thanks, but no thanks to Beijing, the government put on an orchestrated display with China over the Lunar New Year holidays, governments on both sides acting in concert.

First we had Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) talking to the Taiwanese business community in Zhangzhou, waxing lyrical about an ECFA.

February 28, 2-28, Taiwan Remains a Day of Mixed Emotions

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

One can always look at Taiwan in terms of the past or in terms of the present. Never is that brought home more than on February 28th. In terms of the present, today many are celebrating the victory of the DPP party in 3 of the 4 by-elections held yesterday. Again as a statement of no-confidence in the Ma administration's policies, and despite heavy campaigning by the KMT including President Ma, the voters by way of the ballot box re-iterated the fact that Ma's approval ratings and performance ratings remain low, a low that is somewhere between 20 to 30 per cent. So Taiwanese can be happy that they can democratically and freely express their disapproval. But 2-28 means more.

More Articles...