Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Greens unite, protect and besiege

Paul Lin 林保華

The battle is on for the year-end mayoral, county commissioner and city and county councilor elections. The government’s plan to upgrade several cities and counties to special municipality status may have brought a certain level of disorder to the electoral process, thereby highlighting the importance of the year-end elections.

Only by preparing well for the year-end election campaign will it be possible to pave the way for next year’s special municipality elections. Just as in the recent Yunlin legislative by-election, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the green camp must unite to achieve the results they want.

The KMT prepares to eat itself

Taipei Times

Before too long, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) may look upon criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a quaint reminder of when politics was mostly about keeping other parties at bay.

Only days after taking up the chairmanship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Ma is facing a dramatic challenge to his authority — and to party unity in general.

Obama, Ma leave Taiwan flatfooted

Taipei Times

A joint session of the US Congress recently passed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. In an unusual move, Section 1226 was removed, despite the fact that it had cleared the Senate and the House of Representatives three months ago. Since this section was related to the strengthening of Taiwan’s air force, its abrupt removal has overshadowed Taiwan-US relations and may have a profound influence on East Asian security.

Cause for concern over press index

Taipei Times

The latest Worldwide Press Freedom Index released on Tuesday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) saw Taiwan’s ranking plummet to 59th place from last year’s 36th. While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus was quick to dismiss the significance of the report — with some KMT lawmakers questioning whether it harbored a “certain ideology” (without elaborating) — Taiwan’s poor showing this year should serve as a wake-up call on government interference with the Fourth Estate.

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