Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Government on a runaway train

Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) are colluding in the legislature, creating a reality resembling a train racing down the tracks at full speed, with the passengers bound and gagged as ransomed hostages.

The opposition parties appear intent on upsetting the total operations of the government, demanding that everything from personnel affairs to budgeting go through them first.

They will not accept any other proposals: It is their way or nothing. They want to keep barreling forward, and they are not going to slam on the brakes anytime soon.

Pence backs strong US-Taiwan ties

Taipei Times

Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world.

At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time.

Against the KMT’s amendments

Lai Chung-chiang 賴中強

The following is a statement by alumni and current students of the College of Law (Undergraduate Department and Graduate Institute) at National Taiwan University of opposition to the unlawful amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法):

Separation of powers is the backbone of modern democracies. The only way separation of powers can operate effectively is through the equal balance of all constitutional bodies. The Constitution defines the Judicial Yuan as the highest judicial organ of the state, with the responsibility to interpret the Constitution, and the power to create a singular interpretation of laws and executive orders.

The KMT’s millennia-old malaise

Chen Tsai-neng 陳財能

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy.

This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture.

About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of Chinese.

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