2014 - 3rd Quarter
Taiwan Independence and the Name, Republic of China?
In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, vexed with questions of family loyalty vs. her love for a Montague, Juliet asks the provocative question. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Her thoughts and interest of course go far beyond the relationship between nomenclature and the characteristics of flowers. In the same vein, applying Shakespeare's words to countries instead of flowers, Taiwanese can ask, "What's in a name?" Nomenclature may not be Taiwan's largest problem and it may not be the most pressing, but it still remains a problem that, like it or not, must eventually be admitted to and faced. ...
Two Great Anomalies of Taiwan's Identity
The nation of Taiwan is again preparing for a big democratic election. This one will be held on November 29 and whether one calls it seven in one or nine in one, a lot is involved and at stake. Many feel that this election could be seen as a bell-weather for the coming presidential elections in 2016 as well as an indication of the direction in which Taiwan's identity continues to be shaped. But regardless of whether the pan-green or the pan-blue alliance wins out, there are other factors that continue to surface on Taiwan and point to its ever-present problem with identity. Wrapped up in this identity issue are two great anomalies that Taiwan must eventually solve. What are those two great anomalies? ...
High Class Mainlanders or Low Class Thieves?
One obviously cannot and should not tar all Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members with the same brush but two recent happenings continue to reveal the deep-rooted problems that Taiwan both had and still has with the KMT. The first of which is the shameless efforts of Kuo Kuan-ying to scrounge a few dollars more for his retirement fund; at first this appears to be individualistic. The second is more involved and concerns the long-standing problems that Taiwan has had with the KMT as well as the ineffective role of the Control Yuan (CY). All are significant, and they need to be viewed, not separately, but as part of the continuing whole and unfortunate residue of the KMT's one-party state days. ...
More than Facts: Taiwan's Challenge of Finding National Identity
History is a challenging subject; it is facts and happenings, but it is a lot more. The selection, emphasis, and presumed causation of those facts as well as their interpretation and meaning are where the complexity and challenge reside. For Taiwanese two recent and concurrent events once again have illustrated the gigantic divide that it, Taiwan, must still overcome in establishing its own place in history and its national identity. What once again raised these issues actually happened outside Taiwan. July 7, 1937 was the 77th anniversary and commemoration of the historic Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the incident that by most accounts began the Second Sino-Japanese War. Of these remembrances, one took place in Taipei and the other in Beijing. ...
Zhang Zhijun's Ironic Visit
The visit of Zhang Zhijun, head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) has come and gone and it drew its share of attention. It was the first visit of someone at his level in cross-strait affairs and a step above the previous visits of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). Visits of the aforementioned lower-ranked, slick-haired, and dark-suited Chen replete with large fawning entourage, had come off more as pompous wine-and-dine affairs. In such, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) played the role of ingratiating hosts aiming to continue the impression that future cross-strait discussions belonged more realistically on a party-to-party basis. No, Zhang's visit was different. ...
Taiwan's Own 'Game of Thrones'
It's summer, and as numerous TV networks debate which summer re-runs will precede their fall series, HBO is already ahead of the game. Its extremely popular and highly lucrative series, Game of Thrones, has just completed its 4th season and is signed on for another two; this guarantees its expectant viewers many more dramatic action-packed episodes of struggles for power replete with greed, intrigue, loyalty and betrayal. In Taiwan, however, the people need not turn on their TVs for such drama, for their own "Game of Thrones" is developing before their eyes and will continue on to 2016 when Taiwan's "Iron Throne" of the presidency and seats in the legislature are once again up for grabs between the pan-blue and the pan-green camps. ...
The Leveling of the Political Playing Field in Taiwan
The November Nine-in-One elections draw near, and Ma Ying-jeou is staggering into the remaining years of his second and final term as president of Taiwan. For the past six years he has been working feverishly hard on both image and legacy. But now despite his efforts and Public Relations (PR) he faces an unexpected and unwanted result. Unknowingly, unintentionally and certainly unwillingly he has actually been helping to level the playing field between his party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). ...
The Soil of the Sunflowers, 4 decades, 4 books
The Occupation of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (LY) by the Sunflower Movement is past. As the Ma government regroups, what repercussions there will be on those involved remains to be seen just as how much government transparency there will be in the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) also remains to be realized. Both are issues to watch. One thing is clear, however, Taiwan has come a long way and is a different Taiwan from that of the Sunflower's immediate ancestors. From the end of World War II (1945) to the end of Martial Law (1987) those ancestors had had to endure both the White Terror and Martial Law of the one-party state of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). How bad and how undemocratic was it? Four pivotal books, one for each decade, tell the story of the struggles, sufferings and deaths that nourished the soil out of which today's Sunflowers grew. ...