President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Dec. 19 convened a meeting at her official residence with leading members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on the merger and elevation to special municipality status of Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County.
At a news conference following the meeting, it was revealed that the participants had achieved a “high degree of consensus” on the proposed merger, although there were differing opinions within the party on DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming’s (柯建銘) suggestion of amending the Local Government Act (地方制度法) to lower the threshold for the upgrade to go ahead.
Tsai had previously, in her capacity as
With the rejection of all four items, the “referendum chaos” has finally come to an end.
The results have not only removed barricades that hampered Taiwan furthering its engagement with the international community, they also showed how rational public policy discourses can prevail, and how Taiwanese can forge ahead with national development and stay clear of partisan infighting.
Voters have made pragmatic and balanced choices on issues such as environmental protection and economic development, food safety and participation in international trade, separating general elections and referendums, and energy transition.
The “no” on all four referendum questions has demonstrated that Taiwan’s democracy has
On Jan. 1, 2002, Taiwan became the 144th member of the WTO even if it was under the name of the “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu” after more than a decade of negotiations from the time of its first application.
Twenty days earlier, China had also formally joined the WTO, whose predecessor was the “General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.” Taiwan’s peculiar title seems to indicate the behind-the-scenes turmoil and secret workings of big countries.
Taiwan, which has been a member of this organization for overseeing the rules of trade between nations and resolving disputes
Last month, the pro-Beijing Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao, citing anonymous sources, reported that Beijing plans to compile a blacklist of what it terms “stubborn Taiwanese independence elements.”
For Taiwanese, this amounts to a badge of honor, as the only “crime” such patriots are guilty of is protecting Taiwan from annexation by China.
In the past few years, Beijing has slapped sanctions on US officials and politicians and even European politicians for having raised concerns over Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong, and human rights breaches in Tibet and Xinjiang. For these individuals, too, the sanctions levied against them are worn
Taiwan on Sunday was greeted with the sad news that former US senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole had passed away. An important friend and fervent supporter of Taiwan, Dole was a key promoter of the Taiwan Relations Act, and vociferously pushed for the sale of F-16 jets to Taiwan.
According to a report in the New York Times, Dole played an important role behind the scenes in the landmark phone call between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and then-US president-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 2, 2016.
Following Dole’s passing, condolences and obituaries have poured in from across the US political spectrum,