As the Taiwan presidential election day nears, Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han takes a look at the three presidential hopefuls, their stances and how the voters are responding. Meanwhile, cross-strait tensions will be high even after the election results, as major powers will attempt to influence the content of the new president’s inaugural address.
Democracy
Politics
Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate William Lai may not have the trust of the US or mainland China when it comes to cross-strait relations, says East Asian Institute senior research fellow Qi Dongtao. Hence, China and the US would do well to work together to ensure that there is no repeat of a threat of a movement torwards a radical Taiwan independence that was seen during the Chen Shui-bian administration.
Politics
Academic Antonio Hsiang examines the evidence and concludes that Henry Kissinger probably knew more of what was going on in Latin America — specifically Chile — than he let on. Seen in that light, some may surmise that the former US secretary of state was just as culpable as former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet.
Politics
With the next US presidential election coming up in 2024, academic Fei-Ling Wang says that democracy is not a natural state of affairs as opposed to authoritarian rule, which is in fact what humans gravitate towards. However, democracy seems to be the least “evil” among all the various governance systems.
Politics
Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes that there is a real possibility of Donald Trump getting elected for a second time as US President. If Trump takes office and the US alliance system loosens, China will gain some diplomatic respite. But having engaged with the Trump administration before, China is unlikely to have high expectations for Trump’s China policy.
Politics
Academic Antonio C. Hsiang notes that Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei will be facing several challenges once he assumes office. From carrying out transitional justice to managing economic ties with the Mercosur countries and China, Milei will have his work cut out for him.
Politics
Political analyst Wang Qingmin notes that given the near-total power of the Chinese government over Hong Kong, perhaps Beijing can afford to show more tolerance towards the people and government of Hong Kong. This might actually encourage the moderate pan-democrats who love Hong Kong to contribute, which would also benefit mainland China.
Society
Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing notes that even as evidence shows that the US does not value Hong Kong as much as pro-democracy Hong Kongers think it does, overly idealistic Hong Kongers still buy into the narrative that the US will step in on Hong Kong’s behalf in dealing with Beijing. It is time for this group to wake up.
Culture
Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai muses on how heroes of the past are honoured after their time, recalling that in his youth in Taiwan, the founder of the Turkish republic was lauded as an honourable founding father, next to Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. However, given the similarities in ideals and values, could it be that the high praise for Ataturk was in fact meant to boost the controversial image of Chiang?