Taiwan Heard the Shots at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The shooting incident that occurred while President Donald Trump was attending the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25 drew immediate condemnation from leaders around the world, including President Lai Ching-te. While China was slower to comment, yesterday, in response to a question from the media, the foreign minister expressed “a consistent opposition and condemnation to illegal acts of violence.” After all, Trump has been attacked three times in three years. The impact of the attacks on the political situation warrants reflection, and the fact that democracy and violence are two never-crossing parallel lines must be seriously confronted.
Trump is not the first leader nor is the U.S. the first country to have experienced shooting incidents; heads of state all over the world have experienced being targeted too. Yet, despite the tight security provided for the head of state, and under the formidable and watchful eye of the Secret Service, a suspect was still able to rush into the protected area with a rifle and fire a shot. Evidently, even in a perfect system with the highest levels of democracy and freedom, “malicious intent” among the people, due to political, social and cultural conflict, is hard to escape.
With the imperiousness of Uncle Sam, Trump has affected the global economy through policies such as those related to tariffs and military action. Yet that does not justify repeated shootings. After all, the concept, “I disagree with your opinion, but I absolutely protect your freedom of speech to express it,” exists in any democratic country. Therefore, not only are the democracies of Europe and the U.S. feeling the impact of “yet another shooting incident” involving Trump, but Taiwan is too.
For more than two years under the Lai administration and the current Legislative Yuan, the political atmosphere in Taiwan has been quite turbulent because of a minority government. Furthermore, the strong ruling party clashes with the opposition parties, the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party, who always try to seize power in the Legislative Yuan. In addition to these clashes, Bluebird Movement and Little Grass supporters each hold party ideologies. Fortunately, the restraint and democratic self-cultivation of civic groups and voters surpass that of politicians, and everyone has their own opinion.
After Trump’s attack, international attention turned to the upcoming meeting between the U.S. and China’s leaders in mid-May; security is already on high alert. Although the Trump-Xi Jinping meeting will cover trade and technology, the international focus is on whether it will also touch on the Taiwan issue.
Trump’s attack already seems distant, while the Taiwan issue is intimately relevant. National strength is supported by the people’s tolerance for all sorts of differing opinions.
Trump is not the first leader nor is the U.S. the first country to have experienced shooting incidents; heads of state all over the world have experienced being targeted too. Yet, despite the tight security provided for the head of state, and under the formidable and watchful eye of the Secret Service, a suspect was still able to rush into the protected area with a rifle and fire a shot. Evidently, even in a perfect system with the highest levels of democracy and freedom, “malicious intent” among the people, due to political, social and cultural conflict, is hard to escape.
With the imperiousness of Uncle Sam, Trump has affected the global economy through policies such as those related to tariffs and military action. Yet that does not justify repeated shootings. After all, the concept, “I disagree with your opinion, but I absolutely protect your freedom of speech to express it,” exists in any democratic country. Therefore, not only are the democracies of Europe and the U.S. feeling the impact of “yet another shooting incident” involving Trump, but Taiwan is too.
For more than two years under the Lai administration and the current Legislative Yuan, the political atmosphere in Taiwan has been quite turbulent because of a minority government. Furthermore, the strong ruling party clashes with the opposition parties, the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party, who always try to seize power in the Legislative Yuan. In addition to these clashes, Bluebird Movement and Little Grass supporters each hold party ideologies. Fortunately, the restraint and democratic self-cultivation of civic groups and voters surpass that of politicians, and everyone has their own opinion.
After Trump’s attack, international attention turned to the upcoming meeting between the U.S. and China’s leaders in mid-May; security is already on high alert. Although the Trump-Xi Jinping meeting will cover trade and technology, the international focus is on whether it will also touch on the Taiwan issue.
Trump’s attack already seems distant, while the Taiwan issue is intimately relevant. National strength is supported by the people’s tolerance for all sorts of differing opinions.
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