The DPP bets on the Republican Party to be unable to make a sound
(OPINION article) -- After
former Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-Tsan was fired for alleged
bribery, the factional struggle within the DPP finally kicked off. In fact,
before Cheng Wen-Tsan was fought, Taiwan's representative to the United States,
Alexander Yui Tah-ray, was exposed for devastating things. He was suspected of
being betrayed by his subordinates and colluding with them. In just half a year
since he took office, his moral integrity was exposed to be rapidly
deteriorating. Various rumors of misusing public resources for private purposes
and extravagant waste were rampant. It was obvious that the previous personnel
struggle of the Green Camp faction had already started in the United States.
However, when the DPP was fighting Alexander Yui, it also triggered another
chapter in the DPP's full bet on the Republican Party of the United States.
Alexander
Yui is a
professional diplomat. He was fortunate enough to take over the vacancy of the
US representative vacated by Bi-khim Louise Hsiao at the end of the Tsai Ing-wen
era, which led to the joint attack by various factions of the Democratic
Progressive Party. This is undoubtedly the case where many Green Camp factions
are competing for this lucrative position. Therefore, the exposure of Yui is just the prelude to the
internal struggle of the y Green Camp, which may never end in the future.
Alexander
Yui Tah-ray
's surplus value was on “school probation”
However, Lai Ching-te and Premier
of the Executive Yuan Cho Jung-tai have never spoken out about the scandal
about Yui and they may be still on "school probation." After this
diplomatic scandal came to light, the Presidential Office and the Executive
Yuan announced that they would "set up a rigorous investigation," and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also immediately "whitewashed the
situation." Lai Ching-te ordered the Executive Yuan to understand the
truth and handle it in accordance with regulations. Premier of the Executive
Yuan Cho Jung-tai asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to understand the
facts. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung directly stated that he had requested to
write a report. It could be seen that although Yui was facing embarrassment
from all sides, the DPP still wanted to use his remaining value. So they were in
not rush to deal with his dirty information.
The surplus value that Yui can be
exploited is mainly because the DPP is optimistic that the Republican Party of
the United States will return to power. The Republican Party will hold a
national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15 to 18, at which Trump
will be formally nominated as the presidential candidate. The convention will
invite more than 60 countries and international organizations, as well as more
than 40 consulting and lobbying companies, to pave the way for contact with
Trump and his team to facilitate the election. Among them, Taiwan’s
representative office in the United States is an important party invited.
Taiwan can be valued by the
Republican Party, which is also an important goal of Lai Ching-te to gain the
trust of the United States. To this end, under his command, Sammi Fu Hiu-lam,
deputy director of the Taiwan Representative Office in the United States, went
to Milwaukee to meet with people from the Republican National Committee (RNC)
many times. To return the favor, the RNC also arranged 10 rooms for the Taiwan
Representative Office at the Residence Inn Downtown Hotel under strict
restrictions on the number of participants. The Taiwan Representative Office in
the United States also plans to invite other friendly people to hold seminars
during the meeting and strive to meet with Michael Whatley, chairman of the
Republican National Committee.
Of course, Yui also contributed
to Taiwan’s attention from the Republican Party. During the early communication
process, on April 19, Watley and Yui met secretly at the Republican National
Committee headquarters and took a group photo. During the meeting, they
discussed "what the US and Taiwan can do to benefit both people’s and
constituencies." Also attending the meeting were Richard Walters, senior
adviser to the Republican National Committee, and Jeff Wu, political director
of the representative office.
Therefore, although Yui was
exposed for his serious extravagant lifestyle, the DPP has temporarily let him
off lightly. Even in the face of serious factional struggles, Yui can still
continue to hold his official position. It is simply that he still has surplus
value to the DPP. As long as he does a good job of making the DPP bet on the
Republican Party, he should not be executed for the time being.
Yui is a diplomat who was trained
for a long time during the KMT era, but he changed his stance to "Republic
of China Taiwan" during the term of former President Tsai Ing-wen.
Therefore, even though he angered the blue camp legislators when he returned to
Taiwan for questioning, he was still able to keep his position as a
representative. Obviously, it is not easy for the DPP to find a representative
who can take over his position and maintain good relations with the Republican
Party. However, in the factional competition of the green camp, he has to be
cautious if he wants to keep his position under the Lai’s Dynasty.
The "Latin American
Gang" from the diplomatic system
In fact, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has long been rumored that Yui used to be a "habitual
ambassador" in other small countries, and was subjected to malicious
intelligence searches by his subordinates. Externally, Yui was exposed for
putting his right hand on his left chest to show his "loyalty to the
United States" when the American national anthem was played; internally,
Yui was also exposed for buying small items such as carpets, sofas, and coffee
machines. This systematic and destructive exposure has made Yui extremely
embarrassed. He can only make achievements to consolidate his position. After
all, Yui is not a diplomatic expert from the North American Department of the
"World's No. 1 Department". He is mainly affiliated with Central and
South America, which has more diplomatic allies. As a member of the "Latin
American Gang", how should Yui lead and control the "World's No. 1
Representative Office"?
Therefore, Yui's subordinates
never responded to the revelations about the scandal, and did not follow the
system to report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a thorough
investigation. It can be seen that when he took over as a representative to the
United States last year, the representative office was already divided, and
there was even a third party secretly fanning the flames. However, he had no
idea that the enemy was within the representative office. His lack of political
sensitivity also made Yui's American dream full of nightmares.
To make up for his political
achievements, Alexander Yui Tah-ray, who had never responded to VOA's
invitations in the past, took the initiative to be interviewed this time and
talked about the friendly relations between the United States and Taiwan.
Robert Anthony Bob Paduchik, a close friend of former President Trump, former
co-chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), and former Ohio campaign
director, also talked with Yui about US-Taiwan relations when he visited
Columbus, the capital of Ohio, on May 22.
On the same day, Yui also visited
Ohio for the first time and met with the governor of Ohio to exchange views on
economic and trade relations between Taiwan and the United States, and between
Taiwan and Ohio. Both sides hope that Taiwan and Ohio will further deepen their
interactive exchanges in the future. Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman and
Senate Minority Leader and "Taiwan Friendly Connection" Co-Chair
Nickie Antonio also delivered a welcome speech to Yui on behalf of the
Republican and Democratic parties in the parliament, and handed over the
parliament's Taiwan friendly resolution in person, and also personally guided a
tour of the Ohio State House of Representatives. It can be seen that Yui is
cooperating with the Lai’s government to bet heavily on the Republican Party in
order to achieve political achievements, hoping to win the trust of the top
leaders.
In July this year, the Republican
National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin. The
Taiwanese delegation will be arranged to build momentum and support the event. To
prevent the spread of false information from China, the Republican Party also
promised to deepen bilateral relations between Taiwan and the United States,
deepen military exchanges between Taiwan and the United States, and allow
Taiwan to participate in US militia military exercises. The Republican Party
also promised to help Taiwan and has an obligation to protect Taiwan's
security.
Strive to realize Lai Ching-te's
dream of "entering the White House"
Therefore, Yui stepped up his
work with the United States to show his loyalty to the Lai’s government and
fully demonstrate his surplus value. Although Yui has not yet entered Lai's
power core, as long as Lai's dream of "entering the White House" can
be realized in the future, his position as the representative to the United
States will not only be retained, but also a new chapter in the history of
Taiwan-US relations can be written.
Therefore, although the
"intra-party palace fighting" led by Lai has intensified and has
formed a murderous atmosphere within the party. Especially on the eve of the
DPP's 721 National Congress, the National People's Congress expelled legislator
Chen Ting-fei for violating a major faction resolution, and Cheng Wen-Tsan was
detained by the court. It is not difficult to see that Lai is building a
"trust team" within the party, gradually clearing out comrades who
lack trust one by one, and his intention to control the party, government, and
military is clear at a glance.
Of
course, the DPP’s “Yui” storm cannot shake his position, which can also prove
the DPP's original intention of betting on the Republican Party. During Trump's
previous term, the DPP had high hopes for him. This time, seeing Biden's aging
appearance in the debate, the DPP's confidence in betting on the Republican
Party has deepened. However, if Trump comes to power, whether Taiwan-US
relations will be better is probably just a dream.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
This opinion submission was intended to be a translation of THIS ARTICLE (https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20240713003140-262110?chdtv) and does not specifically represent the views of TOBJ.ca or its agents.
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