Word: kmt
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...attitude is a major turnaround from that of Taiwan's outgoing President, Chen Shui-bian of the rival Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP. In 2000 Chen made history by becoming the first non-KMT President of Taiwan. He won by tapping into and championing a rising spirit of Taiwanese nationalism. Many people in Taiwan no longer consider their island a part of China; instead, they see Taiwan as a de facto independent state and desire an identity of their own. The search for Taiwan identity also had a sharp anti-KMT edge. The KMT has historically been the party...
...reason Taiwan's March 22 presidential election is potentially one of the most important East Asia has seen in recent memory. A Ma victory could usher in a sea change in the tense relationship between China and Taiwan. In 1949 Mao Zedong's communists chased Chiang Kai-shek's KMT from the mainland after a brutal civil war, and ever since the two have glared icily at each other across the narrow but heavily armed strait that separates them. Beijing considers Taiwan to be no more than a wayward province destined to be reunified under communist rule. The disagreement...
...Today, school curriculums that had focused on Chinese history and geography center on Taiwan. Learning a local dialect such as Taiwanese, Hakka or aborigine - languages the KMT once banned in the classrooms - is now compulsory in elementary school. Today's youth and pop artists have also sparked a movement that embraces local culture. An ethnic slur, taike - which Taiwan's mainlanders used decades ago to describe the uncultured locals they found on the island - has become something cool. Taike now means a "Taiwanese character" (as in "that guy's a real character"). In his hit rap song I Love...
...resonates among a significant portion of Taiwan's population. The DPP's political base - mainly the longtime Taiwanese residents of the island - completely rejects the idea that Taiwan has any connection to China. The party sees itself as the true champion of this spirit of independence, compared to the KMT, with its old ties to the mainland. The DPP is "much more committed to defending Taiwan's de facto independence and Taiwan's democracy," says Hsiao Bi-khim, the international-affairs director for Hsieh's campaign. "We are not at all willing to compromise that for whatever economic gains that...
...KMT used to be equally fearful of its giant neighbor. The party has historically been one of the great bastions of anticommunism and the restrictions on Taiwan's contact with the mainland date primarily from the long period when the KMT was in power. But in recent years, the KMT has gone through a transformation in its outlook. The KMT's turnaround was caused, indirectly, by the DPP. Kicked out of power eight years ago, the KMT had grown out of touch with Taiwan's increasingly vibrant democratic environment. After ruling for so many decades, most of the time through...