[War] Action Report: ROC, 17 Sept-24 Sept

[pentaj2 at Scranton.edu]

REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN)

Population Approval 56%
Government Approval 55%
International Favor 50%
Economic Growth 3.8%, Good
Inflation 2.3%
Unemployment 4.1%
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After a week of such rapid change, the people of Taiwan still have 
their collective heads spinning. The man on the street grumbles about 
the DPP picking someone even *more* pro-independence, since all he 
really wants is the status quo, but the collective instinct is to 
shrug, hope he keeps that all rhetoric, and move on. The 
ineternational community is hardly very pleased with the idea, 
warnings coming through back-channels from the US and Japan among 
others not to actually shift from the status quo.

The reshuffle in the President's staff is what Americans would 
call "inside baseball", and gets ignored, by and large. The 
President's spending plans win approval, but the announcements for 
Constitutional change are firmly regarded as a bit too much for people 
to think about right now. Combine that with reflexive fears that a 
strong executive will lead to dictatorship such as Taiwan saw until 
1991, and the idea is quietly kicked into the long grass by the 
politically aware, helped by small protests. Because, no, the people 
of Taiwan are calmer (the demonstrations against the former President 
now focus on seeing him indicted and prosecuted for corruption), but 
they don't seem ready to be quiet.