Jerome F. Keating's writings

Ma's Dilemma in his Second Inaugural Address: What to Say?
Monday May 14

The political life of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has traditionally been one of style over substance. Nonetheless, when Ma prepared to give his first inaugural speech back in 2008, he could not have asked for a better setting to change. He had won by 58.45 per cent of the vote, and his party the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) controlled approximately 75 per cent of the seats in the Legislative Yuan. If he had a desire for substance, change and direction, it was a time to show it. He could be bold in his vision, plans and statements, for he had in the minds of most a clear mandate. Ma did state goals, but unfortunately the desired substance did not come. For while he had what could be called a mandate, his problem was that both he and his advisers misinterpreted and misread what exactly that mandate was for. So now, four years later, as he prepares to give his second inaugural address, times have changed and the setting is reversed. ...

Taiwan, the World Still Turns; Partial Resolution of the Sean Lien Shooting
Saturday May 12

About a year and a half ago, if one recalls, Lien Chan's son, Sean Lien, was shot at a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rally where he had gone to support the local KMT candidate. Today, the court came up with its verdict on Lin Cheng-wei--the shooter; he was sentenced to 24 years in prison. While Sean Lien survived the shooting with the bullet passing through his cheek, another man in the crowd was hit by the deflected bullet and died. Thus the court's ruling gave some resolution but left much unanswered. ...

Taiwan, as the World Continues to Turn, a New AIT Director and More Ma Ying-jeou Problems
Wednesday May 09

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) has a new director; Christopher Marut has replaced William Stanton; Stanton will complete his term of service in August. Marut has 27 years experience in the Foreign Service and much of that has been in the Pacific Region so he seems well suited to the position in many ways including a masters degree in national security and strategic studies at the College of Naval Warfare in Rhode Island. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns; Problems, Problems, Problems
Monday May 07

There is an irony here as Ma Ying-jeou prepares for his inauguration on May 20; he has not even started his second term and any honeymoon me may have wished for has been dashed. The US beef scandal hangs over the country; only 17 per cent support lifting the ban and a delegation has been sent to the USA to "ëxamine things." In reality that is a euphemism that they ahve to come up with an excuse for Ma to live up to his bargained deal with the USA for their support in the last election. ...

China, Foxconn, Apple, and the Tipping Point
Thursday May 03

"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold." In China, as the Bo Xilai scandal continues to unravel, Chen Guangchen's case brought new revelations; with these and other growing problems the continued cracks in the nation's economic strength and anti-corruption walls are getting wider and wider. Some pundits still cry "Run to China, it will become a responsible stakeholder and will still solve the manufacturing problems of nations." But others are finally beginning to have their doubts. For as the cracks widen, the realization dawns that peaceful-rising China is in reality an "Enron China" in the making, an upcoming disaster replete with the corruption, shady deals and cooked books that previously blew up in the faces of those who once touted Enron as the model to be emulated. "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold," this line from Yeats's, The Second Coming, now takes on greater relevance.

Academia Sinica Hosts the First World Congress of Taiwan Studies
Monday April 30

Lest readers think that Taiwan is a hodge-podge of the Keystone Kops as KMT criminals continue to avoid justice under Ma's anti-corruption campaign. There are some serious things happening here; one prominent affair was Academia Sinica hosting the First World Congress of Taiwan Studies from April 26--28; it was a great affair with over 700 people attending and presenters from all parts of the world. ...

Oh No, Not Another Convicted KMT Member Walking Free!
Sunday April 29

This time it was KMT lawmaker Chiang Lien-fu who after his conviction somehow failed to show up to start serving his term in jail. Ma Ying-jeou's KMT Minister of Justice was once again at a loss for words. His explanation as to why DPP members are hounded and like Chen Shui-bian suffered abuse of their rights to a decently prepared defense, but KMT members even after conviction are somehow "on their honor" asked to show up for prison. His ultimate explanation was there are simply "flaws in the system." ...

Ma Ying-jeou's Minister of Justice Again Drops the Ball
Saturday April 28

Ho hum, another KMT convicted criminal is allowed to run the streets or run to China whatever it may be. Notice the double standard that continues in Taiwan. Lo Fu-chu, a former KMT legislator guilty of fraud, forgery and money laundering and sentenced to four years in prison after his conviction. He was then told to report at a later date to the prison to begin serving his term and surprise, surprise, he did not show up. However as we look back at the case of Chen Shui-bian, he was put in prison even before his trial, what gives? And while in prison before his trial, Chen was not allowed privacy with his lawyers to plan his defense. But Lo, well he seemed to have freedom even until he was convicted. He was simply told to show up and report to prison. Do we have two standards here? Please, don't even ask me about Diane Lee's case and her conviction. ...

The "Global Times," Lien Chan and Taiwan's Growing Identity
Friday April 20

Developments in Taiwan's complex identity and national direction once again came to the fore when not long ago the "Global Times" had an interview with Taiwan's Lien Chan. Since the "Global Times" falls under the umbrella of the "People's Daily" the party paper of People's Republic of China (PRC), the interview was of no great surprise to many. Lien Chan is one of the most senior and most prominent members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Among his most recent positions have been those of vice-president under Lee Teng-hui (1996-2000), past Chairman of the KMT (2000-2005). And though a twice-failed candidate for the Presidency of Taiwan (2000,& 2004), he was the KMT's clear candidate. He subsequently travelled to China (2005) becoming the most prominent KMT member to visit China since the KMT was driven out after losing its Civil War with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1949. Thus while the interview had some logic to it, nonetheless questions still arose as to why now in 2012? Some wondered was the "Global Times" simply paying Lien Chan a rewarding compliment, or was it a prelude to something greater? That question gained more credence when the CCP subsequently came up with the request that the KMT host a 2012 Cross-Strait Economic Trade and Culture Forum in Taiwan,

Is Chen Shui-bian Being Made a Surrogate Scapegoat for Taiwan? Part III of III
Friday April 13

So now, at the end of the day examine how after years of pressuring, harassing, jailing of innumerable alleged accomplices, switching judges, and untold fishing expeditions, all that prosecutors have achieved in Taiwan are two convictions based on questionable and perhaps forced testimony. One is that of a harassed woman Diana Chen and the other is that of a bargained with Jeffrey Koo Jr. a man whose family has played all sides of the law and survived from the Japanese era, through Martial Law, up to the present.

Is Chen Shui-bian Being Made a Surrogate Scapegoat for Taiwan? Part II of III
Wednesday April 11

A new violation then took place. While Chen was jailed without charges, his chief defense lawyer tried to visit him; he was denied privacy with Chen. The alleged reason was that Chen needed to be prevented from working deals, though in this several year old case if deals were to be worked they would have long been established. Again it was a basic violation of prisoner’s rights of due process and attorney-client privilege. At heart, in addition to punishing Chen, prosecutors wanted to know what Chen's defense strategy would be; it was similar to illegal wire-tapping but even worse and more blatant. Two prosecutors had to be present at all times and if they missed anything, the sessions were also videotaped. This violation of prisoner rights was taken to court and found to be illegal. However even after it was found illegal since it would still take two months for the paper work of the court's decision to go through the system, the prosecutors persisted in their illegal listening until the paperwork cleared. Apparently they needed to stack the deck; their premature boast that they would get a conviction, was taking a nefarious effect. ...

Is Chen Shui-bian Being Made a Surrogate Scapegoat for Taiwan? Part I of III
Monday April 09

There are crimes and then there are crimes; there are trials and then there are trials; there are standards and then there are standards; unfortunately, however, there are also double standards. These concepts have all come into play in the complex and twisted corruption case of Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian. This is a case that will have few winners and justice will be lucky if it is even half served, for at heart, what is on trial here is more than just Chen himself though he certainly is. On trial is the legacy of a one-party state system of corruption and double standards, a party where some still carry the bitterness and vindictiveness of lost entitlement and unrealized dreams, a nation that struggles to emerge from a belabored past that includes a lack of transitional justice, stolen state assets, and finally the complicity and betrayal of lost ideals on all sides. If that is not enough, on trial may even be the after effects of a hybrid culture on Taiwan trying to adjust to the realities and differences of a post-modern judicial world. ...

How Ma Ying-jeou's World Differs from Most Taiwanese
Wednesday April 04

On April 4th, Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou laid a wreath in honor of the ¾ellow Emperor", the man that Chinese, not Taiwanese, see as the founder of China. Ma may see his ancestry as coming from the Yellow Emperor by some mythological chain, but Ma consistently and totally ignores the reality of most Taiwanese. ...

What World Do These People Live in: Logic Please, Part I
Friday March 30

Every now and then a politician utters a statement that causes bewilderment and wonder; the statement for this week goes to none other but our favorite Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou. Ma is criticized for his questionable position on how he sees the ROC on Taiwan as representing the fantasy one China that he sees in his mind. But we are not here to talk about that rather his recent defense of why he continues to push Taiwan into China's world orbit. ...

Will Taiwan Waste Another Four Years as a Rudderless Ship Under Ma Ying-jeou
Tuesday March 27

Taiwan's recent US beef/ractopamine scandal with its intimations of a quid pro quo backroom deal adds to the mounting realization that the nation, under the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou, has been a rudderless ship. It is not that the ship of state does not move; rather it finds itself continually blown this way and that, forward and backwards by the conflicting directions, hot air currents, and excuses that emanate from the presidential office. Ma took office in May 2008, yet never has so little been done by a president who entered with so many advantages. Instead of hoped for progress, Taiwan's ship of state has tossed to and fro as it tried to respond to multiple changing winds. Those winds include misinterpreted and misapplied mandates, leadership by platitudes, inept plans from inexperienced staff, the belief that the essence of responsibility is finding someone to blame, word games, and finally insulting hood wink strategies dictating that the best way to escape unfulfilled promises is to make newer more grandiose ones. This has been Taiwan's past four years under the winds of Ma-speak. ...

Ma's KMT Government Again Tries to Pass the Buck
Wednesday March 21

As the beef with ractopamine issue rages, we once again find Ma Ying-jeou's government looking for someone to pass the buck. Now they are trying to say the fault is that of the DPP from 2007 and not for what they did but what they supposedly intended to do. Say what? ...

Deconstructing Taiwan and China Terminology and Nomenclature, Deconstruction Part II
Friday March 09

Misuses, misrepresentations and manipulations of language are well documented. Hitler promoted "big lie" usage in "Mein Kampf." E-Prime (English-Prime) theory was developed to try to minimize dogmatic statements by eliminating forms of "to be" from discourse. Politically correct language was introduced to weed out stereotypes and labels but with little success. Feminists saw early on that language often unwittingly carries and conveys messages that the average mind is unaware of. For example, by constantly using patriarchal terms like chairman, policeman, fireman etc. society reinforced the outdated idea that these positions were male prerogatives. The antidote was a conscious insistence on using words like chairperson, police officer etc. It is in this vein then that Taiwanese and those who support this island nation need to regularly examine, deconstruct and stop using expressions that create erroneous ideas on the status of Taiwan and its relationship with China. Observe the following examples. ...

Taiwan's Double Standard of Justice Remains from the KMT One-party State days
Tuesday March 06

Once again Taiwanese were reminded of the double standard of justice or perhaps lack of justice in the country despite the mouthings of the current president that he has brought justice. In 1997, an air force serviceman Chiang Kuo-ching was wrongly tried and wrongly executed for the rape and murder of a 5 year old girl.

Ma Ying-jeou, the Phony Pony President of Taiwan, Caves Again!
Friday March 02

Did I call it, or did I call it? Scroll back down on the listings to February 3rd when I predicted that the Ma government would waffle on the US beef issue. Even now, before the perfunctory excuses and "proper examination" of the appropriate health departments have even started, US beef is already coming into the country. One wonders how anyone can believe anything that comes out of the Ma government. ...

Taiwan's Past Still Not Reconciled or Honestly Dealt with by Some KMT
Saturday February 25

Recent remarks by Hau Pei-tsun, a former premier of Taiwan and retired KMT military revealed the problems and divisions that still exist in Taiwan as Hau attempted to pooh-pooh the idea that some 10,000 Taiwanese were killed in the 2-28 Incident; and that another 20,000 more were killed in the 40 year White Terror period that followed as the KMT would rule Taiwan as a one-party state under Martial Law. The KMT came to Taiwan from 1945--1949, and allegedly in the name of democracy kept the island under Martial Law until 1987. ...

Deconstructing the Middle Kingdom on Taiwan's Border: Part I
Monday February 20

Taiwan is an island nation that after a long struggle with a variety of colonial masters has achieved and enjoys democracy. Unfortunately, across the Taiwan Strait is a different nation, China, which covets Taiwan's territory and sovereignty. Since the average Westerner may not always be aware of Taiwan's complex history and/or struggle for democracy, some understanding is in order. This is especially so if such said Westerner may hear, accept and/or believe erroneous memes like Taiwan has always been a part of China or Taiwan has been a part of China since time immemorial etc. So where does one start to deconstruct such falsehoods? Begin ironically with Taiwan's bigger neighbor across the Strait. How does China's ruling Politburo seek to legitimize its current rule and questionable all-encompassing identity while at the same time seeking to extend China’s borders? ...

How Far Does the Apple Fall from the Tree? Ask Confucius
Friday February 17

Currently Apple Inc. and even the deceased Steve Jobs have come under criticism and fire because of the fact that several of Apple's products are being made at one of Foxconn's many factories in China; the factory in question is one that has grown notorious for a recent spate of suicides among its workers. Many are thus wondering and critiquing Apple's business practices. "Apple should be boycotted," shout some critics. "Apple needs to clean up its act," say others. They question how can such a modern company like Apple so callously profit from this seeming exploitation of workers. Yet while this questioning is going on, we also hear a completely different voice. Economic gurus continue to chant the mantra, "Run to China." Supposedly that is the prime place where the money can be made; factories there can churn out products at a faster rate; their workers are more pliant in meeting extreme deadlines, and China makes it easy to come and set up shop. Does no one see the contradictory cross-purposes developing here?

Taiwan, a Small Victory in the 'Anti-Corruption' Campaign
Thursday February 16

Just recently in Huatan Township in Changhua County, Taiwan, Lee Cheng-chi of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the mayoral by-election. For those wondering what by-elections are; they are held when an incumbent vacates the office for a variety of reasons--one of the most common being that he was convicted of corruption. ...

Taiwan in the News, Why is Ma Ying-jeou Reluctant?
Monday February 13

You would think that a president such as Ma Ying-jeou who had entered office with the most ideal conditions a president could ask for--i.e. his party controlling some 75 per cent of the seats in the Legislative Yuan (LY), the law making body, would be glad to make a State of the Union address after his first term. Not so for Ma, perhaps that is why he is still referred to as Ma Ying-joke. ...

Another Credibility Question for the KMT post Elections
Saturday February 11

Sean Chen, Taiwan's Premier designate recently announced his upcoming cabinet; in it it was found that about one third of the 47 positions had been reshuffled. That seemed fairly normal; no drastic changes, yet some changes to give some new blood a chance etc. However, one question did come up. Chen announced that all of the Cabinet members had been chosen because of their skills and how they matched their respective positions. Again all well and good, but . . . ...

Taiwan, Let the Waffling by Ma Begin
Friday February 03

Now that Ma has won re-election, be prepared for him to waffle on the beef issue. Before the election, he would not touch it. Now however, he has passed the ball to one of the Ministry's, you will never find him taking personal responsibility in case anything hits the fan. ...

Taiwan: No Honeymoon For Ma Ying-jeou this time
Tuesday January 31

The dust of the January 2012 elections has barely settled and Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou has already found himself in trouble. The nagging issue of US beef is back on the burner. When the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt spoke in Taiwan in 2011, he pooh-poohed the idea that the beef issue was a major problem between the USA and the Ma administration's failure to deliver on its promises. After all he explained, the amount of money involved was negligible in view of the total amount of money involved in all the transactions between the two countries. Further the USA would certainly be happy with Ma's re-election. Other pundits tried to join the chorus. But if it was all so negligible, why then right after the election, is Burghardt all of a sudden back on Ma's doorstep saying it is time to settle our bill?

The Ma Mandate That Never Was, Taiwan's Holding Pattern
Friday January 20

Most are familiar with the adage "businessmen have no country," so it came with no surprise that immediately after Ma Ying-jeou's victory (51.6 per cent of the vote) in Taiwan's 2012 presidential elections, numerous pro-China business pundits jumped up to become cheerleaders. One after another they declared that Ma's win was a clear mandate for his cross-strait policies. Let all go full steam ahead in investing and deepening business ties with China; profit allegedly waits for all. Some even went as far as to suggest establishing political ties with China as well as a means to cement these alleged profit gains. Was this the really of what Taiwan's vote said? Not by a long shot. If anything, instead of being a mandate, the vote was a call for caution; the populace was at best deciding to leave things in a holding pattern. The devil is in the details. ...

Taiwan: Some Post 2012 Election Observations
Tuesday January 17

1) For one, the DPP is back in the game; (almost at the position it had 2004) and Ma with all his advantages of 2008 failed in bringing the Taiwanese to heel. ...

Taiwan Elections: Chiu Yi Bites the Dust But His Braying Is Not Gone
Tuesday January 17

Probably one of the most satisfying results of Taiwan's January 14 elections was the defeat of Chiu Yi as he ran for the legislature. Chiu Yi is best known by many as the KMT's attack dog and scavenger jackal who used the immunity of his previous Legislative Yuan position to spread all sorts of accusations, lies (?) and innuendos under the guise of being concerned about?? Aside from loving the limelight, just what has Chiu Yi been concerned about? ...

Taiwan Elections End, Ma Wins but the DPP is Back in the Game
Sunday January 15

In 2008, Ma Ying-jeou won with 58.45 per cent of the vote; in 2012, Ma won with 51.6 per cent of the vote. Anyone who sees such a drop in his support as still a mandate for his programs is for lack of a better word, "a fool." ...

Taiwan Goes to the Polls; Who Will Rule for the Next Four Years
Friday January 13

Tomorrow, January 14, the Taiwanese go to the polls to elect their President and members of the Legislative Yuan. Whoever wins will rule for the next four years, and rallies are being held all over the island. Lee Teng-hui suffering from illness and in need of a probable upcoming operation braved the cold weather to come out and tell the voters that the future depended on them. Speaking at a Tsai Ing-wen rally, he encouraged all to vote for her. ...

Taiwan, Sifting Through the Past and Present for the Truth
Saturday January 07

How does one know a lie is a lie? Byron's Don Juan indicates that lies too often masquerade as truths. Thus, if Taiwanese are really interested in the truth of why their democratic struggle has never been on a level playing field and why one party still controls so many stolen state assets while the other parties have none, they must sort through the many lies that masquerade as truths from the past. Part of that even entails sorting through and overcoming the brainwashing by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and seeing the true history of Taiwan's past century from Taiwanese and not Chinese eyes. ...

Taiwan's Elections Draw Near
Tuesday January 03

Taiwan's presidential and Legislative Yuan elections are drawing near. The ballot sheet listings have been sent around and for those that doubted it, James Soong is in and committed. His party, the People's First Party is certainly hoping big; they have at least 15 candidates available for their legislator-at-large positions. It will be interesting to see what percentage of the vote that their party receives. I am not predicting that one, but I do believe that they will have no trouble getting past the required 5 per cent this time now that they are free of the KMT. ...

"The Mapping of Taiwan, Desired Economies, Coveted Geographies" Completes Taiwan Tetralogy
Thursday December 29

Most works on Taiwan try to fit the many aspects of its diverse past under one roof, too often ending up belittling one, championing another and cheating a third in that effort. Even if they claim or pledge neutrality and a pervasive ambition to cover all, to a close reader their rhetoric eventually betrays them. This tetralogy presents four crucial perspectives needed in approaching and understanding Taiwan; it may raise more questions than it answers but in its effort, it points directly to areas that cannot be ignored. It comes not only from reading and research but from having lived for over two decades in Taiwan and simply yet constantly and critically watching and integrating how too often actions and results speak louder than words. This includes a look at those who hold wealth, position and power in Taiwan, how they got it, and why the playing field of Taiwan's democracy is still not level.

Why Taiwan Cannot Afford to Waste Another Four Years on Ma
Monday December 26

As Taiwan's January 14 presidential election approaches, one idea is becoming more and more clear; Taiwan cannot afford to waste another four years with Ma Ying-jeou as president. Despite measured hopes and claims, predictions on Taiwan's GDP for the coming year continue to fall; they have now dipped into the 3 per cent bracket. This indicates that the so-called up-coming Golden Decade that Ma proposes as his campaign slogan has already died in the same way that his 6-3-3 promise never got off the blocks. James Soong's description of Ma as a Persian Cat (something pretty to look at but inept at catching mice or doing anything) is being seen more and more as on the mark. Ma has too long lived on King Pu-sung's hype and surface imagery while he foregoes substance and results; he remains in effect the inveterate poseur par excellence. ...

The United States Once Again Meddles in Taiwan's Democratic Elections
Sunday December 25

It is a shame that despite protestations of neutrality, someone or someones in the United States executive office once again are trying to meddle in the presidential elections of Taiwan. Since Taiwan is a democracy, this makes such meddling all the more shameful. ...

Taiwan's Yani Tseng Is Named Female Athlete of the Year
Thursday December 22

Kudos are in line for Yani Tseng of Taiwan; she has been named the Female Athlete of the Year by the US Sports Academy in conjunction with USA Today and NBC Sports. The Male Athlete of the Year is No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic. ...

Taiwan's 2012 Legislative Yuan Will be Totally Different
Tuesday December 20

Whatever the outcome of the upcoming January 14 presidential elections, one thing is certain; Taiwan's 2012 Legislative Yuan will clearly not be in for the same old, same old. Let's start with basics; remember back in 2008 when Ma Ying-jeou won with some 58 per cent of the vote. In the Legislative Yuan, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) got some 54 per cent of the vote but because of disproportionate district representation, and with the aid of its pan-blue coalition it got a totally uncalled for 76 per cent of the seats. Those days are gone forever and for many reasons.

Lies, Lies and More Lies? Part III, the KMT's Standard Excuse Comes Out
Friday December 16

As carpetbaggers and a diasporic army on the run, the KMT used their guns on a defenseless and disarmed Taiwanese to create a one-party state which they ran by White Terror and military rule for over forty years. They made billions off of the country. This also has always given them a self-righteous sense of entitlement to justify any and all of their members and their lackeys actions. Emboldened by this belief in their entitlement even though it was that same corrupt belief that cost them China, they feel that Taiwanese should believe any excuse they drum up. ...

Lies, Lies and More Lies, Part II, How Much is Ma Ying-jeou Responsible for?
Friday December 16

A second batch of attacks in the KMT smear campaign on Tsai Ing-wen are the accusations leveled by Christina Liu, Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) of the Ma government. Minister Liu claimed that Tsai Ing-wen's involvement with the TaiMed Group violated the law because of later profits; unfortunately Liu was in error about the dates on when Tsai left the group, a matter that had been examined long ago. Liu was now using "forged" documents that changed the dates in favor of Liu's accusation. ...

Lies, Lies and More Lies?--Part I, Is the KMT Resorting to Old Tricks?
Thursday December 15

As the election date of January 14 draws near and the presidential race gets hotter and hotter, it seems that the KMT is resorting to smear tactics once again. Why so? Well one reason is the resurrecting of the old absconded money claims. Anyone who has been in Taiwan for some time would remember when the KMT accused Lee Teng-hui's wife of running off to the USA with suitcases full of money. Well this time the target is Tsai Ing-wen, the presidential candidate of the opposition party. The accuser is Tsai Ling-yi, the wife of Premier Wu Den-yih. ...

As the WorldTurns: Taiwan, China and the World of Control Freaks
Monday December 12

There is nothing like being on one's home course. After being behind in the opening rounds, Taiwan's Yani Tseng came from behind and in the final round shot a four-under 68 to win the Swinging Skirts TLPGA Invitational in Taiwan yesterday. It was a brilliant finish to a brilliant year and in cold, chilly, and rainy weather. Good for her. ...

Taiwan's Elections as the World Turns, Promises, Promises
Friday December 02

Trying to explain why Ma did not deliver on or reach his touted 6-3-3, the Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu told the legislature that with four years of a strong domestic demand, Taiwan's per capita income could, (note she said "could")reach the desired US$30,000 in four years. She of course failed to say that it "could" continue to tank as well. ...

Taiwan's Yani Tseng Finishes a Great Year
Friday December 02

I was happy to see when I was recently in the States that the newspaper, USA Today, spoke of Yani Tseng as from Taiwan. There was none of the usual "crap" that one sees saying that she represents Chinese Taipei or that she is from China etc. etc. She is from Taiwan, a separate country from that one across the Strait. (Imagine if Argentinian sportsmen or women had to be referred to as Spanish, Buenos Aires, if Peruvians sportspersons or teams were called Spanish Lima, or if Brazilians were called Portuguese Brasilia; you get the picture. There is only one reason that Taiwanese are saddled with Chinese Taipei and that is the wanna-be control freaks on the other side of the Strait. ...

Why Does Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou Not Want to End China's Civil War?
Tuesday November 15

A frequent joke that comes up in the United States is when those who are from the Southern States are at a party with those who are Northerners and the Southerners claim that the Civil War never ended. It happens when discussions turn regional and political; thus someone will inevitably say, "Save your Confederate dollars my friends, the South will rise again." The joke is accepted by all since it provides a humorous way to avoid the potential tension and hostility that can arise when politics as well as religion are discussed. In Taiwan, however, any such past Civil War jokes linked to China's and not Taiwan's past are not a way of relieving potential tension, but the result of its current president and some others living in a bygone age and not being able to let go of it. Why? This is what Taiwanese need examine as the 2012 elections approach.

No Progress in Anti-Corruption Under Ma Ying-jeou. Diane Lee's Case Contributes?
Friday November 11

In a recent publication of the Corruption Index of Countries, it was noted that Taiwan had not made any gains in its anti-corruption efforts. This was true despite the fact that Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou touted the fact that his anti-corruption campaign would be one of the main thrusts of his first four years. For those who watch Taiwan closely and have seen the failings of the courts under Ma, and the double standard in the application of justice, this has come as no surprise. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: the Three Pigs and the KMT Dominated Control Yuan, Pettiness at its Best.
Friday November 04

November has been termed the month of the "three pigs" in Taiwan, or the month of the "Great Piggy Bank Kerfuffle" What is at issue here is that a short while ago, three young children, inspired by their grandparents support for Tsai Ing-wen wanted to donate their piggy banks to Tsai's campaign fund. "Not So!" stated the Control Yuan, the nation's watchdog. These would be minors giving political donations and that is forbidden, as if the Control Yuan did not have any greater and worthier crimes that they should protect the nation from. ...

Taiwan: A Harsh Look at Four Years of Smoke and Stagnation Under Ma Ying-jeou
Wednesday November 02

As Taiwan's presidential election approaches, hardly any Taiwanese need to be reminded of Ma Ying-jeou's infamous and miscalculated pledge of 6-3-3 of 2008. So now with the 2012 election two months away, and the 6-3-3 promise and other unfulfilled promises under his belt, Ma is crafting a new promise; he is promising a Golden Decade. A Golden Decade? The full ramifications of this new promise boggle the mind, especially from a man who has consistently lived on borrowed time and consistently ignored the hopes of past unfulfilled promises by trading them instead for new unfulfilled promises. ...

Ma Ying-jeou's FIT Program not Open to All Chinese Subjects (Dalai Lama and Ai Weiwei Take Notice)
Saturday October 29

As Ma tried to salvage his infamous and mis-calculated 6-3-3 promise, one of the methods he used was to open Taiwan up to visitors from China. That was supposedly going to contribute great dollars to Taiwan's income, but even before it happened those that did the math realized that the monetary gain even at the full amount of visitors would still be minimal. Well the full amount of visitors from China never materialized and the monetary gain for Taiwan, despite Ma's great hype, was even less than minimal. ...

"Dump Ma to Save Taiwan," Why These Words Are Gaining Momentum I
Friday October 28

As the January elections approach, more and more Taiwanese are beginning to listen to what Lee Teng-hui had said some time ago. "It is time to dump Ma to save Taiwan." Dump Ma? Yes that is what was said, but why. ...

Yani Tseng, a Woman Unafraid to say She is Taiwanese
Sunday October 23

The world's number one woman golfer, Yani Tseng, recently won her 12th LPGA at Sunrise Golf Course in Taiwan. Winning #12 was good, but winning before a home crowd was even better. This victory was particularly sweet not only for her but also for all Taiwanese who were conscious of the fact that Ms. Tseng had been offered some US$10 million dollars in the past to change her nationality from Taiwanese to Chinese. ...

Issues People Face with Accountability for Elected Leaders: a Sidebar from Warren Buffet
Friday October 21

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the US debt ceiling: ...

Taiwan, Once Again the Nation Depends on its Citizens and not its President
Wednesday October 19

Taiwan is currently hosting an LPGA tournament, and it seems that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is insisting that the nation not fly its national flag at the golf course. Since it was flying, one Chinese golfer packed her bags and went home. Poor thing. A second PRC golfer had dual citizenship so she played under her second country. ...

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou, When Apologies Are Not Enough
Saturday October 15

I remember listening to Ma Ying-jeou explain why his 6-3-3 policy failed miserably; his advisers simply missed the boat, made bad evaluations, and caused Ma to make a false promise. Is a man responsible for the poor judgment of his advisers? Technically, Ma did not make the judgment that 6-3-3 was achievable in his first term. (Note that after it was seen to be failing miserably, Ma changed the time-line and said he really meant he would do that by the end of a 2nd term) Of course if it failed by that time as well, Ma would be long gone and with a hefty pension to live on. ...

Taiwan, the Travails of President Ma Ying-jeou and His 400 policies??
Thursday October 13

As Taiwan's presidential elections draw near, all Taiwanese have to ask themselves the one basic question, do they feel that they are better off than they were four years ago? Are jobs better? Has your income gone up? Are houses easier to buy? Have you had a decent raise? How is your standard of living? Are prices going up? ...

The Political Mandate That Never Was, Taiwan
Sunday October 09

It is a well known fact in Taiwan if not in the world, that the so-called "1992 Consensus" the same one that Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou likes to tout as reality was a total fabrication by Ma"s good friend Su Chi the former National Security Council secretary-general. Well, it seems matters have not ended there. Not satisfied with one fabrication, it now appears that Su Chi is trying to invent a new term for Ma, the Mandate that Never Was, euphemistically called Ma's "Diminished Political Mandate."

Taiwan's Indigenes Plan a Symbolic "Mgaya" Headhunt on the ROC
Thursday October 06

No doubt spurred on by the success of the recent movie "Seediq Bale" Taiwan's indigenous people are planning a symbolic "Magaya" headhunt of the Republic of China (ROC). As Taiwan prepares for its Double 10 celebrations, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is trying to emphasize the disparity and mis-representation of what is called "A Spectacular Century; Republic of China." ...

Foil to Ma: The Unexpected Role of Taiwan's James Soong
Sunday October 02

James Soong continues to play cat and mouse games in Taiwan politics. Aside from a potential motive of self aggrandizement, observers ponder what thoughts, game plans and strategies are running through his mind nowadays. He already has the required signatures needed to declare himself as a presidential candidate, but he has forestalled an official declaration until the end of October. At that time, he hopes he will have one million signatures. Is he fishing? One million signatures could make him secure in the hope to get with certainty at least 5 per cent of the vote. That would allow his People's First Party (PFP) the right to appoint legislators at large. Then, he adds the declaration that he may or may not attend the Double Ten celebrations, particularly if there is the danger that it be thought that he had made peace with Taiwan's current president, Ma Ying-jeou. Ironically however, despite these antics, Soong has already provided Taiwanese voters with a valuable service. Valuable, how so? Yes, Soong and his past record intentionally or unintentionally serve as the perfect foil with which to measure and expose the unfortunate shallowness and ineptitude of President Ma.

China's "Confucius Peace Prize," the Prize You Are Not Quite Sure You Want to Win.
Friday September 30

Recall last year when Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was about to win the Nobel Peace Prize, many of China's loyal professors and academics decided they would show the world that they too could offer a peace prize, the "Confucius Peace Prize." They then awarded it to Lien Chan of Taiwan's Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) who thought twice about it, and after looking this strange gift horse in the mouth, said "Thanks, but no thanks." Such a prize was too politically sensitive even for the deep blue, "China-loving" KMT Lien Chan. A surprising response for those who had watched Lien Chan traipse over to China in 2005 in his own pandering way. ...

Western Misreading of Diaspora and Taiwanese Identity in the Taiwan Strait
Sunday September 25

In much of Western thinking and commentary about the "Taiwan problem" and peace in the Taiwan Strait, is based on a gross misunderstanding of the root of this problem. Leave aside for now the hegemonic ambitions of China that by possessing Taiwan it will have blue water access for its submarines and be able to control the flow of traffic between the East and South China Seas. Further, leave aside the mistaken canard that in the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895); the Manchu Qing surrendered all of Taiwan to Japan. The Qing could only legitimately grant the western half of Taiwan that it controlled. Japan by conquest of the indigenous people on the "free;" eastern side became the first nation to both control and rule the whole island of Taiwan. Go beyond this; the real root of the problem in the Taiwan Strait is a misunderstanding and misreading of the complex dynamics of multiple, changing and conflicting diasporas.

Taiwan is the First Taiwanese Democracy Not the First Chinese Dem ocracy
Thursday September 22

Many pundits in North America and Asia often talk about Taiwan being the first Chinese democracy in the world, but this way of phrasing it is not correct. What most journalists and opinion-shapers in the West have not yet woken up to is that an important paradigm shift and change of perspective has taken place an Asia, and it is this: Taiwan is not the first Chinese democracy; Taiwan is the first Taiwanese democracy. Give credit where it is due. ...

King Pu-tsung Says KMT Does Not Use Slogans???
Wednesday September 21

Oh noooo! In the category of I can't believe it, King Pu-tsung, the snake-oil salesman par excellance had the gall to say that the KMT does not use slogans. King said in LA that statistics proved that the KMT was a practical party in power. Am I missing something here??? How would one classify 6-3-3?? Is that a slogan? Is it a promise? Is it a lie? Is it an impractical statement of a party that has proven its incompetence in economics? Is the flim-flam man at it again? ...

Ma Ying-joke Insults the USA,. Is He Getting Gun Shy on Using English?
Sunday September 18

Question: If you were Prime Minister in the UK, or a member of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, how would you have felt if when George Bush was President, he sent Karl Rove over to explain his policies and promote his agenda? How would any country feel if the head of state of another country sent his spin-doctor and hatchet man to represent him in your country. Insulted? To be sure. Yet that is what Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has just done. ...

China Writes ROC History, Would the ROC Write PRC History?
Saturday September 17

In a strange and bizarre move, it was recently revealed that the Beijing-based Chinese Acadmy of Social Sciences (CASS) published a 36-volume history of the Republic of China (ROC). The question naturally comes, why would the People's Republic of China (PRC) write a history of its enemy in the Chinese Civil War when that war still continues at least in the sense that the ROC still exists though it was driven from the mainland; further there is a country, Taiwan, that still bears the name of the ROC and carries the weight of its outdated Constitution. ...

Taiwan, as the World Turns, September 2011, Shih Ming-teh Cries the Blues
Friday September 16

Taiwan has its own list of past politicians and wannebe stars who once they have been in the limelight will do anything (including selling their soul) to get back in. Shih Ming-teh is one of those and this past week he was out trying to find a way to keep his options open. Shih was pushing for a relaxation of the election law which makes it costly to register as we mentioned early was one of Ellen Huang's problems. ...

It Costs to Run for President in Taiwan
Thursday September 15

While Taiwanese wait to see what James Soong will do vis-a-vis running for President, (remember my recommendation for him is to run as legislator at large for the PFP if he really wants to be a real player and do something for Taiwan) Ellen Huang dropped out. ...

Taiwan's Ma Ying-joke Lets His Campaign Manger Speak for Him
Wednesday September 14

The latest joke in the political scene in Taiwan is the fact that its president, Ma Ying-jeou, or as called by some Ma Ying-joke, has sent his campaign manager to the United States to float balloons in an effort to stir up flagging support for his campaign. ...

So Who Needs a Reality Check on Clarity, Taiwan and China?
Friday August 26

An important issue that Taiwanese voters will have to evaluate as the 2012 elections approach is not only what each party's cross-strait policy or "China policy" is, but also how realistic it is. In line with this, barely a week before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presented its policy, in an almost laughable essay a certain David Brown pontificating like a hired gun for Taiwan's ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the rest of the world "demanded" that the DPP present its realistic case. "Taiwanese voters deserve a clear understanding of Tsai's policies." Ironically of course, at the very moment Brown was trying to pontificate for clarity, Tsai's team was putting the finishing touches on the party's policy. Regardless of that timing, what made Brown's essay so laughable was his implication that it was time for Tsai and not the rest of the world to do a reality check on their policies. This was more than the pot calling the kettle black; it was a stove blackened pot questioning the cleanliness of an untarnished kettle. Who does need a reality check here?

Taiwan's Dignity Takes a Worse Hit as its Persian Cat President Brags On
Thursday August 25

For the Taiwanese film "Seediq Bale" to be given shoddy treatment by the People's Republic of China at the Venice Film Festival can be considered standard fare in the public arena. It is bad enough for the people of Taiwan to have to bear such insults. It is worse of course that Taiwan's Persian Cat President brags that his flexible policy is working as he seems to be giving the farm away. What is more serious is that the sycophants and yes men that work for the president apparently feel they should be active in giving the farm away. Case in point is the Chinese spy Ko-suen "Bill" Moo whom they let get away. ...

Taiwan's Dignity Takes Another Hit, as Ma Brags About His Flexible Diplomacy I
Thursday August 25

The Taiwanese film "Seediq Bale" will be showing in the coming 68th Venice International Film Festival. And China has immediately insisted that the entry again be listed as coming from Taiwan, China. So much for Taiwan's current president (sometimes known as the Phony Pony) bragging claims that his flexible diplomacy is working. The GIO has done their usual ineffectual protest; some see this as almost a game that they must go through to at least cover the President's bragging. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: the Diane Lee Travesty of Justice Continues
Wednesday August 24

One of Taiwan's dinosaur judges left over from the KMT one-party state days proved again the double standard of justice in Taiwan and acquitted Diane Lee already convicted of fraud. Lee was guilty of holding dual citizenship and ripping the public off of over US$3.5 million dollars. ...

The Role of Taiwan's Indigenes in Resolving Identity and More
Monday August 22

The year 2012 approaches, but the elections are only one of many issues that the island nation of Taiwan faces. An important one is Taiwan's identity and its minority issues. Taiwan's indigenous peoples were once majority rulers on this island, but they have been a distinct minority for some time. They are not only a minority, but one that has found itself too often marginalized and plagued with an uncertainty about what their role, function and place in Taiwan's society and government is or should be. Solving such questions will test the indigenous collective wisdom and character but it will also help Taiwan. In this they may well keep in mind the noted statement of Hillel, a statement with many levels and nuances in interpretation. "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now then when?" For if indigenes are not for themselves, there is little chance that society in general will be for them. ...

Ma Ying-joke's Flexible Diplomacy Fails Taiwan Again
Thursday August 18

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-joke continues to find it hard to run the country simply by uttering platitudes. He likes to boast about how his flexible diplomacy works. Works for what? For further humiliation of Taiwan's sovereignty. The latest dropping of the ball by the Foreign Ministry is the listing of the Taiwan film "Seediq Bale" as coming from China, Taiwan. ...

More than Staying in the Game: Can Soong Think Beyond Himself?
Tuesday August 16

James Soong has not been treated kindly by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). True, he did not completely follow the party's procedures of hierarchy and privilege, but in the year 2000 if they had chosen him to be their presidential candidate, instead of the loser Lien Chan, he could have guaranteed them eight consecutive years of the presidency. Still, the KMT stuck with the loser, and as a result, Soong broke ranks and ran as an independent. Against those odds, he still almost won. That is water under the bridge. But now as the 2012 elections approach and the whispers of "Dump Ma to Save Taiwan" are growing louder even in the pan-blue camp, Soong has a new chance and needs to carefully assess his strategy and goals. Does he want to simply stay in the game? Does he want to be a player? Or does he want to do something good, not for the hollow shell of the Republic of China (ROC), but for Taiwan? The latter is possible, but is Soong up to it? ...

Ma Ying-joke Government Passes the Buck Again
Sunday August 14

Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-joke likes to brag that he has reduced tension in the Taiwan Strait and that he has opened Taiwan up for tourism etc. If there are problems with the Chinese tourists of course Ma Ying-joke does not take responsibility for the Pandora's Box that he opened. One of the past examples of Ma letting Taiwanese pay for what he boasts that he did was that Chinese tourists wanted to come on the cheap. Rather than offend the cheap Chinese, Ma's government let the Taiwanese travel agents and companies bear the extra burden of cost for finding cheaper places that had extra transportation requirements because they would be much out of the way. ...

Revisiting the Past and Assessing Ma the Incompetent
Thursday August 11

Politics is a strange business; some can get elected and never really accomplish that much but depend on their spin doctors and PR agents to cast a spell over a public that never asks deep questions. On this site you have seen several letters to President Ma pointing out how he lives by spin rather than by performance. I recommend also that one go to this site for the August 3, 2011 posting. It does a comprehensive look at the numerous times Ma has been called to task; the accumulation of such may be surprising to some. http://taiwanmatters.blogspot.com ...

Leaving Taiwan, Economics, the Dutch VOC and the Rest of the Story
Sunday August 07

What made the Dutch East India Company (VOC) leave Taiwan? Ask any Taiwanese school boy versed in his history and he will tell you that Zheng Cheng-gong (aka Koxinga and son of Zheng Zhi-long/Iquan) fleeing the Manchu takeover of China came to Taiwan with a force of some 25,000 men in 1661. After a nine month siege, he captured Fort Zeelandia (Anping) and thus forced the Dutch out of Taiwan. All well and good, but that rendering is not entirely accurate. True, Koxinga, who died that same year, did capture Fort Zeelandia in 1662, and true the Dutch left. But few books continue on and relate how the Dutch returned in 1664 and took Keelung. Once there they re-built the former Spanish Fort San Salvador, named it Fort Noord Holland and set up shop in hopes of establishing trade with the Manchu Qing. Ironically, it would be that same Manchu Qing government in Beijing and not Zheng's successors that would be responsible for making the Dutch decide to leave Taiwan for good in 1668. The Dutch side of how all that happened is brought out in greater detail in two recent books published in late 2010.

KMT Leaders Display Lack of Sense of What Democracy is About
Saturday August 06

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou who stumbles as he tries to maintain that the shell name of the Republic of China (ROC) is a viable entity allegedly respected in the world and the legitimate claimant of what is really "one China," will also state that he is Taiwanese whenever election time draws near. But this year he has added another claim when he stated that he is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. Amazing of course that he traced that ancestry back through Hong Kong all the way to some 2000 plus years past. Somehow I guess he felt that if he is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor then Taiwanese should bow down and automatically elect him. ...

Ma Ying-jeou's Political Manipulations Draw Another Open Letter
Wednesday August 03

As the presidential campaign heats up, President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan continues to use his minions to attempt to squash any criticism or opposition. In word, he professes he is not involved, but in reality, he has those under him carry out the dirty work; the timing of the indictment of Lee Teng-hui after 16 years is but one example of a continuing form of harassment; as a result, some thirty plus scholars and writers take him to task with this open letter. ...

Taiwan's "Seediq Bale" gets nod for 68th Venice International Film Festival
Sunday July 31

A Taiwanese film, "Seediq Bale" has been selected to show at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. This film directed by Wei Te-sheng will aid in bringing the true history, plight and identity of Taiwan into the public's eye and indirectly put to the lie the claim that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the mythic Chinese motherland. ...

Taiwan's MOFA, in Need of Reform: Is Life on the Beach that Boring?
Friday July 29

At a time when Taiwan deeply needs skilled diplomats to help make its place in the world, it appears that MOFA's members are either asleep at the wheel as Taiwan's sovereignty is marginalized or they are turning into scam artists. The latest case appears to be the former representative to Fiji, Victor Chin. ...

Ma's Young Troops, Another "Taiwan Up" Experience
Thursday July 28

Back in Taiwan after a refreshing ten days in Switzerland so I will be posting again in earnest. The papers had a photo of Ma's Young Supporters trying to look hip by posing with signs saying "I'm a ROC-er" Someone does need to get them an English consultant. It reminds us of the New Year when Ma and Taipei Mayor Hau went around chanting "Taiwan Up!" which caused its own confusion since it could among other things be confused with the more vulgar expression, "Up Yours!" making one wonder "Taiwan Up What?" Regardless, here were Ma's young not saying that they were Taiwanese, but preferring to stick with the outmoded ROC moniker which represents the country that left the UN before it got kicked out back in 1970. ...

Taiwan's Diane Lee, Is She Guilty Not Only of Fraud, But Also Perjury?
Friday July 15

Taiwan citizens currently find themselves turning aside from the Lee Teng-hui indictment case and refocusing on the case of another Lee. That case is the forgery case of Diane Lee, who was found guilty of, shall we say, ripping the country off of some $US 3.5 million dollars. Lee's guilty verdict has come up for appeal. Diane Lee had to resign from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and from the Legislature because of the case, but now she is tearfully trying to argue that she worked hard for her illegal money. By such bogus reasoning then, she wants to be allowed to keep the money as well as to avoid the two years in prison. Whatever her wishful pleas are, from all the facts thus far revealed, the opposite is true. Diane Lee is not only guilty of fraud but also it appears of what should be an additional charge of perjury. For any judge who is without political bias, this should be a slam dunk, guilty as charged, collect the money and send her off to jail case. Taiwan should not spend any more time on it. ...

As the World Turns: Taiwan Politics and China
Thursday July 14

Ma Ying-jeou and his election campaign team are trying to lesson the DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen about what is the proper way to advertise oneself to the electorate. Tsai had declared that she was Taiwanese indicating that she would definitely be for Taiwan if elected and having to negotiate with China on numerous matters. Ma's team objected and cried that Tsai was being devisive by saying that she was Taiwanese when running for President of Taiwan. Say what? Should we go through that once again? ...

Election Time Taiwan; Ma Ying-joke's Dilemma
Friday July 08

Election time is fast approaching in Taiwan and no one is struggling more to balance things than Taiwan's President, Ma Ying-jeou, (a.k.a. Ma Ying-joke to some of his detractors) Ma who also has the name of "Sell-out Ma" had been boasting about his make friends-with-China is working, now all of a sudden has become conscious that it may be reinforcing his sell out image. Thus he has told China that he wants them to slow down their visits until after the election. ...

The Next Step: Taiwan Needs New Leadership for 2012
Friday July 01

The January 2012 presidential elections draw near and Taiwan's citizens must do some serious soul searching. As they look back at the past four years under Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) president Ma Ying-jeou, basic questions must be asked. "Is Taiwan better off now than it was back in 2008? Has the economy and overall status of the nation improved significantly since Ma's infamous 6-3-3 promise?" No president could have stepped into office with a better position and with better support than Ma. Not only did he receive some 58 per cent of the vote, but also by disproportionate representation in the Legislative Yuan (the pan-blue alliance had only 54 per cent of the vote), Ma was able to get an unstoppable 76 per cent majority of the seats. With this majority Ma should have achieved anything he wanted; he could have established any desired progressive programs. What more could a president ask for? This was the ticket for great achievement. Progress would be a walk in the park for an average president; for a competent president it would mean fantastic strides for Taiwan, so what happened? Instead of four years of wished for progress, Taiwan has had four years of mediocre stagnation.

Ma Ying-jeou's "Do Nothing" Promises Deceive Taiwan
Saturday June 25

A recently released WikiLeaks cable revealed yet another set of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou's strange and vacuous negative promises that in effect define him as a "do-nothing president," that is, a president who attempts to be a good little boy that will sit in the corner vis-à-vis the US-China-Taiwan triangular relationship and not rock the boat or try to offend anyone. This latest revelation, dated March 20, 2009, a year after Ma's taking the presidency referenced three promises Ma made through staff to American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt. Ma's first set of three strange, empty "do nothing" pledges were made when Ma had become president. Both sets of promises demand closer examination for they not only reflect Ma's characteristic avoidance in taking an accountable position on anything but they also imply an obtuse simple-mindedness on the part of anyone who accepts his words as noteworthy.

The 1992 Consensus, a Fabricated Continuation of China's Civil War
Wednesday June 22

China's Civil War ended in 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and drove them into exile. Call them Diaspora, a rump government or a government in exile, the KMT came and set up a one-party state on Taiwan (then vacated by Japan); there they licked their wounds vowing that they would return and take China. If they could not hold China when they were in China, then of course there was no way that the KMT could come back and retake China. Fortunately the Korean War broke out and the presence of the US Seventh Fleet in the Taiwan Strait saved the KMT from this embarrassing dilemma. ...

Taiwan's Judicial Reform, the First Step
Sunday June 19

Taiwan still carries a lot of baggage from its past one-party state days under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). One particularly large piece of that baggage has been the nation's need for judicial reform. This need had been long evident but it could only begin to be met after Martial Law was lifted in 1987. Nonetheless, efforts to address it with appropriate legislation had proven futile. Finally however in this current legislative session a bill, called the "Judge Act," was finally passed. What has spurred on this change? There have been several forces at work; one has certainly been and continues to be public awareness of the problem. ...

Ma's Chinese Tourists, Just What Are They Here For?
Saturday June 18

Before the Pearl Harbor attack, part of Japan's plan was to send tourists to Hawaii to map out where the battleship berths were, where the airfields were etc. etc. and know the whole military layout. From this and other means they were able to build a mock copy of Pearl Harbor and so plan how to attack and do the most damage. Obviously they were successful.

Anomalies of China? They Keep Mounting.
Friday June 17

Tibet has been "liberated" by China for over half a century right? Why then with this grand liberation does China have to close the borders of Tibet to foreigners once again? Such are the anomalies of China or are they? ...

Taiwan's Tao Prepare to Hail Part of Taiwan's Past
Tuesday June 14

Taiwan is an island nation with a rich, past that most are not that aware of. For example, current research is pointing more and more to how linguistically and by DNA Taiwan is the origin of the vast Austronesian Empire that extends from Madagascar to Easter Island. Similarly, Taiwan is seen as the origin of the Lapita Culture that extends throughout the islands of the Pacific. But the natural question arises, how could Taiwanese travel from Taiwan to all those islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans in spurts beginning some 5000 years or more ago? Today's Tao people who dwell primarily on Orchid Island are preparing to demonstrate how. ...

Taiwan's Past Corruption under the KMT was Big Time Corruption
Saturday June 11

Well it seems that if Taiwan's military under Ma Ying-jeou are not running off to China to be buddy-buddy with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), then their past big time corruption under the KMT is coming back to haunt them. ...

More Questions on Just How is Ma Ying-jeou's China Policy Working?
Thursday June 09

Forget for the moment how Ma keeps telling us that his rapprochement with China is working because Taiwan was admitted as an observer into WHA, but we find out later that WHO had already sent out a letter that Taiwan was to be treated as "a province of China." So how exactly is this working and how exactly is Ma defending Taiwan's sovereignty as he claims. ...

Tales of the Bandits Taiwan-style, the KMT and PFP
Tuesday June 07

Chen Shui-bian sits in jail for supposedly misusing campaign funds and supposedly accepting bribes though it seems now that the Prosecutors brow-beat the witnesses to falsify testimony against him. (One has already admitted to that via his lawyers) Not to worry, on the KMT side of the aisle James Soong who was accused of making off with US$8 million dollars of KMT campaign funds in what is called the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal is all of a sudden forgiven by the KMT, and prosecutors for misuse and pocketing of campaign funds are no where to be found. Now why is that? ...

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Verges on Being a "Useful Idiot"
Saturday June 04

What is it about the US Military that so many of them seem to be totally ignorant of US commitments and policies as well as of the history and nature of China. Last week it was Admiral Mullen, now the latest faux pas came from no other than their leader, the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Gates claimed knowledge of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA)but then he implied that the new US policy would be to make the US commitments subject to the "sensitivities of China." ...

Chiayi Man Runs Marathons in Slippers: a Taiwan Miracle in Itself
Thursday June 02

There are times that one should look away from politics and the troubles of the world and examine the achievements of the human spirit. Such a case is Chen Ching-shun who hails from Chiayi County, Taiwan. Chen started running marathons when he was around 50 years old; now at age 53 he has run 42. That translates into 14 marathons a year. Few people have run even one in their lives. But there is more to the story. ...

VP Vincent Siew Bows Out, Saving Face for Himself, the KMT and Ma
Wednesday June 01

It has been an accepted fact in Taiwan for the past months that Vincent Siew would not be Ma Ying-jeou's Vice-Presidential running mate in the upcoming 2012 elections. In 2008, Siew had been brought onto Ma's ticket as added value; he helped Ma to keep ties with the old guard Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and he was to give the people economic confidence that Ma's 6-3-3 promise would be a slam dunk affair. His added value dissipated after the elections and Siew was relegated to a minor role. It wasn't necessarily his fault, but it was clear he had no cachet for Ma in 2012. It was either bow out or be dumped. ...

What Made Nan Fang Shuo Change? Ma's Lack of Core Values?
Monday May 30

There are many ways that Ma Ying-jeou and his leadership style have been characterized in the past. Ma has been called the "Phony Pony," "Ma Ying-joke," "The Chameleon on a Wind Sock" etc.; the list goes on and on. A recent interview with political commentator Nan Fang Shuo, published in Mandarin in the "Liberty Times," and then in English in the "Taipei Times" ("Ma Shifts with the Political Winds: Nan Fang Shuo," May 29, 2011) adds to the list. Nan Fang Shuo addresses how Ma's logic is "to say no independence to the people wishing for unification, and saying no unification to the people wanting independence. This sort of taking advantage by playing word-games is not a government that takes responsibility." ...

Chiu Yi, Some Pre-election Grandstanding or Will He Carry Through
Saturday May 28

Chiu Yi normally serves as the KMT attack dog, who because of his position in the Legislative Yuan (LY) has a certain immunity for the wild accusations and slurs that he often fills the air with. (Note also that he is not an elected member of the LY but has a party appointed legislator at large position). But Chiu Yi was in the news recently for filing a law suit against former defense minister Chen Chao-min. ...

Another Product of the US Naval War College or What?
Monday May 23

Once again we find a US Military officer making a large gaffe in expressing his mis-speaking on how he looks forward to a "peaceful re-unification" of Taiwan and China and totally mis-interpreting the USA's "one China" policy. The case in point was Admiral Mullen USN speaking after the visit of Chinese military brass to the USA. ...

KMT Corruption Still Evident; How Deep are the Police Involved in it?
Sunday May 22

When will Taiwanese wake up to the numerous ways that the KMT corruption pervades the island? It has been months since the shooting of KMT Sean Lien, Lien Chan's son. The police have made no progress, or do they really want to? Are they afraid what Taiwanese will see as the ever present remains of KMT corruption? ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: Mid-may Mania
Thursday May 19

Two big items have been keeping the media busy in Taiwan this past week: in one, another KMT official exhibited the haughty, carpetbagger attitude that the KMT waishengren have for things Taiwanese. In the past people like Kuo Kuan-ying, then working for the Government Information Office (GIO) insulted Taiwanese by calling them rednecks who should be happy to learn from the elite KMT who ironically Taiwan took in after they got beat on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. ...

How Long Must Taiwan Reap What Others Sow?
Thursday May 12

There are times in listening to world leaders that one wonders whether they are being simplistic, blind, naïve, or even duplicitous in their assessment of the world and its economy. A case in point recently came when Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd visited Washington D.C. Rudd chatted with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then spoke at the Brookings Institute. In his speech Rudd stressed the importance of bringing China into international institutions. Rudd's reason of course was that the world economy depended on it. This bears deeper examination. ...

Ma Ying-jeou, the Puppet of Beijing
Tuesday May 10

Once again, Taiwan has witnessed that the word of Ma Ying-joke is a hollow as an empty gourd. After years of Ma telling the Taiwanese that he is protecting its sovereignty, that he would not mention independence and that he would not move toward unification, reality exposes his deception. Ma touted that the observer status that he has gained Taiwan as Chinese Taipei in the World Health Assembly (WHA) was a great achievement. A recent memo reveals that this was and still is a sham. ...

Ma Continues the KMT Belittling of Taiwan's Aborigines
Monday May 09

Ma Ying-jeou continued to express his Han chauvinistic prejudice in recent remarks to the aboriginal community. It was bad enough to hear his past telling the aborigines that they need to move into the city where they will receive a proper education on being civilized. Somehow he had implied that living in nature and on one's ancestral lands automatically made one uncivilized and a barbarian. But this time Ma went beyond just speaking on locale determining brains. This time he may have thought he was complimenting them, but that is Ma logic and Han chauvinism. ...

Taichung, Jason 'Good-Time'Charlie' Hu Dodges One Impeachment Bullet So Far
Thursday May 05

Taichung, the city where you get the crap that you voted for has continued to have bad days recently. It seems, that the chickens have finally started to come home to roost in that city as noted by recent events. Both involved the KMT Mayor of eight years and voted in for another four years who had just dodged an impeachment bullet. The issue was the pub fire recently written about. To refresh reader's memories,on March 6 a dancer at ALA Pub accidentally set fire to a ceiling during a performance. Fires happen, but this pub had not been properly zoned for a long time, and it had somehow managed to pass safety inspections in the past 10 years; some 21 in the past 5 years, the most recent just being in December. ...

Taiwan, the Ma Government Wants the Media to Serve it
Tuesday May 03

Taiwan has recently been facing media problems where the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is using its pan-blue media to run pro-KMT ad-verts as actual news stories. Other pan-blue media are publishing items straight from Xinhua News, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) news organ as if they are regular news. As Freedom House has noted, the press freedom in Taiwan has continued to drop since Ma Ying-jeou became president. Yet, once again, Taiwan faces another situation where it appears that not only does the horse not know how long his face is, but those who serve the horse do not either. In fact they seem to be trying to force the public to accept the fact that the horse really has a short face. What are we talking about? The case involves how a reporter for SET-TV exposed a fake pro-Ma PR scheme. Instead of being praised for good journalism, the reporter and his TV station are being criticized for exposing the truth. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: KMT Legislator John Chiang Wants a Return to Cronyism
Sunday May 01

In recent developments in the KMT selection process for the legislature, John Chiang lost a close race to Lo Shu-lei. Though Chiang is the illegitimate son of Chiang Ching-kuo and is called "John the Illegitimate by some," he has still used family connections to keep him on the payroll. Now when the good old boy cronyism did not come trough for him he is crying foul. ...

Is the Ma Government Blowing Smoke to Cover its Tracks? Part III
Tuesday April 26

As was mentioned in the previous post, the TECO offices around the world were directed to contact signers of the Open Letter to Ma and both ask them if they really did sign it and that their name was not a forgery; further they were directed to invite them to come in and discuss why they felt that way about the Ma administration. One of the signers, Dr. Richard Kagan was asked if he would come to the Chicago office from his home in Dent, Minnesota; he declined but sent the following letter which encapsulates much of the thinking of the group that sent the letter. They are not questioning that Taiwan has laws, but that those laws are being applied selectively and with a double standard. Somehow, the Ma government just doesn't get it. ...

Is the Ma Government Blowing Smoke to Cover its Tracks? Part II
Monday April 25

On April 10 and 11, 2011, some 34 scholars and writers sent an open letter to Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou. (Reference it by scrolling down below to April 11 to see all the details.) Barely was the letter published, when minions of the Ma government responded in exactly the same way that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of China responds when any of its abuses of human rights and the right of law are questioned. So close in wording and method were the responses of the two countries that they seem to have been taken from the same handbook of authoritarianism. First of course there was the claim that it is illegal for foreigners to comment on the ROC or the PRC internal affairs. Next followed the procedure of questioning the authenticity of the letter and stated suspicions that a nefarious plot was afoot. Finally there was the disbelief that the government's care for its people could be questioned whether it was by dissident Tibetans, Uighurs, or Falun Gong. Or as in the case of Taiwan, that Ma's government that it would ever stoop and base its actions on political motivation. ...

Is the Ma Government Blowing Smoke to Cover its Tracks? What is it Hiding? Part 1
Tuesday April 19

With less than a year to go before elections, the Ma government is claiming that there are some 36,000 missing documents that are unaccounted for between the Chen turnover of administration in 2008 and the present time 2011. They claim this is not political but their explanations are lame. Picture the following. ...

Taiwan: Lies, Lies, Who is Telling the Lies? China News Agency? Joe Hung?
Sunday April 17

A recent development in Taiwan is the report and/or accusation that Wang Dan the Chinese dissident received some US$400,000 in subsidies from former DPP president, Chen Shui-bian. The report was published without evidence by the China News Agency (CNA), an agency in Taiwan that has steadily been losing its credibility since pan-blue shill, Joe Hung was appointed as its head. Hung has been a long time proponent of the glories of Chiang Kai-shek and a pro-unificationist of Taiwan with China. Many view Hung's appointment as a reward for his years in being as is seen by many one of the most steadfast pan-blue shills. ...

Taiwan, Isn't It Time to Rid Yourself of the KMT Carpetbaggers and Their One-Party State Jackals Once and For All?
Friday April 15

Ah for the good old days of the KMT one-party state, where carpetbaggers could keep the best positions, land and state assets for themselves and if any dissenting or questioning voices were heard they could be jailed and sent to Green Island. Poor Bo Yang, he spent nine years on Green Island because he published a simple satirical cartoon questioning the right of privilege of certain of the KMT leaders. Well, it certainly seems that the KMT regrets that it was dragged kicking and screaming into allowing a democracy in Taiwan. Now as legitimate questions of the selective application of rule of law and the use of a double standard of justice arise, the KMT wants to squelch dissent. ...

The Ma Government Continues to Try to Return Taiwan to the One-party State Days of the KMT
Wednesday April 13

In big and small ways, the government of Ma Ying-jeou is trying to squelch any and all opposite or critical thought. It seems they wish to return to their old one-party state days where they tried to control the thinking of the people. The latest development is in the simple matter of the tour guides at the Presidential Palace. ...

Scholars Once Again Question the Ma Government on its Anti-Democratic Abuse of Power
Monday April 11

Most people in Taiwan have short memories. For example, the Control Yuan is Taiwan's watchdog agency. It is supposed to be free of political and party bias and influence. The members serve six year terms. They are appointed by the President and approved by the Legislative Yuan. Herein lies the conflict. From February 2005 the KMT controlled Legislative Yuan refused to approve any nominees of DPP President Chen Shui-bian to the Control Yuan. In 2005 Ma Ying-jeou became Chairman of the KMT and they continued this policy on up to 2008 when Ma became president and could make the nominees himself and have them rubber-stamped by the KMT controlled Legislative Yuan. For three years 2005 to 2008, the country suffered with a minimalist Control Yuan as members terms expired and no replacements were made. The KMT would rather that Taiwan have no governmental watch dog if it could not be dominated by "their people." Now the KMT appointed Control Yuan is being used by the president to harass the opposition. It is things like this that have prompted another letter by the scholars and writers below. ...

Taiwan's "China Post", Newspaper, is it Turning Red?
Saturday April 09

Taiwan's China Post (CP) newspaper has long had the reputation of being a "Pan-blue rag" among many in the ex-pat community of Taiwan. The paper originated in the 1950s and somehow seemed to navigate through the long period of White Terror, Martial Law and one-party state rule of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)without ever offending the powers that be. While many democracy advocates were being sent to Green Island or jailed and tortured, the China Post went blithely on its way. Many felt it substituted as the English spokesperson of the KMT, preaching the KMT propaganda and justification for one-party state rule. Even in the past decade when democracy took hold of the island,the China Post wanted to preach the questionable glories of the KMT, downplay its vast corruption and parrot the party line. ...

Ma Wants to be Seen as Predident, but He Really Does Not Want to be Responsible for Anything.
Friday April 08

Taiwan once again went through one of those questionable "Say what??" matters as regards its president. Ma Ying-jeou is the one who was "shocked" yes absolutely "shocked" when a half a million US$ got into his bank account. Of course it was his secretary's fault and Ma neither knew anything about it or even questioned it until it became public. Then he was "shocked." So what now? ...

Hsu Hsin-liang, a Man for All Junkets
Saturday April 02

Whether one is blue or green, there is a moneyed side to Taiwan politics that few know about and maybe even fewer want to know about. As in other countries, within that moneyed side are the financers and contributors who look for and support marketers who will promote their vested interests. These contributors search out people who regardless of party, will act on their behalf in the spotlight allowing them to remain in the background. On the receiving side of these contributions are the marketers (more coarsely the shills) who like chameleons can change color depending where the money is. Taiwan has several of these chameleons but perhaps the master bar none is Hsu Hsin-liang. ...

Taiwan, Ah the Justice of it All
Thursday March 31

The Diane Lee case is once again in the news. Surprisingly, the courts have excused her the illegal salaries she collected for a position that she was not legally qualified to hold. That of City Councilor. The rationale supposedly is that she did the work; well and good, but if a person holds a position illegally what does that say about their character and whether they would not be trying to do other illegal things or even aiming for their and their friends benefits? ...

Three Cheers for Canada: as the World Turns
Saturday March 26

A recent article in the papers indicated that Canadian MPs took more expense paid trips to Taiwan than any other country. I must say I was a bit surprised at that, but then I was more surprised to find that the next and second most popular country that Canadian MPs took expense paid trips to was Israel. There can be all sorts of speculation on the why and wherefore of such. Such trips are made to gather information and both Taiwan and Israel are trouble spots that one would want information on. ...

What Arrogant Darkness Still Remains in the Hearts of Many KMT?
Tuesday March 22

Who has not wondered at the twisted minds of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)? How they could easily inflict 2/28, the White Terror and Martial Law on Taiwanese simply because they wanted to maintain their one-party state? Who has not wondered at what arrogant darkness filled certain KMT hearts that they could order and sanction the high profile murders in the 1980s, Chen Wen-cheng, Henry Liu and especially the Lin family children? Who has not hoped that after Taiwan won its democracy, the KMT might finally have changed? Unfortunately arrogance dies hard, and even though the KMT can no longer openly insist on its sense of entitlement and privilege, the arrogance remains. It cannot remain hidden. ...

China Expects the World to Pay for Its Draconian Measures
Wednesday March 16

While the Japanese tsunami is taking front and center news; everyone is also aware of the past earthquake in New Zealand and the tragic deaths there as well. The New Zealand government has an existing government accident insurance fund to compensate families of foreign nationals that were killed in what is sometimes termed "an act of God" or a natural disaster. What comes as a surprise and fits in the "Am-I-missing-something" category is the Chinese response to this. ...

Taichung as the World Turns: Who will Take the Blame for Hu?
Tuesday March 15

More of the did-I-miss-something scenarios are coming out of Taichung, a city that competes for Taiwan's version of Sodom and Gommorah. First Huang Chong-dian, the chief of the Urban Development Department and two other city officials tendered their resignations because of the fire at the ALA pub that killed 9 and injured 12. The hazardous pub that had miraculously passed safety code inspections had gone up like a tinder-box; it also had been consistently mis-zoned in the city. Jason Hu said he would only accept the resignations after an investigation had been concluded. Here is where the obfuscation begins. ...

Ma Ying-jeou's Leadership by Platitudes, Confucius and the MOE
Tuesday March 08

Jason Hu's lax leadership may finally be catching up with him in Taichung but in another side of the nation state of Taiwan we see the repercussions of Ma Ying-jeou's leadership by platitudes. Faced with problems of widespread bullying, drug use and gang problems in the nation's high schools, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has come up with a suspect placebo cure, have the students read Confucius. ...

Are the Chickens Coming Home to Roost in Jason Hu's Taichung?
Monday March 07

Taichung was once again in the news in Taiwan. This time for a pub fire where nine died and 12 were injured. Good old Jason Hu was there also--yes the same mayor that after nine and a half years said it was time for action, time to clean up crime in his city. This time, Hu said that they must find an answer. No one would disagree with that but where? ...

Jason Hu, Taichung, Add Road Rage to Common Crimes
Monday February 28

Voters do get what they deserve and it seems the citizens of Taichung are happy with their rising crime rates. If you remember, after nine years, the return elected Jason Hu said that he would finally get down to cleaning up the crime record of the city. His already famous quote "Now is the time for action, not declaration" still shows that after nine years, action is not there. Road rage has entered the long list of crimes in Taichung. ...

Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council and the Flag: More Am I Missing Something?
Saturday February 26

Chen Yun-lin is in town and is getting his share of protesters. The Straits Exchange Foundation and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait have been trying to iron out matters on ECFA, but we are reminded of past meetings and the statement of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) last December. At that time they suggested that people should not be apprehended if they bring the national flag to the cross-strait talks. The burning question however is, "Who is the MAC talking to?" Why does the MAC feel they have to explain that it should be OK for the national flag, which represents the country, to have that flag present at talks that involve the country of Taiwan and are held in Taiwan? ...

Taiwan: Jason Hu and the Am I Missing Something Department
Thursday February 24

Jason Hu has been mayor of Taichung for eight years; he was just recently elected Mayor of the expanded Greater Taichung area. During that time, Taichung has gained the top reputation for sleeze, criminality, and all around lack of order in Taiwan. The police have regularly played mahjong with the gangsters, that is until it became too dangerous. When Weng Chi-nan was shot by other criminals, Jason Hu's Men in Blue were seen diving for cover. As a result the games seem to have been suspended. Taichung's police don't mind collecting money from criminals but they really don't want to get in the way of their turf wars. ...

Western Naivete, Taiwan and China's Continuous Manipulation of Confucianism
Wednesday February 16

While China continues to open more and more Confucian Institutes (read that propaganda forums) around the world, within China itself, the past spirit and soul of Confucianism spirals downward in confusion as real politik governmental manipulations and fiats bounce against reality. The unchanging hierarchical structure of Confucianism has always made it easy prey for authoritarian rulers to justify their regimes and explain their fiats and lack of rule by law. Today's world of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is no exception, but sooner or later the chickens of those fiats and dictatorial efforts do come home to roost. ...

Another Slap in the Face for Taiwan under Ma Ying-joke
Sunday February 13

The farce and the charade of Taiwan's president Ma continue increasing the reasons why the people call him Ma Ying-joke. Take for example the bogus 1992 Consensus. In a statement issued yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC)proudly stated that its negotiations with China were conducted under the framework of the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and not any "one China" policy. The MAC continued that it has upheld the sovereignty and dignity of Taiwan and that exchanges with China are conducted under the 1992 Consensus, a consensus that everyone (except Ma and his government) acknowledges was made up. ...

Taiwanese Karma or China's Discarding Those It No Longer Needs?
Wednesday February 09

Call it fate, payback or chance, the past Year of the Tiger was not kind to the family of Lien Chan. Though the year officially ended in 2011, by December 2010 the tiger's damage had been done. Was it a belated Taiwanese karma, an example of what goes around, comes around? The Lien family was never known to be fond of the island. This is not to say that they have not profited from Taiwan; in true carpetbagger fashion, they profited immensely, but their hearts always dwelt on the other land across the Taiwan Strait. Thus at years end, Lien Chan was exposed as a patsy for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and his son unfortunately took a bullet in the cheek at a Taiwanese political rally. ...

Ho Hum, Another Insult to Taiwan, Thanks to Ma Ying-joke
Friday February 04

For those who live in Taiwan and even those in other parts of the world, the population has had to listen to the droning pseudo claims of its sometime president Ma Ying-jeou that he has reduced tension in the Taiwan Strait. In one sense, yes tension has been reduced and the answer is simple. China no longer has to put the screws to Taiwan because Ma has kowtowed in obedience to China's whims. Since Taiwan will no longer stand up for its dignity, China can now put the screws to other countries in the region. ...

Creole, Syncretic or Hybrid? Taiwan, Understanding an Identity in Process, Part II
Tuesday January 25

In these troubled times, Taiwanese know they are different but they may not always be able to verbalize how different they are. From the Japanese era on, Taiwanese had begun to gain a unified sense of their difference. At that time, unlike under Qing rule, the Hoklo, Hakka and indigenous people realized that they should not let outside rulers play one group against the other. They became united in forging an identity. Thus, as Taiwan now distances itself from the martial law, propaganda and attempted indoctrination of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) one-party state, its citizens feel more free to claim their true identity—Taiwanese. In this process they should examine three terms, creolism, syncretism and hybridization. ...

Taiwan, Understanding an Identity in Process, Part I
Monday January 24

What is Taiwan's identity? What does it mean to be Taiwanese? At a recent conference in Taiwan, "Democracy Building in Interesting Times" a speaker spoke accordingly, "Here we don't have the issue of one China, two systems; we have the problem of one China and two Taiwans." Mixing humor with reality he succinctly presented the current challenge of Taiwan's identity between its growing pro-independence minded democrats and the leftover unificationists of its one-party state days.

Taiwan as the World Turns: the KMT and Gangsters, a Past that Won't Go Away
Saturday January 22

The investigation into the shooting of Sean Lien this past election eve is proving to raise more questions than it is answering. With contradictory claims and accusations as well as questionable methods, Taiwan finds that once again the tawdry and murky world of the relations between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and gangsters is not a thing of the past by any means. This is so despite the thin veneer of respectability with which Ma Ying-jeou always attempts to cloak his party. ...

Breaking News, KMT Secretary General King Pu-tsung Resigns
Tuesday January 18

There apparently is trouble in River City folks as today, KMT Secretary General and chief snake-oil salesman King Pu-tsung resigned without any advance warning, and right after he had admonished a couple of KMT regulars for not being good soldiers. There is certainly more to this that will come out in the coming days; it all depends on how much dirty laundry the KMT and its cohorts will reveal. ...

It is Time to Rid Taiwan or the Many Vestiges of the KMT's One Party State
Monday January 17

In today's world, I know of no investment fund, insurance policies, trust funds or investment brokers that will guarantee their clients a guaranteed 18.5 percent interest income for a year, let alone for life. Yet this is what Taiwan is saddled with from the KMT's one-party state days. It is time for everyone to face up to not only this burden on all the tax-payers of Taiwan, but also to examine carefully how many of the injustices and privileges of the KMT one-party state days still exist in the country. ...

KMT Government Still Out of Step with Policies: What Does it Tell Us?
Sunday January 16

Taiwan has hundreds, perhaps thousands, of foreign students from a wide variety of foreign countries studying at its universities. These students come, take their classes, experience the country and go away richer. But now that the Ma government seeks to get Chinese students into Taiwan universities (providing some with greater benefits than those for Taiwanese themselves), all of a sudden problems arise on the horizon. Any self-respecting Taiwanese should therefore have a lot of questions to ask why its government right hand does not seem to know what the left is doing. ...

KMT 18 Per Cent Party Bonus: Time to Face Up
Thursday January 13

When a minority party such as the KMT with their 2 million people coming to Taiwan in 1949 wishes to control a majority population with a one-party state they need more than guns, martial law, and a dictatorial regime. They need a way to buy off the many people that will run the government, the military, and the schools. The KMT's answer to this was to give them a perk (18 per cent interest on their retirement money)in exchange for letting the KMT control the big money making schemes and kick-backs on all the projects and control over all other financial support given by countries like the USA. ...

Taiwan: Men without Jobs and Other Stories
Friday January 07

In one of those strange cultural matters that are hard to interpret, Shih Ming-teh, a former DPP chairman chose an unusual way to celebrate his 70th birthday on January 15. Shih unveiled a photo of him lying naked with his two naked daughters lying on top of him. The photo is titled "three layers of meat," again a strange way for a father to refer to himself and his two naked daughters. I leave that for Taiwanese to interpret Shih's mind and intentions. What I wish to focus on are two related matters. ...

Taiwan and the 2011 Centennial: 100 years of What?
Tuesday January 04

2011 Yes, 2011 has been designated a centennial year for Taiwan to celebrate; but as it celebrates 100 years, Taiwanese need to examine more closely just what it is that they are being asked to celebrate 100 years of? Certainly 1911 marked the year that the Manchu Empire (a.k.a. the Qing Dynasty) and dynastic rule in China began its final crumbling in the Xinhai Revolution. From that the Republic of China (ROC) was born and on January 1, 1912 Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated provisional president of the new republic. But that republican birth was short-lived. Call it a still birth or abortion since not all provinces agreed with the revolution. In the next month (February) the dictatorial Yuan shih-kai would be the one who forced the actual abdication of the Emperor Puyi and that was in a brokered deal. ...

Lee Teng-hui Celebrates his 90th Birthday: Who Wasn't There?
Monday January 03

Lee Teng-hui, a man who played a key role in helping Taiwan achieve its democracy, celebrated his 90th Birthday. As president of Taiwan from 1988 to 2000, and in helping Taiwan's democracy, Lee made two crucial decisions; first he brought to an end (1992)the iron rice bowl positions of KMT legislators elected in 1947 and second he insisted that the president be elected by the people and not selected by legislators (1996); at that time he would have been guaranteed the position by the KMT dominated legislature but he chose to be elected by the people. ...

Golden Bough Theatre Performs Enjoyable "Sayonara My Love"
Sunday January 02

This recent Christmas Day I had the pleasure to watch the Golden Bough Theatre's thought provoking production of "Sayonoara My Love." The Taiwanese opera-style musical takes place near Jiufan right after WWII ends. Some Taiwanese soldiers int he service of the Japanese Empire are digging for gold and are unaware of the war's end. Along comes a traveling female opera group who stumble upon them. As romance blossoms among some, the women deliberate as to whether or how they should tell the men that the war is over. ...

Sean Lien's Shooting: How Many KMT Are in Bed with Gangsters?
Saturday January 01

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) filed three lawsuits contesting the KMT victories in the elections of the mayors of Taipei City, New Taipei City and Greater Taichung. Did the shooting of Sean Lien by an alleged gangster influence the results of those elections? That is the question of the lawsuits, but there is a deeper question. Who and how many KMT government officials continue to be in bed with gangsters in Taiwan? This is what it appears to be that the police (several of whom are also in bed with gangsters reference the past shootings in Taichung)are trying to slow the investigation and cover up. ...

Lee Teng-hui: One More Reason Why Ma is Called Ma Ying-joke
Monday December 27

Lee Teng-hui added his voice to the many and growing consensus of why Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou is called Ma Ying-joke. Ma continues to live in his fantasy lah-lah land and yet none of the sycophants surrounding him has the courage to tell the emperor that he has no clothes and/or tell the horse that his face is too long. The recent issue again is Ma's fantasy on the bogus Consensus of 1992. ...

Taiwan and the USA: from love to "no position," the vagary of vagaries
Monday December 27

This continues the post of December 5th (scroll back to see it) when AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt spoke to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. Burghardt praised Taiwan as the 9th largest trading partner of the USA with a 2-way volume of 46 billion US$. Unsaid was how the USA has helped Taiwan (the Republic of China) militarily in a wide variety of ways for over a half a century. And yet by the end of his speech, after stating proudly that Taiwan should have confidence in its role in the world, Burghardt said that the official position of the USA on Taiwan was "no position." Say what??? ...

Taiwan as the World Turns, Ma Ying-jeou Shuns Responsibility to Nation
Thursday December 23

It was another strange week in Taiwan. Chen Yunlin, the "Class C" (some even call him a Class Q) politician from China was here and the Ma government's growing desperation to have something to show after two and a half years was evident. Ma's people continued to fawn over Chen like he was a head of state. For Chen, coming to Taiwan has certainly saved Chen's lackluster career; the man who looks like an old greased-up Brill Creme ad was all smiles in appreciation. ...

Ma Ying-jeou Throws Chou Hsi-Wei a Bone.
Sunday December 19

The Phony Pony was once again in his element of waxing eloquent on trivia, non-sequiturs and BS. As loyal KMT puppy, Chou Hsi-wei, was set to leave his post as County Commissioner, Ma was there to throw him a bone by praising him for his alleged job well done, vision etc. etc. For those who know the incompetent Chou, it was all veneer and the questions that could be directed at Ma were some that even an elementary child would ask. ...

The USA, China, and North Korea, Tales of the Weird
Friday December 17

As the world turns in Asia, we once again find China invoking Tales of the Weird to defend its actions. Examine the recent past. North Korea has sunk a South Korean ship killing near half of its crew. Then North Korea shelled a South Korean island, again killing South Koreans. North Korea continues to build up its nuclear program, indicating that as a rogue state it wants more dangerous capabilities. North Korea is propped up and supported by China, so what does China do? China has the gall to suggest that the US help in defusing the situation that China helped create. ...

The US State Department, its Dupes, and the Chinese Gorilla
Sunday December 12

China is not a panda, despite the claims of the wannabe panda-hugger historians and advisors to the United States State Department. China is in reality a growing 800 lb. gorilla, bullying and buying its way through Asia and the world; in the process it tries to recapture the glory of past myths perpetuated by court historians. Ironically, in the gorilla's way is Taiwan, a nation that fought off a similar paternalistic autocratic gorilla to achieve its own democracy. It is Taiwan that exposes the hegemonic 800 lb. gorilla on the other side of the Taiwan Strait for what it is and it is Taiwan that can help deconstruct the gorilla.

The "Duh" Awakening of the US State Department on China and Taiwan
Saturday December 11

Those of us who watch Taiwan-US-China Relations closely are mildly amused at what we call the slow "Duh" awakening of the US State Department. What is the Duh awakening? The Duh awakening is observed in the past ten years of the US dealing with China with a misguided policy formulated on wishful thinking and fantasies instead of experience; US policy is influenced by panda-hugger opportunists who search for a gravy train in the lucrative markets of China. ...

Why Taiwanese Continue to Call Ma Ying-jeou the Phony Pony
Saturday December 11

Finally, finally, finally, after being sure that that was the way the wind was blowing, Ma Ying-jeou took the occasion of his speaking at the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award Ceremony to urge China to release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. Way back when Liu had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the most that Ma could muster was a mild statement of protest over Liu's incarceration. Now being convinced that the majority of nations wanted Liu's release, Ma had no choice but to join the chorus, very late indeed. ...

The KMT Blames the DPP for the KMT's Gangster Connections and Corruption: Go Figure???
Thursday December 09

Despite hundreds of witnesses, lie-detector tests, confessions and videos of the crime scene, the police seem no closer to solving the shooting of Sean Lien in the face and the killing of an innocent bystander at the KMT rally. Is it police incompetence or does the KMT government of Ma Ying-jeou not want the truth to come out? ...

AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt: Short Memories and Surprises Few People Talk About
Sunday December 05

AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt spoke at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Taipei, Taiwan recently. One point he brought up concerning the dealings between the USA and Taiwan was the fact that the US does not like surprises. No doubt, Burghardt was referencing the complaint that the US State Department often issued about some of the actions of Chen Shui-bian when he was president of Taiwan. This is a complaint that the Ma administration tried to exploit saying it would be more "open" in its dealings with all. ...

Taiwan and the Murder that Almost Never Really Happened.
Saturday December 04

A man was murdered in front of thousands of spectators at a KMT rally on election eve in Taiwan and yet it is treated as if it never happened. The death of the man has been barely acknowledged by the media and others. Who was he? How did he come in the line of fire? Why was he there? Numerous questions could be asked about 29-year-old Huang Yun-sheng, but no one even bothers to ask. ...

US Navy War College Professor Joins List of China Apologists, Why?
Thursday December 02

Anyone who deals with Chinese will sooner or later hear them mournfully bemoan their "Century of Humiliation" and the "Unequal Treaties of the Opium War." These are historical events long past; they date back more than a century ago. Yet you never hear Chinese complain about more current things that were more destructive and outweigh those events. Take for example the shame of how some 30 million Chinese died under Mao's failed programs or the humiliation of how the harmony of their society was ripped apart by the Cultural Revolution. You also don't hear serious concern over the SARS cover-up that endangered the world or any shame over things like the recent 100,000 plus Chinese that caught AIDS because government programs allowed multiple uses of needles. Why? ...

Taiwan Post Election Comments
Monday November 29

The elections are past; the pundits are trying to find an appropriate spin for each side. On the one hand, the status quo remained with the blue party holding three mayor-ships and the green two. But the overall popular vote revealed a large increase for the green camp. The cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan showed a strong increase in DPP suppoort; it resembled a tide rolling northward from the south where the people have a greater sense of what it means to be Taiwanese. It reached Taichung where the people finally seem to realize that you need more than jokes to rule a city and root out corruption. ...

Gangland-style Hit at KMT Election Rally Raises Questions
Saturday November 27

Lien Chan's son, Sean, was shot at near point blank range while campaigning for a KMT candidate in Sinbei City raising many questions. Was Lien Chan's son the intended victim? The captured shooter expressed that he had mistaken Sean for the candidate. At last report he said there were differences between him and the candidate's father, which one would presume were monetary. ...

Getting Rid of the Hypocritical KMT Carpetbaggers Once and for All!
Thursday November 25

A new broom sweeps clean; that is certainly what Taiwan needs in the coming elections in order to get rid of the privileged KMT carpetbaggers once and for all. Taiwan needs change, change that is pro-Taiwan and not pro-China as the continued insulting efforts of Ma Ying-jeou have been. In the past two and a half years under the failed 6-3-3 promises of Ma, Taiwan has seen continued humiliation and failed promises from the man who has no concept of what Taiwanese identity is about. Neither does his premier, nor do all the KMT candidates up for mayors of the five major municipalities. They all must go. ...

Ma's Pro-China Policy Turning Into Shambles: But He Says It is Working; Will Voters Believe Him?
Tuesday November 23

After a slap in Taiwan's face at the Tokyo Film Festival, and another slap with the Chinese Set-up to keep Yang Shu-chun from facing off against China's gold medalist hope, Ma Ying-joke still wants Taiwanese to trust his kow-towing to China is helping not harming Taiwan. Now comes new news that must be making his staff run like chickens with their heads cut off. El Salvador appears to be on the verge of switching its recognition from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. ...

Some Hard Questions About Jason Hu and the KMT Past: Taiwan Wake Up I
Monday November 22

Taichung is the third largest city in Taiwan. Why then does its Mayor Jason Hu rank 18th in performance in a list of the nation’s top 21 mayors and commissioners? The answer is not only simple and obvious, it is sad as well. Like many in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Hu earned his reputation when the KMT had a one-party state and they could not only bury the corpses and control the media but they could also squelch any dissenting voices or questions. Does anyone remember Vincent Siew? He's still the current Vice President, and he was allegedly the brilliant economist of the KMT one-party state. Has he solved the problems and mystery of 6-3-3 promises? Unfortunately in a democracy it's a whole new ball game and what is hidden is revealed. So too with Jason Hu. ...

The KMT Tries a New Way to Buy Votes and Hsu Hsin-Liang Still Looks for a Parade
Sunday November 21

The KMT has a long history of links to organized crime going back to its early days in Shanghai and continuing through examples of Jason Hu's police force spending their off hours (we hope they were off duty) at the offices of "alleged" and subsequently assassinated gangsters' offices. And of course many of their candidates have been convicted regularly of vote buying. But now they are trying a new way to use their state asset dollars to stay in power. ...

Ang Lee Chooses Taiwan as Location for Upcoming Film, "Life of Pi"
Sunday November 21

Ang Lee honored his home country, Taiwan, by choosing it as a location for the upcoming film, the "Life of Pi," that he will be directing. Lee has always made the distinctive point that he is Taiwanese and not Chinese and so endeared himself to the people of this nation. ...

Ma the Mouse and the International Press Conference that Wasn't International.
Friday November 19

Just when you think that the hypocrisy and two-faced posing of Ma Ying-joke could not get any worse, Ma comes up with something that does so. In the aftermath of the brouhaha of the Taekwando Set-up to disqualify Taiwan's top female expert in China, and after he saw that it was election time and the public were upset, Ma decided he better make a show of protesting against his "brothers" in China. He called an international press conference, or pretended to call one. ...

The Hypocritical KMT Are Starting to Grasp at Straws, But Then It is Election Time.
Friday November 19

This Sunday, the hypocritical KMT still have not returned the stolen state assets of Taiwan; those are the assets that made the KMT what some estimate as the richest political party in the world. Not to worry, the KMT who count on Taiwanese having poor memories, have decided to call an anti-corruption march to gain votes for their Taipei mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin. Yes that is the same Hau whose Deputy Secretary took the fall for him in the recent cost-inflation, and cost overrun scandals in the Taipei Floral Show and the Xinyi Overpass Rip-off. ...

China Gives Taiwan Another Slap in the Face: Ma Ying-jeou Waits to See What Way the Wind is Blowing.
Thursday November 18

Taiwanese Taekwondo champion, Yang Shu-chun was disqualified by judges in China in a controversial call over the type of socks she was wearing in what appears to have been a set-up to get her out of the competition. ...

Exploring All of One's Roots: Taiwan and its Lapita Heritage
Sunday November 14

Taiwanese will often wonder how and why after nearly a half a century of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) indoctrination and brainwashing, they still think differently, act differently and even have different sets of values than the post World War II carpetbaggers that fled to Taiwan from China (1945 to 1949). They may further wonder why they find their thinking is even more than miles apart from that of a different brainwashed set, the sheep on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. Those sheep are no closer to a democracy than they were 100 years ago when Sun Yat-sen proposed a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Why is this so? Why did democracy take root in Taiwan and not China? Surprisingly, the answer can be found in Taiwan’s history and one word, Lapita. ...

TV Talk Show Host Cheng Hung-yi Tells it Like it Is in Taiwan
Wednesday November 10

Taiwanese, are you tired of listening to the deception and double talk of the phony pony? Are you tired of Ma Ying-joke playing by double standards? Are you tired of the hypocrisy of the KMT as they take a holier than thou attitude after they have consistently ripped the country off for half a century and their mayoral candidates continue to do so? TV Talk Show Host, Cheng Hung-yi finally told it like it is recently while speaking at a private rally last week. ...

India Should Have a Permanent Seat on the UN Security Council
Tuesday November 09

Should India have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council? You bet. India unlike China is a responsible player in world politics. India is not a hegemonic threat to Asian security; China is. India has a growing population that will eventually surpass that of China. India is a democracy. What more need be said. Asia needs more constructive membership in the UN Security Council than the hegemonic bully that China is becoming. This is something that the world should support. ...

Taiwan as the World Continues to Turn: Taichung Mayor Jason Hu Delights in Being King of Sleaze?
Wednesday November 03

Taichung Mayor Jason Hu must be longing for the good old Carpetbagger, One-party State days of Chiang Kai-shek when Bo Yang could be given nine years for somewhat satirical Popeye cartoons he published. At issue is a recent campaign video Jason Hu's group put out about some twin sisters strutting their stuff and saying they were "Hu's girls." ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: Ma Gives Hau a Left-Handed Compliment
Wednesday November 03

Ma Ying-jeou gave Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin a left-handed compliment as Hau was running for re-election amidst the growing scandals of corruption and cost-overruns at the Taipei International Flora Expo and the Xinsheng Overpass project. Not seeming to be conscious of the numerous boondoggles and failed projects of his administration, Ma said that "Hau was as good a mayor as he (Ma) was." ...

China Slaps Taiwan in the Face: Ma Ying-jeou says Relations are at Their Best
Sunday October 31

Taiwan's sometime president, Ma Ying-jeou, continues to live in his alternate universe and has added a new name to the long list describing him. Included in that list are Ma Ying-joke, Ma Ying-jerk, the Phony Pony, Ma Teng (Ma the Toilet)etc. The new name for Ma is the Taiwan Ah-Q. ...

Another KMT Carpetbagger Symbol Bites the Dust in Taipei
Saturday October 30

The Taipei District Court recently found three DPP Taipei City Councilors (Liu Yao-ren, Chuang Ruei-hsiung and Huang Hsiang-chun) not guilty of defacing and/or destroying a historical Taiwan monument, after The trio had last year climbed up on the Jingfu Gate and white-washed the recently repainted KMT party emblem. ...

Taiwan, as the World Turns; of Course, the Secretary Did It--Again
Thursday October 28

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin is stealing a page from Ma Ying-jeou. Folks in Taiwan will remember how in the past when then Ma was Mayor of Taipei and he was accused of having an extra half a million corrupt dollars in his bank account, Ma gracefully dodged the bullet by saying his secretary put it into his account without Ma's knowledge. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: Taichung Mayor Jason Hu Turns to Mah-jong
Monday October 25

Just 3 months after Taichung police ducked for cover as an alleged gangster chief was gunned down in his office, Mayor Jason Hu announced that the crime rate is down. Wow! so quick. What was his solution especially after Taichung Police Commissioner Hu Mu-yuan resigned because of the high crime rate? ...

Bandits and Thieves and Why Ma Ying-jeou Never Passed the Bar Exam?
Monday October 11

The foreign media which seldom does its homework about matters Taiwan often describes Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou as the Harvard educated lawyer. However, though Ma did attend Harvard Law School, and did graduate from that school with an S.J.D., the fact remains that Ma never did pass the bar exam in the USA where he worked for law firms. (Would that be a reason why he returned to Taiwan?) But then, Ma also did not pass the more difficult bar exam in Taiwan where as a darling of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) he would have had a somewhat more favored status.

Taiwan Students to the PRC, "Not in Our House"
Saturday October 09

Kudos to the students of Taiwan's Kainan University who refused to be bullied or intimidated by representatives of the People's Republic of China (PRC)when they insisted that the students not display the national flag at a recent basketball game in Taoyuan. It is refreshing to see that while the government of Ma Ying-joke trips and falls over itself in its attempts to kow-tow to the PRC, the students will stand up for Taiwan. ...

Monkey Chasers Wanted: Must be 45 or Older
Saturday October 09

Every so often something strange and amusing comes up in the papers. Last week there was the announcement by the Kaohsiung City Government that it was looking for some good money-chasers. Unusual to be sure, but in a tight job market who would not at least give it a second look. ...

David Wu, US Congressman from Oregon Sucks up to China
Saturday October 02

You can tell a Congressman's re-election campaign is in deep trouble when he has to openly suck up to China. On September 28, David Wu, Congressman from Oregon waded into a deep morass that he did not need to, unless he was desperate. But that appears to be the situation. Wu called a Press Conference on Sept. 28 to say contrary to US Policy, that the Diaoyutai Islands belong to China. ...

Smoke, Mirrors, a Scam? Are Taiwanese Orphans or Masters of Their House?
Sunday September 26

People have often asked me my opinion of the Lin-Hartzell argument that Taiwan is still subject to determination by the US Military which was victorious (with its allies) over Japan. It is true that the San Francisco Peace Treaty stipulated that Japan give up Taiwan. Yet in 1952 the San Francisco Treaty did not say to whom Taiwan should be given. This was seven years after World War II, and three years after China's Civil War on the continent ended with the expulsion of Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). ...

Panda Dig Breaking News: Wen Jiabao Pledges to Remove Missiles
Saturday September 25

It is no secret that China continues to increase its military budget and beef up its military threat against Taiwan. However China's Premier Wen Jiabao surprised everyone recently when he commented that the some 1500 plus Chinese missiles deployed against Taiwan would be removed "some day." Many were shocked but then astute reporters noticed that the English translation of Wen's remarks omitted a key phrase at the end of the sentence. i.e. Wen stated, "Our missiles aimed at Taiwan will be removed some day, when pigs learn to fly." ...

Wasting Away Money in Non-sequiturville: Hau Lung-bin and the Carpetbaggers
Sunday September 19

A characteristic of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) carpetbaggers is their sense of privilege and entitlement and the belief that after gaining high positions via loyalty, they can in turn use such positions to reward carpetbagger friends. Hau Lung-bin, the current Mayor of Taipei fits this carpetbagger profile. He has had no strong political background to justify his being mayor; however his father, Hau Pei-tsun came to Taiwan as a general under Chiang Kai-shek. Hau Pei-tsun later served as Premier, ran as a Vice Presidential Candidate and was a key suspect in the Lafayette Frigate Scandal involving hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes, inflated prices and most likely murder. That supposedly made Hau Lung-bin, whose education was supported by the KMT, a good mayoral candidate. ...

The Spanish Galleon "Andalucia" Arrives with Typhoon
Saturday September 18

With a typhoon beginning to batter the east coast, something that is being overshadowed or outclassed is the arrival of the Spanish Galleon "Andalucia," a replica of the 17th century ships that once ran the famous "Manila to Acapulco" trade route for over 250 years. This ship sailed out of Seville, Spain earlier in the summer and was present at the Shanghai World Expo as well as doing some PR touring for Spain. I was hoping to go see this sea-worthy replica on Monday in Ilan, but the typhoon has forced it to seek the port of Keelung--a much more protected port--in the storm. ...

It's Worry Time in Taiwan!!
Friday September 17

Typhoon Fanapi is bearing down on the island; fortunately thus far for this year, there have been few dangerous typhoons that hit the island. The problem on this one is that President Ma Ying-jeou has instructed the government agencies to "treat every typhoon as if it were Typhoon Morakot." Whoa, are we ready for this??? Anyone with any memory will recall how the Ma government was asleep at the wheel when Morakot hit, how it responded so slowly, and how its solutions exacerbated the problem more than solved it. ...

Taiwan, as the World Turns; the Soaps Continue as the Carpetbaggers Defend Their Privilege
Friday September 17

I have been away on vacation for the past three weeks and come back to find the "bushiban soap opera" still continuing. Either the "dancing/entertaining/owner/teacher" or the media or both seem to not want to let it rest. Taipei's Mayor Hau is probably just as happy since the overspending and corruption on the Flora Show is surfacing more and more; it is humorous to see all the KMT pundits work hard to find ways to rationalize the KMT Carpetbagger Privilege that still lingers over Taiwan. Anyone who has lived in Taipei during the Ma and Hau administrations can easily recognize the attitude of "do it wrong the first time" as regards quality; that way one has to continually pay to do it over and over again to one's construction buddies. So the world turns; expect comments soon.

Taiwan as the World Turns: the Media Love Good Soap Opera
Friday September 03

Last week the media in Taiwan were all ablaze with the gossip of Kao Kuo-hua, owner of a major cram school being caught French-kissing a teacher from a competing cram school by vigilant paparazzi. One would wonder, why is this a big deal? It would be different if Taiwan's President had been caught in a gay tryst with a youthful page or such, but a cram school owner? Come on. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: Ma-speak is the Order of the Day
Thursday August 26

The uninitiated would not recognize it, and those whose only knowledge of Taiwan is to talk to pan-blue stalwart friends long esconced in the States would applaud it, but Taiwan got another of its monthly dosage of Ma-speak when Ma clamored that the USA should really hasten to sell Taiwan defensive arms etc. etc. ...

KMY Legislators Dodge Responsibility: Taiwan as the World Turns
Tuesday August 24

Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) needs some revamping and the KMT dominated Legislative Yuan can do the job so they say. Since they have a strong majority the KMT can do most anything it wants in the Legislative Yuan; so why are they hesitating to act, especially if the actions are necessary and needed? They did not hesitate to ram through the approval of ECFA that Ma wanted. So? Ah yes, it is an election year so they don't want to touch it till after the elections. ...

To Be Whole, Taiwan Must Shed Itself of its KMT Carpetbagger Legacy: Part I
Thursday August 19

Taiwan has many problems, not only with its economy but even with its democracy and identity. In the past two years Taiwan's economy has gone nowhere but down under President Ma Ying-jeou; his 6-3-3 promise is at best a country wide joke. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) from its one-party state days up to the present still controls the Legislative Yuan. For this reason it maintains tremendous leverage, and its possession of the stolen state assets can go unchallenged. Thus, the KMT can continue to place party interests before Taiwan's national interests. Or put another way, the KMT only protects Taiwan's interests if they protect the KMT interests. This is the root of Taiwan's problems and what Taiwanese still have not yet grasped. The KMT is a carpetbagger party that exists to serve its carpetbagger interests and preserve the Constitutional fantasy that perpetuates its carpetbagger rights. ...

As the World Turns, Taiwan, Yang Chiu-hsing Backtracks on His Word
Tuesday August 10

Yang Chiu-hsing went back on his word this past week. When the DPP had held their primaries in May, Yang entered and said he would support the winner whoever it would be; but when he lost, he changed his mind. ...

The Film "Formosa Betrayed" Though Different from "Cape No. 7" is Important for Taiwan Youth
Thursday August 05

There was a time, not long ago, when Taiwanese were not allowed to speak Taiwanese. There was a time, not long ago, when Taiwanese could not say they were Taiwanese without being ridiculed. There was a worse time, also not that long ago, when Taiwanese were tortured and imprisoned if they wanted democracy. That time is what the movie, "Formosa Betrayed," opening in Taiwan theatres island-wide on August 6th is about. ...

Still Not Free of KMT Bias, Taiwan Prepares for the Film, "Formosa Betrayed"
Saturday July 31

For today's Taiwanese who have grown up in a democratic country with rule by law and freedom of the press, it is difficult to visualize anything of the oppression that the people endured during the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) one-party state under Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo. For that reason, and since the new film "Formosa Betrayed" will soon be opening on the island, it may be good to step back a few years and see some examples of that. I have already written of the imprisonment of Taiwanese Peng Ming-min for advocating democracy in the 1960s and his escape from the island. I have also written in the past about Dang Nylon (having a Chinese father and a Taiwanese mother) who identified himself as Taiwanese; Dang was harassed and immolated himself for the cause of democracy as late as 1989. Use the search engine on this site to find writings on them. A third person, however, that everyone should know about is Bo Yang (1920--2008) ...

Taiwan's Hybrid Nature: its Strength and its Hope
Friday July 23

Most short and long term visitors to Taiwan will comment on its unique characteristics, culture and style. Taiwan has an identity that makes it clearly different from all its neighbors; further its people are hardy, resilient and adaptive. Why? This is no doubt more than just the result of historical experience and development; it may also be its nature. Theorists certainly wonder how and why after century upon century of diverse colonizers, with each striving to impose its brand of imagined community on it, Taiwan has still managed to develop its own characteristics and culture. I posit that Taiwan did this not so much by rejection, but by absorbing the colonizing cultures and cross breeding them into its own indigenous ways and stock. In other words, Taiwanese have forged what can be called their own unique hybrid culture and way, the Taiwanese way. ...

Taiwan Voters Peek Behind the KMT Curtain of Corruption in Taichung
Monday July 12

Jason Hu was born in Beijing and grew up in the hierarchical, one-party state culture of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). As a one-party state, it was a culture of privilege, power, and entitlement. Within that culture one could easily rise if one had reasonable talent, kept one eye closed under the party mask of hierarchical respectability, and was loyal to the party regardless of its actions. It was a culture fostered by Chiang Kai-shek (CKS), a warlord among warlords and one who manipulated events so that he seemed the logical choice to bear the mantle of Sun Yat-sen. If one followed the above precepts particularly that of loyalty, one could expect to be taken care of by the benevolence of the KMT. Jason Hu did that and was rewarded by being its representative for Mayor of Taichung. ...

Taipei Elections, a Matter of Quality
Friday July 09

The November elections approach and the voters of Taipei have many questions to ask. One important question concerns the quality of Mayor Hau Lung-bin's past leadership. When it comes to quality, whether it is Quality Assurance, Quality Control and/or Quality Management, those familiar with the topic would know the name of Philip Crosby, author of "Quality is Free" (1979). In that work, Crosby gives his famous maxim, "Do it right the first time." Crosby's maxim is simple and direct, and it explains the title of his book. If a person, a company, a mayor, or the mayor's staff does something right the first time, then there will be no need for the cost of re-doing it or for the cost for repairs. In other words, quality will be free. ...

Part II, Deconstructing Taiwan's Past in Search of its Identity
Saturday June 26

When a colonizing nation approaches an imagined geography and seeks to impose its imagined community on that geography/colony, a natural Hegelian dialectic develops. The colonizer imposes its sense of imagined community; the colonized already possessing their own sense of imagined community (if even subconsciously) resist in a dynamic process. The result is a hybrid or different identity. One can ask, why should present twenty-first century Taiwanese be concerned with this continuous process dating back to its Dutch, Spanish, Koxinga and later Manchu periods? The importance lies in the fact that this dialectic has been continuously there from the start. It is part and parcel of Taiwan's ongoing history and has thus helped form the unique identity of what it means to be Taiwanese. The roots of Taiwan's identity and future imagined community are the continuous result of dialectical resistance and development. It is in realizing this dialectic with its economic role that Taiwanese begin to see scope and uniqueness of how their history is not China's history, and how China's history is not Taiwan's history. ...

Deconstructing Taiwan's Past in Search of Its Identity Part I
Thursday June 24

A pressing problem for Taiwan in today's world remains finding an answer to the question, "What does it mean to be Taiwanese?" Put in a different way, "What is Taiwan's national identity?" To be sure there are other pressing or immediate problems, such as the economy, the threat of attack by the People's Republic of China, and the preservation and strengthening of Taiwan's democracy. But the answers to each of those problems still hinge upon establishing what is Taiwan's national identity, and where the Taiwanese want their nation to go. The identity issue is not new, recent examples are Melissa Brown's "Is Taiwan Chinese?," the book, "Memories of the Future, National Identity Issues and the Search for a New Taiwan" (ed. Stephane Corcuff) and my own, "Taiwan the Search for Identity." ...

Taiwan Hosts Film "Formosa Betrayed" and Historical Musical, "Days of Bananas"
Sunday June 13

This past week in Taiwan had a combined sense of déjà vu as art, history, and reality all came to bear. On Monday there was a private showing of Will Tiao's film "Formosa Betrayed" which portrayed how the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) as late as the 1980s, tried to suppress democracy and human rights movements on the island; in the process it sanctioned several high profile murders. Then on Friday, Tafen Musical Theatre's new historical musical, "Days of Bananas" opened; this drama portrayed the struggles and ups and downs of Taiwan farmers in the turbulent 1960s where the KMT and its carpet bagger middlemen profited off of the work of Taiwanese farmers. A banana tycoon Wu was further caught between the later power struggle of Madame Soong and Chiang Ching-kuo for control of the autocratic KMT as the doddering Chiang Kai-shek lived out his last autocratic days. Wu would eventually be destroyed by that link to the corruption of the times. ...

ECFA! It's More than Trade; It's a Matter of Ma's Credibility and Competency
Friday June 11

Any fool nation can sign a trade agreement with China if it gives China everything it wants. The question of ECFA is not a matter of trade with China; that is a no-brainer. The question is how and under what circumstances and conditions. In Taiwan's case it is even more; it is a question of the competency and credibility of its President. A well-known visiting professor of international trade negotiations put it this way. "If any of my graduate students proposed entering a trade agreement of such serious proportions as ECFA and forthwith set a deadline date for negotiations and agreement, I would fail him immediately." Yet here was Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou saying that come hell or high-water, the country must sign the ECFA agreement with the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the end of June; this challenges Ma's credibility and competency to the max. ...

Tired of the Double Standard of Justice Under the KMT? Wait There is More.
Tuesday June 08

The Double Standard of Justice and Prosecution that harkens back to the days of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Martial Law era has returned to Taiwan with the administration of Ma Ying-jeou. Yes, we know that Ma keeps chanting the mantra that he is anti-corruption and the gullible western media sources continue to lap it up. Unfortunately they have always been too lazy to do their homework and measure Ma's words against his actions and/or his directives to his underlings. If nothing else those western media sources should remember the likes of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew who notoriously campaigned for re-election under a platform of law and order. The law and order Nixon and Agnew did not fare well in their encounters with the courts. ...

The KMT, Taichung, Crime and Corruption: Do They Still Go Hand in Hand?
Wednesday June 02

It read like something out of the "Godfather" movie series. There they were in the middle of the afternoon of a working day, four of Taichung's finest police officers (with alleged gangland ties) having tea at the offices of another well-known boss of questionable repute, Weng Chih-nan. All of a sudden a gunman burst in and fired off sixteen shots. Seven of the shots hit Weng and others hit a friend. How long does it take to fire off sixteen shots?

Kuo Kuan-ying, Remember that High-Class KMT Mainlander?
Saturday May 29

The long arm of the law finally caught up with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kuo Kuan-ying as he was sentenced to either pay a small fine (NT$ 50,000) or serve 50 days in jail for defaming National Taiwan Univ. professor Chen Shih-meng and political commentator Chin Heng-wei. Kuo if you have forgotten was a KMT government official serving in Toronto who in 2008 proclaimed that he was a "High-Class Mainlander" and bemoaned the fact that his talents were wasted serving these low-class Taiwanese redneck farmers. In typical style of old guard KMT; Kuo implied that the Taiwanese should thank the KMT Mainlanders for oppressing the Taiwanese and forcing their "culture" on them. ...

An Open Letter by Academics and Professionals to the Speaker of the Legislative Yuan
Sunday May 23

No one is against trade with China, but Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou continues to insist that ECFA (the economic cooperation framework agreement) be signed in June. He does this despite the fact that all dealings and have been non-transparent and without consultation, circumventing the checks and balance of the Legislative Yuan (LY) i.e. the Legislative Branch of the government. This letter by concerned academics and professionals is urging the Speaker of the LY to live up to his responsibility as head of the LY and check the headlong, runaway push of Taiwan's Executive Branch ...

Thinning the Herd Beijing Style: So Why Does Ma Keep Pushing Taiwan Towards Unification?
Tuesday May 18

In the past few years, the international media has been filled with plenty of stories of how the Middle Kingdom of Pollution, Poison and Propaganda has sent out deadly products such as poisoned toothpaste, poisoned pet foods, poisoned toys rife with lead-based paint etc. etc. The world has been shocked, but not enough to give up the quest of the almighty dollar; thus it has chosen to ignore the facts on how Beijing thins the herd of humans around the world. Instead it has continued the mantra, "Buy China! Make a Profit." A bitter mantra and a bitter pill, especially if one thinks of all the collateral damage this causes.

Taiwan, Will the ECFA Early Harvest be the Early Shaft?
Wednesday May 12

May 20 will mark the official two year anniversary of Ma Ying-jeou's inauguration as President of Taiwan. And while this is the half-way point of his four years as president, people are wondering what has he done? From the mishandling of Typhoon Morakot, to the erosion of justice, to the beef scandal, to the claims that Chinese tourists would rescue the economy with all of their tourists' dollars, the country is not in good shape. People are asking why? Yet to be sure, Ma's spin doctors will be working hard to stress all that has been done. Perhaps that is why Ma is pushing so hard to have an ECFA signed by June despite all the cautionary protests of numerous groups. Questions that will have to be examined in the coming weeks not only abound but seem to be multiplying, yet Ma pushes ahead so he can have something concrete to point to. Below are a sampling of the many concerns that are being voiced. ...

Taiwan's Double Standard, Money, Money, Who's Got the Money? Part II: Those Friggin Frigates
Sunday May 09

It reads like a John le Carre spy-thriller. The ingredients are all there. Billions of dollars for military hardware-here read French Lafayette Frigates. The staggering amount for bribes and payoffs alone reaches well over US$600 millions of dollars. Even the PRC military got in on the action and were paid well not to protest France selling these ships to Taiwan. How France got the contract instead of South Korea which had seemed to have had it in the bag, is only the beginning; the known body count of accidental deaths and questionable suicides has reached at least 8 with falling out of windows from tall buildings seeming to be the accident of choice. Yes, even by Taiwan standards this is a scandal of scandals. ...

Taiwan's Double Standard: Money, Money, Who's Got the Money Part I?
Friday May 07

In a previous post you saw how Chen Shui-bian has been in jail for nearly two years on corruption charges concerning US$21 million from his eight years of presidency. The courts have yet not stated and/or proved just how much of that money is illegal and how much is rightfully his, according to the loose and vague laws concerning campaign donations. They are operating on the presumption that some amount of it (though they have not yet specifically proven it) is illegal and therefore they are justifying keeping him in jail. In the meantime, the prosecutors are also badgering, harassing, and interfering with the lives of many associated with Chen to try and get some one of them to create evidence for their case. Contrast that with the following that was just in the news about the infamous Chung Hsing Bills affair that broke just before the 2000 presidential elections. ...

Do You Know Where Ma Ying-jeou Stands on the Boundaries of Taiwan?
Tuesday May 04

By a strange confluence of events, the day after I spoke with Chen Shui-bian, I attended a conference by Ma and shook hands with him afterwards. At Ma's conference on ECFA, In an effort to get him on record, I had asked him about the boundaries of the ROC as he saw them. ...

A Visit with Former President Chen Shui-bian Raises Questions on Taiwan's Double Standard of Justice
Friday April 30

Former President Chen Shui-bian has been in jail for over 500 days on corruption charges while others found guilty of the same and/or other crimes were never jailed and walk free. Those walking free are from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People's First Party (PFP); Chen is from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Chen has been denied the human right of proper defense and proper lawyer client privileges. His judge was replaced when he did not give the desired verdict wanted by Chen's opponents who work for Taiwan's current president Ma Ying-jeou. Many of those associated with the President Chen's case have been jailed in an attempt to force them to fabricate, create and/or provide incriminating evidence against Chen. No one involved with the numerous other corruption cases of the KMT and PFP have been treated this way. For the moment, however, let's leave aside the double standard of justice in Taiwan. There is time enough for that later. Today I just want to describe the conditions one experiences if he/she visits former President Chen. ...

Taiwan, a Tale of Two Presidents
Tuesday April 27

This week started in an unusual way. On Monday, I visited former President Chen Shui-bian where he is being held in prison. On Tuesday, I shook hands with current President Ma Ying-jeou after he had explained his position on ECFA to the Taiwan Foreign Correspondent's Club. Two different men, two different situations; I will write on both shortly ...

The Great ECFA Debate: Excuses Before It Begins
Saturday April 24

The great ECFA debate between Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai Ing-wen looms. Ironically after two years of Ma telling Taiwan that it was absolutely crucial for its survival, Ma's staff is crying that he has only had two hours to prepare. Say what? Something that Ma claims is crucial for the country but he only has two hours to spare??? He must love the country. ...

In Search of Taiwan Minzu: the First Step, Seeing What it is Not
Saturday April 24

Nothing exemplifies Ma Ying-jeou's lack of identity with and/or grasp of what it is to be Taiwanese than his constant attempts to push Zhonghua minzu on the Taiwanese. Ma mentioned the words repeatedly in his 2008 inaugural address, and now as he constantly pursues his pro-China agenda; it is part and parcel of his agenda. The truth of the matter is that historically Zhonghua minzu has little to do with Taiwan. And as for the future, to put it bluntly, Taiwan needs Zhonghua minzu like it needs a hole in the head. What Taiwan really needs to foster as it develops its democracy is the fullness of its historic Taiwan minzu. This is exactly what Ma is trying to suppress. ..

Taiwan as the World Turns: the Credibility of Ma Continues to Erode
Tuesday April 20

Taiwan got another taste of the duplicity of Ma-speak yesterday. The day before President Ma's Premier, Wu Den-yih, stated flatly that Ma never opposed having a referendum on ECFA. The next day, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of which Ma is the chairperson and which has the controlling majority in the Legislative Yuan flatly blocked for the sixth time the referendum bill on ECFA. Conflicting words? Not with Ma-speak. ...

ECFA, Another Insult from the People that Gave Taiwan 6-3-3
Friday April 16

Only a complete dunce totally out of touch with Taiwan's reality would claim ignorance of Ma Ying-jeou's infamous 6-3-3 promise in all its foolhardy glory. This campaign promise of the 2008 presidential elections came about when Ma's so-called A-Team of economic advisors told him that 6-3-3 was easily achievable and he should have no fear of promising it. It was of course a gross misread of the economic scene from the git-go. Despite all the back-tracking that it would have to wait until a nebulous transformation in 2016 when Ma could comfortably escape as well as attempts to blame it all on outside forces, the reality remains it was bad advice and a total economic misread. ...

Taipei Police Need to Realize They are not the Beijing Police
Friday April 09

Anyone who has watched the antics of the Taipei police in the past year and a half would think that they are trying to imitate and/or curry favor with Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou. In that time, Ma has of course been trying to curry favor with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Whether Ma's efforts reflect a secret desire to unify Taiwan with the PRC or whether they are driven by his trying to salvage Taiwan's economy which began to sag right after Ma was elected is a different matter. Whatever the case, let us focus for now on the antics of the police as they have repeatedly abused Taiwan's citizen's rights to freedom of expression. ...

ROC Splendid 100, Who is Paying for This Reinterpretation of Splendid?
Thursday April 01

"Republic of China Splendid 100" so reads Ma Ying-jeou's Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed new slogan for Taiwan. Splendid and for Taiwan? How so? When the Republic of China (ROC) allegedly was founded in 1911, Taiwan had already been modernizing since 1895 and was some fifteen years on its way to becoming Japan's model colony to the world. On the other side of the Taiwan Strait in 1911, some Han Chinese that were tired of having had to wear the Manchu queue for centuries in a disheveling Manchu Empire hatched a revolt that never quite succeeded. By 1912, sixteen of twenty-two provinces joined in, but the crucial ones in the north where Puyi was emperor and Yuan Shi-kai, commander of the Beiyang Army held power, remained firm. So begins splendid. ...

The ECFA ads, Who is Paying for Them? Taiwan's Taxpayers? the KMT or China?
Sunday March 28

It is two years into the reign of Ma the Incompetent and it appears that the one-trick pony is getting desperate to defend his ECFA efforts and drag Taiwan into economic dependency on the People's Republic of China (PRC). The latest effort of Ma and his combination hired gun/snake oil salesman King Pu-tsung are expensive TV ads saying how the country will totally lose its competitiveness if it does not give the government a blank check to sign ECFA. Allegedly if the people don't sign this blank check by June, it is all over for Taiwan. Can you believe such absurdities? ...

Taiwan and China, Geographically Close but Miles Apart Otherwise
Friday March 26

Taiwan and China are two countries separated by some 100 miles of the Taiwan Strait; they are close but so far apart in so many ways. Take today for example, it is ironic that as Google is leaving China because it no longer wishes to be part of its censorship of news and information, in Taiwan, Portico Media is launching WOW (Watch our World) tv. With WOW tv, Portico presents what it terms a "bouquet" of channels for Taiwan on Chunghwa Telecom's IPTV (Internet Protocol television) MOD (Multimedia on Demand). ...

The 1996 Consensus, an Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come!
Saturday March 20

Although Taiwan's current President Ma Ying-jeou regularly repeats and revels in this 1992 fabrication, the time has come for all Taiwanese to once and for all dump the hypocrisy of the "1992 Consensus." The so-called consensus of 1992 is a fraud, a deception, a duplicitous trick formulated by Su Chi. Allegedly the purpose was to facilitate cross-strait talks, but even then the People's Republic of China (PRC) never even publicly agreed to it. Further, the talks that were being "facilitated" at that time were not nation to nation talks, but rather they were party to party talks between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). What was really happening was that both parties were trying to find a way to maintain the legitimacy of their roots, and claim that there was only "one China" and each of course represented it. That idea must be scrapped. ...

"Formosa Betrayed" Movie Review by Roger Ebert Lays it Bare
Friday March 19

If a picture is worth 1000 words, imagine what a film can do in enlightening the audiences of America about Taiwan's White Terror Period (1947--1987). It is a period that most Americans know little about. If Americans believed that Taiwan was championing democratic values under Chiang Kai-shek, they are in for a rude, major shock. This film gives a much clearer picture of what was really going on on this side of the world. It was not that long ago and many of the political figures currently active in Taiwan were involved in the many cover-ups of abuses of justice and human rights. The story line is a composite of several real murders from the 1980s. I came to Taiwan in 1988, the year after Martial Law was lifted, and have written numerous articles on this topic. The following review of "Formosa Betrayed" by film critic Roger Ebert confirms them all. Ebert's comments and review follow. ...

Taiwan's Poltical Soap Opera Update: The Diane Lee Effect and Justice Served?
Sunday March 14

Taiwan's political soap opera under Ma Ying-joke continues, and a new factor in the political scene is what can be called the "Diane Lee Effect." Suffering from it is Kaohsiung's People First Party (PFP) City Councilor Yang Se-yu. Diane Lee, for those who may not recognize the name, is the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator who for 14 years had illegally collected over US$3 million dollars in salary in violation of the Nationality Act. The KMT Lee had held dual passports for both Taiwan and the United States. The national loyalty of any government official with dual passports is immediately suspect; with that is the possibility that they can easily do things harmful to the national interests of the country. In this, they possess the relative immunity of having the means for an immediate escape if the harm of their actions is revealed. ...

Cambodia Part III, Angkor Wat and Other Scenes
Tuesday March 09

The main temple of Angkor Wat is designed to be a microcosm of the Hindu universe. The moat that surrounds the temple symbolize the mythical oceans that surround the earth; the concentric galleries and the towers represent the mountains that lead up to Mount Meru the home of the gods. It should be visited more than once if time allows and one of the times should be at sunrise. The opening photos of this sequence display the quiet mood that pervades as visitors have come across the causeway leading into the grounds from the west. The scene is far away from any sounds of the city or civilization and one can watch the sun peacefully climb over the towers and structure. ...

Cambodia Part II, Ta Prohm, Mystery, Intrigue and Wonder
Sunday March 07

I must admit, that Ta Prohm was for me the most engaging part of Angkor Wat. True, it was the focal area of the film "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider;" but that wasn't the reason, and the film had taken a lot of liberty with set and camera angles. No, the appeal lay in the fact that it was this temple and its environs that the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient decided to leave (as much as possible) in the natural state that the whole of Angkor Wat was found in by its 19th century discoverers. ...

Cambodia Part I, Tonle Sap, the Great Lake and People
Friday March 05

Among Cambodia's many unique features, Tonle Sap (The Great Lake) stands out. Enhancing the lake's uniqueness is its relationship to the 7th largest river in Asia, the Mekong River. The Mekong begins way up in the Himalayas and drains down through China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos into Cambodia. It does not stop there of course; from there it goes into Vietnam (remember the many war movies that treated it there) and finally the sea. ...

February 28, 2-28, Taiwan Remains a Day of Mixed Emotions
Sunday February 28

One can always look at Taiwan in terms of the past or in terms of the present. Never is that brought home more than on February 28th. In terms of the present, today many are celebrating the victory of the DPP party in 3 of the 4 by-elections held yesterday. Again as a statement of no-confidence in the Ma administration's policies, and despite heavy campaigning by the KMT including President Ma, the voters by way of the ballot box re-iterated the fact that Ma's approval ratings and performance ratings remain low, a low that is somewhere between 20 to 30 per cent. So Taiwanese can be happy that they can democratically and freely express their disapproval. But 2-28 means more. ...

Angkor Wat and Mysteries of Cambodia
Thursday February 25

I will be posting shortly on experiences in visiting Angkor Wat and the mysteries how such a thriving civilization and large temple array around which once lived over a million people could disappear into the forests and trees of the land for centuries. In the meantime, if you want to whet your appetite, go to the left column where the photographs are listed and click onto Cambodia. There you will find three sets of photos, including Ta Prahm--the area made famous by the film, "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider" Enjoy.

Taiwan, As the World Turns in February, Chou Hsi-wei Breaks down in Tears
Tuesday February 23

It was another dramatic Taiwan Kodak moment and Chou Hsi-wei was there in the midst of it. After many years of incompetent rule, this Mayor of Taipei County with his flair for grandiose drama tearfully announced that he would not run for re-election. Why? It wasn't that he did not want to run; it was that his party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politely refused to let him. Five crucial elections are coming up in December and the Mayor of the newly formed Sinbei City where Chou would run is one of them. The KMT cannot afford to lose any one of the five, but Sinbei City is one of the more crucial. ...

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou Continues to Invite Voters to Live in his Fantasy World
Friday February 19

Caught in another faux pas, Taiwan's sometime-president, Ma Ying-jeou, (a.k.a. Ma the Incompetent) crawfished backwards from his recent statement that China and Taiwan were two different nations. In an effort to save face, Ma has chosen instead to continue to invite Taiwan and the world to join him in his make-believe, fantasy world. Key to that world is the out-dated and out-moded 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China (ROC). In Ma's fantasy world, the ROC is the sovereign nation of China and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a non-entity. According to Ma, he does not recognize the sovereignty of the PRC nor their rulers' rightful existence. Skip the fact that they do hold the United Nation's seat for China. All that Ma will concede is a "non-denial" of their existence in that nebulous "area" on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. ...

Taiwan's Double Standard and the "Dogs of Bias"
Wednesday February 10

Taiwan's former President Chen Shui-bian has been in jail since December 30, 2008 (over 400 days). The change in judges requested by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to keep him there has extended his imprisonment for the third time. This time it is for two more months. His case reeks of the double standard that has never left Taiwan's prosecutorial function and the courts since the one-party state days of the KMT. While Ma Ying-jeou's former law professor Jerome Cohen and scores of professors have written open-letter after open-letter to point out these inconsistencies and erosion of justice, all the Minister of Justice (MOJ) and the Government Information Office (GIO) do is to laugh and try to create a veneer of legitimacy over Ma Ying-jeou's government. ...

Cohen Points Out the Continued Hypocrisy of Ma Ying-jeou's Government I
Monday February 08

The hypocrisy and pretense fostered by the government of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou is once again demonstrated by Ma's former law professor as he observes how Ma's Minister of Justice attempts to make Taiwan emulate China. An edited version of this text appeared in English in the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) on January 20, 2010 under the title "Under Threat," and appeared in Chinese on January 21, in the China Times (Taiwan) (·±ÌåÖĞÎÄ)(¼òÌåÖĞÎÄ). by Jerome A. Cohen and Yu-Jie Chen. It is important to read this to understand the continuous and disparate double standard that Ma's people place Taiwan under. Wake up Taiwan! ...

Taiwan Struggles with Its Identity and the GIO is No Help
Tuesday February 02

Taiwan is a nation replete with anomalies, an out-moded constitution and a big identity problem. Only the Taiwanese can solve this problem, but to do so, they must face up to the totality of their past, admit who they are and decide where they want to go. Nowhere are these issues and problems more easily seen and recorded than in the recent and annual Government Information Office's (GIO) publication "The Republic of China Yearbook 2009." If you think the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing or wants, you need look no further. ...

Forcing Taiwan's KMT to Face the Reality of Loss
Saturday January 30

The death of a dream and the loss of a country are terrible things to face and admit. It has been sixty years since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lost its civil war in China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) drove them into exile. Sixty years! But even though sixty years have passed, many KMT members have still not gone through the five stages of the grieving process and come to accept that loss. Instead, they remain locked in one or other of the earlier stages of grief (denial, anger, and bargaining). Acceptance is too hard a pill to swallow, but as the KMT wallows in its grief, denial and pity, Taiwan suffers. ...

Taiwan's Great ECFA Debate that Never Was and Probably Never Will Be
Tuesday January 26

Ma Ying-jeou has been president of Taiwan for almost two years and Taiwan's economy still flounders. Like a one-trick pony, Ma seems only capable of playing the run-to-China card, but so far his panda and tourist gambits and direct flights have done nothing. His advisors have no other pro-offered plans or proposals. So as desperation mounts for the past year he has been touting an unknown economic framework agreement (ECFA) with China. Despite previous failed experiments, this will be Taiwan's salvation. That is great but despite his claims of transparency and openness, no one still knows what Ma's ECFA will entail. Not to worry, says Ma, just give me a blank check and I will take care of everything. That of course is what a growing number of Taiwanese fear, i.e. that Ma will take care of everything so that there will be no Taiwan left. ...

Taiwan, As the World Turns, Life Under Ma the Incompetent: the Great Panda Fiasco
Sunday January 24

The soap opera of life in Taiwan continues under its so-called President, Ma the Incompetent, a.k.a. Ma Ying-joke. People no longer commiserate about the joke of his 6-3-3 campaign promise. Nor do they even mention the joke of his promise that his great rapprochement with China would bring over 3,000 well-heeled, free-spending Chinese per day to turn Taiwan's economy around. All Taiwan got were loud mouth pikers who when they weren't spitting on the sidewalks were trying to stiff restaurants because they didn't bring much money. The latest sad thing that makes people wonder "Why did we ever believe him?" is the great panda fiasco. ...

The KMT's Sordid Past Relives Itself under Ma Ying-jeou
Wednesday January 20

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is a past master of fat-cat positions and bought loyalties. Who can not help but remember the inequalities of its forced forty year one-party state rule of Taiwan. Who cannot help but remember how while promoting the ruse of being pro-democracy the KMT guaranteed party members lucrative lifelong positions in the Legislative Yuan (LY). After it lost China's Civil War, the KMT retreated to Taiwan in 1949. Party members elected to the LY in 1947, never had to face another election until 1992 when Lee Teng-hui finally cleaned house. Most LY members by that time had either died or were ready to retire with fat pensions. Is the past, the past? Not on your life. ...

Friedman Leaves Me Cold, Flat, and Disgusted
Friday January 15

Between the known and the unknown, falls the shadow. Between the surface and reality falls the guess. Between what can be controlled and what cannot, falls the wish. Between the shadow, the guess, and the wish, comes the consultant, a shadowy seller of guesses striving to say truisms that the wishers want to hear. Thomas Friedman, "The World is Flat" (2005) and the World is "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" (2008), recently graced the shores of Taiwan, and demonstrated this process. Unfortunately the more one listens to him, the more one wonders how he ever became a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Or better yet, what judgment standards does the Pulitzer Prize Board have? In the 14 Journalistic categories awarded only to paid entrants, does cleverness trump content? Does style trump substance? ...

Taiwan, January 2010: As the World Turns
Saturday January 09

Saturday January 9, 2010, a clean sweep for the DPP as it took the three Legislative Yuan positions that were up for re-election when vacated because of among other things previous KMT vote-buying. Ma's new spin-doctor KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung is going to be working overtime to try and put a positive spin on this one. All three positions had been KMT held. More by-elections in February, but the immediate damage is that the DPP now has more than one-fourth of the Legislative positions and can officially challenge the President in legislative matters. ...

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou Rules by Fiat, Why then is No One Listening?
Thursday January 07

The more one watches Ma Ying-jeou's distant management style, the more one thinks of Swift's floating island of Laputa in his satire, "Gulliver's Travels". From high above, the king of the floating island communicates with his subjects down below via written orders, directives and messages lowered in a basket. His subjects must respond in kind placing requests and petitions in the basket to be hauled up for consideration. Swift is satirizing the Hanover King George I of England who did not speak the language of the people and preferred to rule from afar (Germany to be exact). Ma of course does speak a faltering Taiwanese, but his mind is not on Taiwan. It's elsewhere dreaming of restoring the mythic Republic of China that never lost the Civil War and still rules China by its 1947 Constitution. ...

Taiwan Up, Now There is an Embarassing Expression
Monday January 04

Even though Dubai now claims the world's tallest operative building, Taipei 101 (having held that boast for 5 years) still stands proud and tall over the city of Taipei. Proud and tall, that is, except for one item, the unfortunate glowing lights spelling out "Taiwan Up" on its façade. Taiwan Up, who came up with that embarrassing inept slogan? ...

Where's the Beef? It's Smell the Coffee Time in the USA
Friday January 01

Those of us, who live at ground zero in Taiwan, have long grown tired of hearing pundits and distant observers in USA media etc. judge things from a distance and spout or believe the pearls handed them by their past wine and dine Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) friends. For the past eighteen months we have heard those pundits speak in glorious terms about how the election of Ma Ying-jeou was going to solve all the problems in the Taiwan Strait, harmonize the triangle of the USA, Taiwan and China and allow everyone to become millionaires. ...

Taiwan's Prosecutors Continue to Abuse Their Power
Friday December 25

Taiwan's prosecutors continue to abuse their power in the Chen Shui-bian case as they set out on yet another fishing expedition. They recently announced a fourth round of indictments (22 people) in Chen's case. So far they have called in just about anyone and everyone that ever shook hands with Chen or offered to buy him a cup of coffee. ...

The Peaceful Need for Japan and Taiwan to Support Each Other
Thursday December 17

No one has ever defined what the status quo in the Taiwan Strait actually is, was or should be though everyone talks about it. So the charade continues that there is a status quo and that everyone supports it (peace included). Despite that, China regularly adds to the number of missiles it has pointed at Taiwan; it makes military threats and anti-secession laws, and jails any and all pro-democracy dissidents within its borders. In keeping with the same mythical status quo, Taiwan under the Ma government says that it believes its 23 million people should control their destiny yet it consistently ignores their input, currently tries to ram a non-transparent ECFA down their throats and promotes pro-unification policies. And the USA, if pressed, will state that Taiwan's status is undetermined, but in its actions the USA neglects any input from the actual people of Taiwan and tries to accommodate the China market. What then really needs to be done? ...

Taiwan, As the World Turns in December: Ma Turns to his Spin-doctor King Pu-tsung
Monday December 14

The December 5 election results were not a big loss for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but they did show the continuing ineptness of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou. As both President and KMT Party Chairman, Ma could blame no one else. He put his image on the line as he campaigned heavily throughout the country, and especially so in the County of Yilan where the KMT lost handily. Ma tried to explain it all as a matter of the economy (Ma's campaign promise of 6-3-3 is becoming 3-1-1) but whatever the reasons Ma gave, the outcome was clearly another vote of non-confidence in Ma ...

A Cause for Concern, Does Ma Ying-jeou Know What Time It Is?
Wednesday December 09

The elections of December 5th are past and one marked result is the fact that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has regained power in its former stronghold, Yilan County. Ma Ying-jeou as both President of the country and Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had zealously and extensively campaigned there to prevent this, putting both his own reputation and the party's on the line. Despite this, the people voted in the DPP candidate. Whether this can be seen as an indication that the people of Taiwan are developing a growing mistrust of their president whom many are beginning to call the phony pony, is one matter. But there is another matter, that of Ma breaking the law in his campaigning. ...

Another Side of Taiwan, the Scots and St. Andrew's Ball
Wednesday December 02

At the end of November each year, the Scots around the world celebrate their culture, heritage, and nationalism with a meal and both Scottish and regular dancing at St. Andrew's Ball. Taiwan is no exception and we always try to make it a point to join them in their fun, merriment and fellowship. To see photos of this year's celebration and past years go to the heading "Another Side" on the left, click it and then click again on the category of St. Andrew's Ball. Each year is designated.

Taiwan Under Ma Ying-jeou, More Smoke and Mirrors as the Cross-strait Sell Out Continues
Monday November 30

As Ma Ying-jeou works his shady cross-strait deals, he tries to flash the carrot of how China will save Taiwan. Forget the fact that the Chinese dumped poisoned milk products etc. on Taiwan. Forget the fact that the great China tourist influx failed. There, not only did the numbers not materialize, but even the few tourists that came, how shall we put it, were cheap. They did not spend much. Certainly not as much as the Japanese or even the Koreans whose tourists Ma should have promoted more in the first place. But let us return to the cross-strait promises. Again, the reality is proving the opposite. Opposite, unless you want to say that under Ma the rich will get richer, but the poor will get poorer. Examine the recent housing news. ...

Kissinger, the International Republican Institute (IRI), Freedom and Democracy and Other Conundrums
Thursday November 26

The International Republican Institute (IRI) needs to do some serious soul-searching. Its stated purpose is to advance freedom and democracy worldwide; it promotes open elections, good government and rule by law. It supports the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights where "Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few but the inalienable and human right of all human beings." This is all well and good, so then why of the many people who have sacrificed for cause of freedom is it honoring former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger with the Freedom Award (October 2009)? ...

Taiwan, Where's the Beef Protest Photos
Wednesday November 25

In the previous posting, mention was made of the protest made by thousands of Taiwanese on the slipshod way that Ma Ying-jeou was handling Taiwan's international affairs. In this particular case, the problem was the questionable deal made on accepting tainted beef products that could endanger the health of Taiwan's citizens. Why was Ma so quick to make a deal, what was the quid pro quo in accepting dangerous products? Later Ma tried to dance around his acceptance saying in effect, we have accepted poisonous products but our testing of them will render them inedible. In other words, we are purposely spending (read wasting) tax dollars in buying useless products. Why do such? What was the quid pro quo in buying food to throw away. For photos of the protest, go to the left and click on the blue word Protest. Then select the subset of protest for Nov. 14, 09 ...

Taiwan: Where's the Beef? It's not with the USA but with Ma. Who Else?
Saturday November 21

A week past on Saturday November 14, thousands of Taiwanese took to the streets of Taipei to express their growing concern over the present government's continued mismanagement of the nation's international affairs. In line with this, the Legislative Yuan has been deadlocked on an amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation. The issue of course has been the recent agreement of President Ma Ying-jeou to the import of American beef. Don't misunderstand this. It is not a matter that Taiwanese do not like American prime rib, T-bones or filet mignon; they love it. What Taiwanese are upset with is the continuing slipshod manner of negotiations and apparent deal-making that the Ma government is trying present as fait accompli for the people and the legislature to accept. ...

The UN Snubs Taiwan Again: Who is the Joke of Ma Ying-joke On?
Friday November 20

With the recent revelation of the United Nations past snubbing of Taiwan (it rejected in June the two human rights covenants signed by Ma Ying-jeou), the pitiful saga of Taiwan's President Ma continues. It is no wonder that many continue to call him Ma Ying-joke, for despite this and numerous other humiliations, Ma still claims that his China-friendly, China-centric policy is working. But the question or joke for Taiwanese is that it is working for what? This particular snubbing was in June for example, yet Taiwan's public has only been made aware of it now. If the policy is working, why the cover up until now? ...

USC's Annenberg School, Soft Power and Taiwan: Part III Responses
Sunday November 15

A classic statements contrasting hard power with soft power would be that of Joseph Stalin who asked, "The Pope, how many divisions does he have?" If ever there was a man of hard power, it was Stalin, and if ever there was a man of soft power it would be the Pope. Taiwan cannot liken itself to the Pope but facing the hard power of the People's Republic of China (PRC) it knows it cannot match the PRC plane for plane, missile for missile, ship for ship etc. What then must it do? This was the question raised and the direction suggested in the conference mentioned in Parts I & II previously posted on November 6 and 8. Taiwan needs soft power. ...

Ma's Poor Performance Draws Yet a 5th Letter of Protest from International Scholars.
Thursday November 12

The quality of justice in Taiwan continues to erode and the freedom of the press declines; people wonder why its president, Ma Ying-jeou, like a one-trick pony is stuck. Abuses abound yet all Ma can think of is to try and push his dangerous and non-transparent ECFA deal on the people. Freedom House and Reporters without Borders express disappointment and give the country lower marks on Ma's performance. As a result the international group of scholars and writers have no choice but to write another letter of protest and concern on Taiwan's failing democracy. It is their fifth letter in barely one year. The number of those signing continues to grow as does the awareness of Ma's incompetence. The letter follows: ...

USC's Annenberg School for Communication Brings Soft Power to Taiwan: Part II
Sunday November 08

In session two of the conference, Jeffrey Cole Ph.D. Director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC addressed new trends in media technology advances and their relevance for Public Diplomacy (PD). He pointed out how the environment and the ways you reach people are constantly changing. He contrasted how people in previous decades would suffer withdrawal if there was a newspaper strike; today's people would suffer more if the internet of mobile phone use was disconnected. TV was introduced mainstream in the home in 1948 - though this author can remember watching Notre Dame vs. Army on TV in a Chicago tavern in 1947. (Of course I had accompanied my father there, I may be old but not that old). TV had a way of bringing people together (but actually radio did that previously with the difference that while listening to programs on the radio in a family circle, one could be doing other things as well - whereas with TV, one had to focus on the screen). ...

USC's Annenberg School for Communication Brings Soft Power to Taiwan: Part I
Friday November 06

"National Security, Public and Cultural Diplomacy, Smart Power: Future Directions for Smart Nations," isn't that a mouthful. Yet that was the long and unusual title for the conference on October 29, 2009, a conference sponsored by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Four of the six featured speakers came from the University of Southern California's (USC) Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. So what did they have to say about smart power for smart nations especially small but smart nations? Below is a summary. ...

Nagano Link Back Up
Thursday November 05

To see delightfulpictures of Nagano from my earlier posting, the link is back up. Enjoy the scenery; it is a peaceful place and worth visiting. Go to the left and click on Nagano ...

November, Week One: As the World Turns in Taiwan
Thursday November 05

A variety of things are happening as the world turns in Taiwan, November 2009. First there is the import of "health threatening" beef products from a signed agreement with the USA. The Ma government approved the signing, but now is hesitating and looking for an out as members of Ma's own party, the opposition party and the general population are objecting to it. Why Ma approved it and what deals he may have worked out or thought he was working out with the USA seem to be blowing up in his face and add credence to his growing reputation as Ma the Incompetent. It is unsure where this is going, but one thing is certain that Ma will begin to distance himself as he always does from the decision. He will either place the blame on the Premier or will try to counter with a dodge statement like, "We approved the import of health-threatening beef, but we did not tell the people that they should buy it." Regardless, with this debacle, the population of Taiwan is increasingly worried as Ma the Incompetent ploughs ahead with his desire to also sign a non-transparent ECFA agreement with Taiwan's enemy across the Strait. ...

The KMT's Diane Lee Finally Admits, She Lied.
Friday October 30

The political bias and imbalance of Taiwan's Courts and its System of Justice were once again made evident in Taiwan when Diane Lee returned to court this past week. Lee, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) ex-legislator finally admitted that she, in violation of the law, has all along held dual-citizenship between the United States and the Republic of China on Taiwan. Yes after months of denying this fact, after accusing the United States of poor record keeping, after using every excuse and trying to blame any and all parties for doubting her, Lee finally admitted the truth. But what has this to do with the bias of the courts. Lee is still presumed innocent in the eyes of the court; she is as free as a bird.

Who is Worse, the Thief or the Fence?
Tuesday October 27

The word fence has different meanings. As a noun, it can denote a barrier or divider. Robert Frost has the well known line, "Good fences make good neighbors," in his poem "Mending Wall." In a different realm, the verb "to fence" describes a sport of swordsmanship where opponents use blunted foils, epees or sabers to register hits on each other. But there is third totally different meaning. The noun fence also can describe a person who receives and sells stolen goods or who acts as a conduit for stolen goods; this is the meaning that Taiwanese need to become aware of because it concerns their President. ...

Taiwan's Dream Community Parade, Fun for All
Tuesday October 20

What are dreams made of? Taiwan has its answer. From media reports, one may be tempted to think that Taiwan is all politics and business, but there are other more delightful sides as well. One such side is the Dream Community under direction of Gordon Tsai which on October 17th held its eighth annual carnival parade in the streets of Taipei. This year's theme treated Taiwan's unique identity, a blending of the variety of Taiwan's aborigines with the many others who migrated here from China and elsewhere. How does that identity show itself? Creativity knows no bounds. Just view the pictures of the Dream Community parade and see for yourself. ...

Ma Ying-jeou Recycles His Old Promises but Taiwan is None the Richer
Monday October 19

The world continues to turn in Taiwan, and Ma Ying-jeou is once again the official Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). For those whose memory is short, Ma had been chairman from 2005 to 2007 when he had to step down because he was indicted for corruption. Fortunately, Ma got his secretary to take sole and total responsibility for depositing roughly a half-million US dollars into Ma's personal bank account; as a result with his secretary in jail for putting this money in Ma's personal account, Ma has dodged the bullet. So now Ma has been re-elected chairman and is recycling his old promises. Recycling old promises, what's that? ...

Nagano, Relax and Enjoy the Scenery,
Thursday October 15

There are times when one has to get away with no other purpose than just to relax and refresh the spirit. Nagano, Japan is one such place that offers a quiet retreat into nature amidst its mountains and lakes. There, one can hike up mountain paths to waterfalls or temples and be alone to contemplate what is before one. As Thoreau said in his essay Walking, "What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods." Don't worry about accomplishing something, just enjoy the scenery. And if you can't get there right now, at least you can go to the left and find the name Nagano in blue. Click on to it and you will find some 48 pictures of various scenes. If you want to enlarge any photo, just move the mouse to where the words "full resolution" appear and click again. Enjoy.

Is Ma the Incompetent Becoming Ma the Fawning Dog?
Monday October 12

6-3-3, how those numbers must haunt the mind of Ma the Incompetent. Or let us rephrase, how they would haunt the mind of Ma the Incompetent if he were a person who felt responsible for the truth, accuracy and sincerity of what he says. Unfortunately, there are many in Taiwan who don't have that opinion of Ma. Even the foreign media is starting to catch on to the two-faced façade that he and his PR team have built in the past decade. But that is not the point here; it seems that a new name for Ma is developing among the Taiwanese people, Ma the Fawning Dog. ...

What's This? The Republic of China on Taiwan Has No National Day Celebrations?
Friday October 09

Tomorrow is 10/10 day, the National Day of the Republic of China (ROC) and for the first time (as far as I remember), the ROC is not going to have a celebration and parade honoring its founding and/or honoring Taiwan. China just spent billions to honor its national day by parade and festivities, and many KMT supporters even attended those celebrations. So why is Taiwan doing nothing and shame-facedly hiding in the corners? ...

The PRC's Seven Axioms of Peaceful Rising
Wednesday October 07

The People's Republic of China (PRC) recently celebrated its 60th anniversary with plenty of fanfare and a superb show of military power. The cost while not spelt out was undeniably large. In the previous year, Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics and put on a US $43 billion dollar spectacle to awe the world. So, it is no wonder that even with a billion people at poverty level or below, pundits are continuing to say this is China's Century, and expound on how the PRC as the World's factory is also a world power ready to challenge anyone. What else is there to say? One can of course choose to examine the formula behind this hoopla, but do we really want to face the axioms it depends on? ...

Taiwan's Aborigines Suffer More Than Morakot
Friday October 02

Typhoon Morakot did more than expose the incompetence and lack of leadership in the Ma administration; it highlighted another salient issue in Taiwan, the plight of its aboriginal people. Like many indigenous people suffering the fates of past colonialism, these people are pulled in opposite directions. Tugging on the one side is the wish to maintain their traditional life styles and identities; on the other side are the demands for survival and dignity in the modern, fast-paced, high-tech society surrounding them. As a result, they are being marginalized to the point of extinction. Even if they do fit in, at best, they often face the life of second class citizens teetering on the brink of welfare. If ever the aboriginal community needed vision and leadership, it is now. ...

Taiwan, What's Your Satisfaction Level?
Tuesday September 29

It is the second year of the alleged reign of Ma the Incompetent in Taiwan, and it is no secret that the comfort level of the citizens of Taiwan post Morakot has hit an all time low. Whether one is blue or green, the prevalent and recurring theme song is the Rolling Stones, "I can't get no satisfaction." Why? As E.B.B. says, "Let me count the ways" and this is without even mentioning 6-3-3. ...

Taiwan Voters Prove They are not Sheep
Monday September 28

On Saturday, September 26, Taiwan voters made a statement; it was simple, but it was direct and to the point. They said, we are not sheep; don't expect us to follow all the old patterns; don't think you can always buy our votes; don't think big advertising campaigns will always sway us. Taiwan voters once again proved that Taiwan is a democracy and people can vote their minds - unlike that other country that lies somewhere to the west of Taiwan where their paternalistic and patronizing government tells them what is best for them. What country is that; well let's forget about their name, what was the vote on in Taiwan. ...

Taiwan Artists Protest Ma Ying-jeou's Government Asleep at the Wheel
Monday September 21

On Saturday September 19th, a small but vocal and visual protest took to the streets of Taipei. It was roughly 1000 people or more (small by Taipei standards) but what made it different and unique was that it was spontaneously organized by concerned citizens in the artistic community of Taiwan and not any big political party machines. They named it the pajama parade for a government asleep at the wheel as far as protecting Taiwan's sovereignty and its democratic values were concerned. These marchers voiced their disdain with the incompetence of Ma Ying-jeou and his government; they expressed disgust with the kangaroo court trial of Chen Shui-bian and its unconstitutional abuse of power to prevent a proper defense; they came to say Taiwan deserved better and should have it. ...

The KMT's Diane Lee Back in Court: I Ripped You Off, but I Am Not Corrupt.
Friday September 18

You can tell the loyalty of the beggar's children (乞丐趕廟公) to Taiwan by the way they are always ready to jump ship if the going gets tough. For that reason, Diane Lee of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has held dual citizenship with the USA from 1994 (when democracy began to take hold) to the present. During that time she has illegally collected over US$3 million in salaries and has also made laws for a country that she is prepared to abandon at a moment's notice. ...

Two Keatings, Two Different Opinions
Thursday September 17

In a recent news report from Washington DC, Admiral Timothy Keating, head of the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command stated that he was "cautiously optimistic" on US-China relations. In a separate report from Taipei, Taiwan, Jerome F. Keating Ph.D. retired professor and author(distant relation to Timothy) stated in almost point-counterpoint, that he was "cautiously pessimistic" of US-China relations. ...

The Real Source of Taiwan's Campaign Corruption
Tuesday September 15

In its laws on campaign funding and party donations as well as the use of special government allowances, Taiwan has a corrupt system, created by a corrupt party to justify and shelter its corrupt gains. It was created by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in its one-party state colonial heyday, and has been in place in Taiwan for over sixty years. What is the source and cause of this corruption? The United China Daily in an editorial in September, 2008 put it plainly, "The primary reason is the lack of laws compelling public servants to explain the source of their wealth." Armed with the protection of this system innumerable politicians have been able to profit all the way from the KMT's one-party state days on up to the present. Further, the pan-blue controlled Legislative Yuan has refused to change this gravy train because they do not want to kill the goose that lays their golden eggs. Chen Shui-bian's recent crime and fault is not in his alleged money-laundering and misuse of funds, but because he is a Taiwanese outside that corrupt system but has dared to use it and make similar profit. ...

The Continuing Death of Justice in Taiwan: Deconstructing and Exposing the Hypocrisy of Ma Ying-jeou?
Sunday September 13

The brutal murder of Lin Yi-siung's mother and his two twin daughters (age 7) in broad daylight in their own home while Lin was in prison and his home was under 24-hour daily surveillance by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) one-party state secret police is one of the unsolved murders of the early 80s. Recently, Ma Ying-jeou in a seeming show of concern with justice for Taiwan's past had directed that this case and others be re-opened. To many however, it soon became apparent that Ma did not want to find answers but simply wanted a shallow, cursory examination to thus forever exonerate the KMT administration and provide himself with a facile excuse. Once completed, he could then spout to foreign media, "my administration in its concern for justice re-opened the cases from the past but unfortunately we found no other leads," and the foreign media would write how noble Ma was in trying to rectify the past etc. etc.

Jerome Cohen, Ma's Law School Mentor, Again Speaks Out on the Ma Government Violation of Human Rights
Saturday September 12

Jerome Cohen has repeatedly spoken out on the violations of human rights in the Ma government, but it appears that having returned to Taiwan, Ma has left law school behind. Cohen highlights how Chen Shui-bian has repeatedly been denied the human right to a fair preparation of defense in his trial. It appears that Ma's government is afraid of that very matter, that Chen be allowed a chance to properly defend himself. The court knows its arguments are weak, and a proper defense could destroy them. Watch what happens in the future. ...

US Congress Has Screening of "Formosa Betrayed" Film
Saturday September 12

Taiwan's struggle to create a democracy over the constraints of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) one-party state took decades. The film, "Formosa Betrayed" presents a composite of events in the 1980s and how the KMT was responsible for several high profile murders to try and contain those seeking a multi-party state democracy. As the US Congress watches the film, it should be aware of how often certain elements in its own government will co-opt to work with dictatorships like the KMT once had and betray the ideals of the founding fathers of the USA. They must always learn to look behind the scenes. ...

Denied a Fair Trial and Imprisoned by "Judge Shopping" and Other Abuses Chen Presents His Case Outside the Court
Wednesday September 09

What follows is a summary and foreword to the arguments of Chen Shui-bian's defense team. It is presented to the people outside the court since Chen's team feel that the court was compromised long ago when it went "judge shopping" in order to find a judge that would imprison Chen though he was only indicted and the trial had not yet begun. Similarly by insisting that they be allowed to tape and listen in to all conversations with his lawyers and anyone else, the prosecutors denied him any chance to present a decent defense. We (Chen Shui-bian's defense team) firmly believe that: ...

Neo-Formosa Magazine Launch and Chen Shui-bian's Defense
Wednesday September 09

Today Chen Shui-bian's Office will be launching or re-starting the publication of the Neo-Formosa Magazine, a magazine for which Chen was charged with libel twenty-three years ago. Chen's Office will use that occasion to present some of the key points in their defense against the indictments that he faces and the up-coming judgment by the court on September 11. Below is the abstract of their case, a case that they are bringing to the people because in their mind, the court has been biased not only in its indictments but also their imprisonment and handling of the trial. Of all the accused political people in Taiwan's history, whether Party chiefs, presidential candidates, party chairman etc. Chen is the only one who was jailed and held incommunicado for over a half a year. The abstract follows. ...

September, as the World Turns in Taiwan: the Anti-Climax of Wu Shu-jen
Monday September 07

The court finally gave its sentence in the trial of Wu Shu-jen for implied money-laundering, corruption, manipulating state funds etc. etc. all those dark insinuations and charges that Taiwan has been forced to listen to from the pan-blue media for over the past two years. In the final analysis, after the trial, after the accusations, and after all the vindictiveness, Wu's sentence proved we had gone through all of this to listen to sound and fury signifying nothing. At best this sentence was, to say the least, anti-climatic. ...

September, as the World Turns in Taiwan: a New and Final Name for Ma Ying-jeou?
Saturday September 05

Throughout history, it is common for leaders to pick up names and nicknames that speak to various qualities they possess. Most everyone can remember the stories of Richard the Lion-hearted of England as well as Erik the Red of Viking lore. Lesser known may be Charles the Bold of Burgundy who happened to be the son of Philip the Good (now that is a tough name to have to live up to). The lists go on and on and that inevitably leads to the question of how Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou has gained the name, Ma the Incompetent. ...

September, As the World Turns in Taiwan: Yeh Ching-chuan 2009
Saturday September 05

Typhoon Morakot and the Dalai Lama's subsequent visit were not the only newsworthy items happening recently in Taiwan. In Hualien, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held its primary and former Department of Health Minister, Yeh Ching-chuan was left as a clear loser. While some jokingly expressed the thought that "it couldn't have happened to a nicer weasel," others pondered what it might be saying politically. ...

Ma Ying-jeou, the Dalai Lama and Taiwan Part III, the Parting Shot
Friday September 04

The Dalai Lama's visit is over and much went as according to script. Ma Ying-jeou and the KMT leaders avoided him; the DPP leaders welcomed him, China protested but not too much so that it would not put Ma in a bad spot (they put the blame on the DPP). On the ground, the people in the south were comforted, the Dalai Lama showed them more sympathy and empathy than Ma ever did. Overall the country was glad he came, but as always there were some protesters; in a democracy, you always will have protesters. During the same time period there was even a larger protest against the United State--that protest was about how Taiwan (because of its unresolved status after the 1952 Treaty of San Francisco) still belonged to the USA. But protests aside, there was one other interesting aspect. ...

Mark Chen, Tainan Municipality New Primary, The Voters will Decide!
Wednesday September 02

The merging of Tainan City with Tainan County to create the Tainan Municipality will be inaugurated on Dec. 25 of next year. Thus the election for the Magistrate of the Municipality will be held near the end of 2010; this has helped the DPP out of one tight spot and put the ball back with the voters. What am I talking about? It means that a new primary will need to be held and all are starting from scratch. ...

Ma Ying-jeou, the Dalai Lama, and Taiwan Part II, When is the Timing Right?
Sunday August 30

In 2008, the Dalai Lama had expressed interest in coming to Taiwan, but President Ma Ying-jeou refused him entry saying that the "timing was not right." While one might puzzle over when and why the timing would ever be right or not right for an internationally known religious leader and man of peace to visit a country, most assumed that Ma in typical toady fashion did not want to "offend" the People's Republic of China (PRC). Certainly, Ma did need China at this time. He had made a campaign promise to raise the country's growth rate from 5 per cent to 6 per cent. Regrettably in Ma's first year in office the growth rate had dropped to 3 per cent and China was the only trick that the one-trick pony had in his bag to salvage Taiwan's economy. ...

Ma Ying-jeou, the Dalai Lama and Taiwan Part I: Whose Side is Ma on?
Saturday August 29

After Taiwan's government issued a visa to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan, the People's Republic of China (PRC) quickly responded with a condemnation of the action. It had all along condemned any visit by the Dalai Lama regardless of motive, even religious or compassionate. But this time the PRC went further. Though it was the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) led government that granted the visa, the PRC blamed the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the action, saying, "The DPP's evil motives will definitely be opposed by compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait." ...

Ma Ying-jeou, the Sycophant Syndrome, and the KMT's New Dilemma
Saturday August 22

Taiwan's Typhoon Morakot did more than finalize how Ma Ying-jeou in true Peter Principle fashion had risen far beyond the level of his competence. It also exposed what may be called the Sycophant Syndrome and a dilemma for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Let's deal with the Sycophant Syndrome first. ...

Taiwan Enters Ghost Month in Post-Morakot Pain
Thursday August 20

Today ushered in Ghost Month in Taiwan. It is a month when many are wary and careful of certain actions. They may choose to not move to a new apartment or home in this month. They may avoid going swimming. They may decide it is time to visit the temple and pray for protection. There are many actions that are governed by this fact. But this year, in post-Morakot suffering, the people of Taiwan, particularly those in the south will have much more on their minds. ...

Ma Ying-jeou, When Images Are Not Enough!
Tuesday August 18

What world does Ma Ying-jeou live in? A clear and painful result of Typhoon Morakot has been that it is a world of images, a world of images past and images present. It is a world of imaginary images, imaginary images that have been built on, fostered and fashioned by years and years of faulty Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) paradigms and reinforced by their propaganda. True in the mind of Ma Ying-jeou, his party and his spin-masters, image has always trumped performance and/or reality. But Taiwanese are finally realizing this. They are not only realizing this but they are also realizing that regardless of and contrary to his words, Ma has no idea of what it is to be Taiwanese. ...

Typhoon Morakot, a Painful Reminder of Ma Ying-jeou and the Peter Principle
Tuesday August 18

With the government's mis-handling of Typhoon Morakot, many have finally come to realize how Ma Ying-jeou exemplifies the Peter Principle--a person that rises to the level of his/her incompetence. For perceptive Ma-watchers this was already evident when Ma was mayor of Taipei. Unfortunately for Taiwan, the general public is often distracted and swayed by promises (Ma's forte) rather than performance and so it only listed to Ma and elected him to the Presidency based on his 6-3-3 promise of economic prosperity. Chang Jung-feng, the National Security Council deputy secretary-general under Lee Teng-hui recently spoke to this and gave the public a painful reminder by saying. "Now as president, he (Ma) is expanding the scope of his ineptitude from the municipal level to a national scale."

Ma Ying-jeou's Government Continues to Try to Flip-Flop its Way Out of Blame
Monday August 17

If you remember when the USA and Japan immediately offered aid to Taiwan in the aftermath of the destructive typhoon, Ma's government refused that aid. Then, as embarassment rose, it was declared that they accepted it and the first statement was in error. A typo was blamed. Well tommorrow, Ma will meet with the Taiwan Foreign Correspondent's Club (TFCC) and again we have the flip-flop. ...

Typhoon Morakot and the Many Names of Ma Ying-jeou
Thursday August 13

With the onslaught of Typhoon Morakot, Ma Ying-jeou's leadership skills proved sorely lacking. So as the country of Taiwan struggles to recover, it is time for its citizens to give President Ma a second look. Not just a second look but a long hard second look. This is the man that promised them 6-3-3 and gave them 3-3-6. This is the man who lived on promises but never had a good track record for performance as Mayor of Taipei. This is the man who ironically is already talking like he should be re-elected in 2012. And finally, this is the man that wants the people to give him complete blind trust and not ask for details as he presses for a potentially dangerous ECFA agreement with China. ...

Me, Freddy Lim, Chiang Kai-shek, Art and Taiwan's Identity
Saturday August 08

Taiwanese will not find their true identity as an island nation until they fully realize the indoctrination and brean-wahsing they endured under Chiang Kai-shek (CKS). They will not find their true identity until they realize that he had nothing to do with them except to take advantage of them in their hour of need and to exploit them in his hour of need. It is for this reason that one of the most sad and disappointing things to recently happen in Taiwan has been the changing of the name of Democracy Hall back to that of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It is a step backwards for democracy in Taiwan and symptomatic of Ma Ying-jeou's attempts to fabricate past credibility for his Sino-centric (not Taiwan-centric) government.

Back in Taiwan, Let the Writing Begin
Thursday August 06

As the song says, often "you don't know what you got till it's gone." This phrase was echoed by the husband of one of the two American journalists recently freed after being detained in North Korea. Conscious of that, I hope of course the people of Taiwan never have to utter that phrase in regard to their democracy and sovereignty even though many powers in the world seeking immediate monetary gain pressure the Taiwanese to give both their democracy and sovereignty up to placate China. Nevertheless I might add a corollary. ...

The KMT's Calculated Deflection: the Unjust and Unconstitutional Trial of Chen Shui-bian
Saturday July 25

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is seen by many as the proverbial beggar who came and took over Taiwan's Temple (乞丐趕廟公). They came as a colonial power, destroyed the island's economy to support their losing war effort in China, and finally retreated back to the island to grab the positions of power, property and wealth as their own. It is in this context and with this perspective that the charade of the corruption trial of Taiwan former president, Chen Shui-bian needs to be seen. In that trial, the evidence mounts and mounts not as regards Chen's guilt, which has yet to be proven but towards the double standard of justice in Taiwan. That double standard has always been a characteristic of the KMT from its Martial Law days on. Chen's greatest fault remains that he is Taiwanese and he stood up to the KMT; he not only stood up to them but worse than that he used the corrupt system that had been installed by the beggar in the temple for his own and not for their profit. ...

Maritime Taiwan, a New Book with a Different Perspective on Taiwan
Tuesday July 21

Writing in the "Asian American Press," Richard Kagan provides a Book Review on Shih-shan Henry Tsai's Maritime Taiwan: Historical Encounters with the East and the West. ...

As the World Turns in Taiwan III: Reallity Check for the Rest of the World
Monday July 20

The World Games are now taking place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan but many in the world and certainly in the USA do not even know that they are. Why? Because the media do not really reflect international news. Check your media, have they reported on the games? If not, time to do some self-examination and a reality check on how much you should trust your local media. ...

As the World Turns in Taiwan II: More Games than One In Kaohsiung
Friday July 17

Kaohsiung, Taiwan is gloriously hosting the 8th World Games this year and some 105 countries are here to participate. But the World Games are not the only game in town. Last year when Chen Yunlin from China visited the country, Ma Ying-jeou did not want to admit he was president in front of him. He was introduced as Mr. Ma so as not to offend China. This year, however, things are different. Ma opened the games as the President of Taiwan. So why the change? ...

As the World Turns in Taiwan I: Junket Time
Wednesday July 15

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) forum has begun in China. This is a party to party forum initiated in 2005 by the two leaders (KMT Lien Chan and CCP Hu Jintao); neither one of them has ever won a democratic election; that should tell you something about the nature of the forum. It is party to party, but in his own way of dodging the truth, Ma Ying-jeou wants to call it a cross-strait forum. He knows party to party talks cannot justify a basis for policy, but he does not want to give outsiders any real power in it. They will only be "special guests." ...

When It Comes to National Identity, Taiwanese Can Be Their Own Worst Enemy
Sunday July 12

Most visitors to Taiwan leave with good impressions. They say Taiwanese are friendly, helpful, kind etc. In business Taiwanese have proven themselves to be hard-working, adaptive and entrepreneurial. So why then do these same congenial people have trouble working together for one nation in politics? Why can't they develop, expand and solidify the freedom and democracy that they and their ancestors took so long to win and sacrificed so much to achieve? Why do Taiwanese, particularly in their nation's identity and sovereignty become their own worst enemy? ...

Why the Name of Democracy Memorial Hall Should Not Be Changed Back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Part II
Friday July 10

This is the continuation of the letter of K.W. Dowie. It is one more testimonial on the brutality imposed on Taiwanese by the late dictator Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). It is not an isolated incident but rather one of continued, innumerable cases of suffering and murder from that time. Despite that, there are still those who want to change the name of Taiwan Democracy Hall back to that of the dead dictator. Only the sickest of authoritarian minds would want to do so, but those sick minds still exist in Taiwan. For those Taiwanese who have short memories just scroll down to my entries of March 13 on about Kuo Kuan-ying, Diane Lee and the KMT leech that has always been at Taiwan's throat. (The letter continues here.) ...

Why the Name of Democracy Memorial Hall Should Not Be Changed Back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Thursday July 09

The following letter of April 14, 1947 was written by K.W. Dowie at the request of George William Mackay to Mackay's daughter Margaret in Canada. Mackay (the son of famed missionary George Leslie MacKay) wanted to get out news of what was happening in Taiwan after 2/28. Dowie had been a missionary in Taiwan 1913 - 1924 and was the architect of Tamsui Middle School; he was visiting Taiwan in the service of the US Navy after World War II. Not wanting to risk censorship Dowie wrote and mailed the letter after he left Taiwan. It is another first hand account of the murders after 2/28 and another reason why the name of Democracy Memorial Hall should never be changed back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The letter follows. ...

Is Ma Ying-jeou Becoming the Kiss of Death?
Sunday July 05

The latest word and joke about Taipei is that Ma Ying-jeou is fast becoming the kiss of death to anyone that has anything to do with him. What started this rumor? Well first Ma shook the hand of Yankee's pitcher Wang Chien-ming. Wang had previously been a 19 game winner in several seasons but after shaking hands with Ma, Wang is struggling. He has won only one game this year. Then there is Hilary Clinton; Ma shook her hand and she shortly afterwards fell and broke her arm. Next, Ma was scheduled to meet Managua Mayor Arguello, but he went out and committed suicide. Also on Ma's list for meetings was President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. Ma had met him in the past and was scheduled for a two day visit on Ma's current trip to Latin America. But before Ma arrived a military coup was staged in Honduras and Zelaya had to flee. ...

Will Barack Obama Stand Up the Same Way for Taiwan?
Thursday July 02

With the recent attempted coup in Honduras, Barack Obama responded immediately and spelled out the United States position under him. He said, "We stand on the side of democracy, sovereignty and self-determination." Those are strong and clear words; the only shame of it all is that the United States after some sixty years (more than a half a century) has not been able to unambiguously state the same about Taiwan. ...

Ma-Ying-jeou's Flexible Diplomacy, ECFA and Flying by the Seat of Your Pants
Wednesday July 01

All politicians seek a catch word or phrase to use for spin and glorification of their policies. Ever since Ma Ying-jeou's inauguration, one phrase Taiwan and the world have regularly heard bandied about is how "Ma has Flexible Diplomacy." Whatever that means has been anyone's guess but with the recent happenings in Honduras things suspiciously took a turn for the worse in finding an appropriate definition. ...

How Many Protests Must Be Made Against the KMT Abuse of Justice in Taiwan?
Saturday June 27

Justice continues to be abused in Taiwan; human rights are ignored on a regular basis; transitional justice never happened; the Legislative Yuan has always been controlled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and yet Ma Ying-jeou (whose reputation as the "phony pony" grows by leaps and bounds) wants us to believe that all is well in his lah-lah land. Ma preaches the deceit of "Peace in Our Time" with the rapacious country to the west of Taiwan; to cover his deceit he must distract and orchestrate the circus trial of Chen Shui-bian. ...

Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society Active in June
Saturday June 20

Taiwan abounds with the multiple histories of its complex past. This June has proved to be a typical example, for it was an active month for the Taiwan Prisoner of War (POW) Camps Memorial Society. On June 6, we dedicated the Toroku Prison Camp Memorial at the Gou-ba Elementary School in Douhlio. Then on June 20, we dedicated a memorial to fourteen American airmen who were executed at the former Taipei Prison on June 19, 1945. Both memorials were part of the society's on-going campaign to never forget those who suffered imprisonment in Taiwan. In the complexities of history, these men had fought in World War II for the freedom of their own countries, and they had in their own small way contributed (directly or indirectly) to the eventual democracy that Taiwan enjoys today. ...

Peng Ming-min's New Book, Does Taiwan Need to Escape from Ma?
Friday June 19

Peng Ming-min is a man who has not only talked the talk, but more importantly walked the walk for Taiwan. A life long advocate of Taiwan's right for self-determination, he recently came out with a new book, "A Perfect Escape." The book recounts how in early 1970 Peng, still under house arrest for publishing the "Declaration of Formosan Self-Salvation" (1964), managed to escape from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) autocratic state control. This was at the height of the KMT's White Terror period and provides much more detail than there was in the brief mention of the escape in Peng's "A Taste of Freedom." ...

Ma Ying-jeou's Mentor Remains Depressed Over What He Sees in Taiwan
Sunday June 14

One has to wonder, how many times must Ma Ying-jeou's mentor and former law professor have to criticize Ma's government before they get the picture. Twice he has spoken out on the corruption and the violations on human rights as well as the injustices prevalent in Taiwan. Yet in the short span of six months Jerome Cohen has felt compelled to speak out once more. This time he criticizes the silence of the legal personnel in standing up to the government's abuses. His article "Silence of the Lambs" appeared in the South China Morning Post on June 11, 2009. It follows: ...

Wu Poh-hsiung: Tears, Just Desserts, Or the Simple Inevitable Slap in the Face?
Thursday June 11

One can almost feel sorry for Wu Poh-hsiung as he steps down or is pushed off the stage as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman by Ma Ying-jeou. I say almost, but that is as far as it goes. Wu is one of those strange Hakka who have a rightful place to be masters in their own land of Taiwan, but have given it up to be a second class citizen in the KMT. Why? It seems that such would rather settle for the guaranteed crumbs and secure lower status provided by the KMT than enter the competitive world of finding principles on which they can build their lives and living those principles. ...

Tianamen Square Twenty Years Later: the Memory Lives for Those Who Care
Tuesday June 02

Tomorrow we commemorate the massacre at Tiananmen Square, a massacre that many pretend never happened and others wish would go away so they could go on making money off the tainted goods of China. For those who live in the democratic nation of Taiwan, it is particularly poignant because the country to our west has designs on our economy and our nation. Similarly as there are those who wish that Tiananmen Square would go away, so there are those that wish the 23 million people of Taiwan's wish to preserve their democratic nation would go away. Such people also want only to go on making money with China. ...

Taiwan, Asia's Supposed Voldemort, That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named
Thursday May 28

Shades of Harry Potter, but the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) continues to place Taiwanese in the Chamber of Secrets. Secrets? Yes and we are talking about more than just Ma Ying-jeou's refusal to provide any transparency on ECFA, the mythical savior to salvage his failed economic policies. As he gives the farm away, Ma wants Taiwanese to blindly trust his last ditch speculation. No the greater secrets we are talking about are the way KMT leaders enter into discourse with China. Whenever the subject of the nation state of Taiwan comes up, it is treated like the Voldemort of Asia, "That-Which-Must-Not-Be Named." ...

Ma Ying-jeou Completes his First Year as Justice and Human Rights Continue to Erode in Taiwan
Tuesday May 26

Ma Ying-jeou has completed his first year as president of Taiwan and the reviews of his performance are far from favorable to say the least. The economy remains poor but Ma as a "one-trick pony" risks endangering the nation's sovereignty by professing that his only salvation is in China. Those countries eager to profit off of China's cheap labor and tainted goods are happy to go along with this and praise him for it. Within Taiwan, however, there have already been four major protests in the nation; for the observing group of scholars and writers, justice and human rights continue to erode. They have issued their fourth letter on this. The postings of the previous letters can be found here on November 15, 2008, November 29, 2008, and January 30, 2009. Below is the latest Open Letter, printed in the Taipei Times on May 21, 2009. It reads. ...

Ma Ying-jeou's Police State? A Follow Up on the 5/17 Protest "Accident"
Sunday May 24

Imagine that you are speeding along at 80 km per hour on a city street where the speed limit is around 30 to 40 km per hour. Imagine further that two elderly gentlemen in their sixties slowly cross the street in front of you. They are from a protest that you have been monitoring. You may be annoyed at them because of that and you may further be annoyed at them because you know your boss wants to create the façade that everyone in Taiwan is happy. You do not slow down or even apply the brakes. You hit both of them throwing one up in the air so that he breaks the windshield on your car in his fall. Both of them end up in the hospital. One may die; the other has a broken hip and must have his leg amputated. Police responsibility under Ma Ying-jeou? Read on. ...

Taiwan and the WHA, a Gift Horse to be Examined?
Tuesday May 19

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) just does not get it. They cannot understand why the people of Taiwan are fed up with their continued condescending paternalism. They fail to realize that the people see through the KMT's pretense to love Taiwan as Taiwan. They cannot fathom why their colonial beneficence is seen as just that, rehashed colonialism. The most recent example of this is the shameless behavior of Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan who when challenged on what name was used in joining WHA, tearfully complained, "I really don't know what these people want . . . I am being patriotic." Patriotic to what? Yes, this has always been the problem of colonial masters wanting to maintain their colonial status. ...

Emboldened Police Car Runs Down Two Anti-Ma Ying-jeou Protesters in Taipei
Monday May 18

The current Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) President Ma Ying-jeou had promised that he would return the streets to the people after his election. But as always with the hypocritical Ma, one must watch what he does rather than what he says. During the People's Republic of China (PRC) Chen Yunlin's visit, Taiwan witnessed how thousands of police were mobilized to forcibly prevent legitimate protest. Police manhandled citizens wanting to display the national flag or trying to get near the hotel where Chen was staying as Ma sought to cozy up to China. Later a record store was shut down because it was playing Taiwanese songs. Its crime was that it was a half-block away from another hotel where Chen Yunlin was having tea with KMT bigwigs. ...

Taiwan: Problems in Paradise under Ma Ying-jeou
Saturday May 16

Taiwan and Kaohsiung are bracing for the protest marches on Sunday May 17th. They promise to be colorful with plenty of creative signs and slogans as the people voice their discontent with Ma Ying-jeou's poor leadership in his first year as president. There will be plenty of photos following on the web to give ample evidence that all is not well in Taiwan despite the glossy veneer that some would like to put on the erosion of justice and human rights under Ma as well as his lack of transparency in dealings with Taiwan's troublesome neighbor across the Strait. ...

Taiwan's Injustice, How Can I Protest? Let Me Count the Ways, but First Sign Up
Thursday May 14

On May 11, I posted below on how injustice has continued to erode in Taiwan and gave specific reference to the trial of Chen Shui-bian. Someone has since made available a place to sign up and voice your protest. ...

Jason Yuan, Another KMT Case of Deceit and So-So Loyalty to Taiwan?
Thursday May 14

Remember the weeks and months of denials and protestations of innocence we had to endure in the recent case of Diane Lee's loyalty to Taiwan? Well, Lee, the illegal member of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan kept saying she did not have a US passport etc. etc. till she finally resigned and ran off with over US$3 million dollars of illegally earned money from Taiwan. It now seems like another Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) case of so-so KMT loyalty to Taiwan is in the wind. This is over Jason Yuan's now-he-has-it, now-he-doesn't green card. "Next Magazine" has once again exposed the fast and loose practices of KMT members. ...

Taiwan Stands up to be Counted: Protest in Taipei on May 17
Wednesday May 13

Are you fed up with the erosion of justice in Taiwan? Are you fed up with the lack of government transparency in its dealings with China? Are you fed up with the lack of economic leadership and results in Taiwan? Are you fed up with the re-introduction of a police state? Are you fed up with the way the media is being constricted? Are you fed up with 6-3-3 and all the false promises of the Phony Pony? Then come out and protest on May 17th. So rings the cry in Taiwan. ...

Injustice Continues in Chen Shui-bian's Trial
Monday May 11

Injustice flows from granting too much power to an agency or government and that continues to be the case in Taiwan. The collaboration of prosecutors and witnesses, plea discussions and immunity negotiations continue to easily lead to a fabrication of evidence where the intimidated witnesses say what the prosecutors want them to say. Professor Jerome Cohen's critical remarks of Taiwan's legal process again hold center stage as run of the mill prosecutors are allowed free rein in the courts. The most recent abuse has been that when the unconstitutional holding of Chen Shui-bian finally went into effect, the prosecutors drummed up new charges so that they could still keep Chen in jail. Review these past highlights. ...

A New Perspective on Taiwan's Identity: Doris T. Chang's "Women's Movements in Twentieth Century Taiwan"
Friday May 08

In addition to its unresolved status, a second pressing issue for Taiwan is its identity. Doris T. Chang's new work, "Women's Movements in 20th Century Taiwan" addresses that issue from a totally unexpected perspective, the role of women. Dr. Richard C. Kagan, Professor Emeritus at Hamline University, shares his review of that work and its importance. Kagan cautions that the book is academic and does not directly address the issues of identity but once read, it calls for a re-evaluation and new assessment of Taiwan's feminist movements in terms of Taiwan's identity and its relations with China. ...

A New Book: Nancy Bernkopf Tucker's "Strait Talk" on Taiwan's Unresolved Status
Friday May 08

Taiwan's status after World War II remains unresolved, how true. Yet while Dennis Wilder of the US State Department could say this, Japan's representative to Taiwan, Masaki Saito, recently got into trouble for saying exactly the same thing. Rebuked and admonished by both the Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC), Saito was nevertheless applauded by others. Why? Because it is about time that the world faced this unfortunate residue of San Francisco Peace Treaty (1952). I have written on it numerous times but am pleased to say that Nancy Bernkopf Tucker's new book goes into the full background. Her work, "Strait Talk: United States--Taiwan Relations and the Crisis with China" both documents and points to the numerous causes of this problem and how we got saddled by it. I present an excellent review of that book below. Anyone involved with Taiwan should read it. ...

Taiwan's Tung Blossoms: Take Time out to Appreciate the Flowers
Thursday May 07

From mid-April to mid-May, in central and northern Taiwan, the mountains come alive with the blossoming of the Tung tree. This fast-growing tree (genus paulownia) has been imported to Taiwan from China and prospered here. Not needing much water, it is a good economical tree known for its lumber and seeds and of course the beauty of its blossoms. ...

Justice, Human Rights, Free Press Continue to Erode Under Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou
Wednesday May 06

There is a nauseating sickness that overtakes anyone in Taiwan who has had to listen over the years to what some call "the mealy-mouthed hypocrisy" of its president, Ma Ying-jeou. While Ma tries to pretend all is well under heaven in Taiwan, Freedom House in its latest announcement has just dropped Taiwan in its global ranking to number 43 from the previous year's ranking of 32 in freedom of the press. Likewise Ma endeavors to create a police state to bolster his policies and eliminate opposing opinions. ...

An Unusual Cemetery Houses Many of Taiwan's Forgotten Dead
Sunday May 03

Situated on a small mountain overlooking Taipei Medical University and in the shadow of Taipei 101 is a cemetery. That there would be a cemetery there is not necessarily unusual but what makes this cemetery unique is the strange and unusual mixture of graves within it recalling different periods of Taiwan's historic and often tragic past. ...

Dumb and Dumber, the Naming of Chinese Taipei and its Acceptance
Friday May 01

Chinese Taipei, now that is really a dumb name. I don't know whose brainchild it was but if you really analyze it, it is insulting and misleading. How many countries would want to suffer a similar degrading nomenclature? Such an imposition represents the residue of the last colonial ethnic group to seize that land and that last colonial group's language. Spain had ruled a lot of countries. Imagine the chaos and confusion if we named those countries the same way. We would have Spanish Manila, Spanish Santiago, Spanish Buenos Aires, Spanish Lima etc. the list would go on and on. In South America, the only different neighbor would be Portuguese Brasilia. Bizarre to say the least. ...

Taiwan, You Gotta Love This Place!
Tuesday April 28

Taiwan, you gotta love this place! Have you ever wondered why Taiwan's economy under President Ma Ying-jeou continues to be in the doldrums? Well it seems that Ma's minister without portfolio and chief economic advisor, Chu Yun-peng, often cuts out during work hours to go on dates with his girlfriend. Just what Taiwan needs? Caught on different occasions by Next magazine, Chu has been forced to resign. His excuses, however, proved to the most interesting part of this escapade. ...

Jerome A. Cohen, Ma Ying-jeou's Mentor, Again Highlights the Erosion of Justice in Taiwan
Sunday April 26

In a recent South China Morning Post article ("Lesson in Integrity for All", April 18, 2009) http://www.cfr.org/publication/19148/ , Jerome A. Cohen, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Asia Studies nailed it once again. In November 2008, Cohen, President Ma Ying-jeou's former mentor at Harvard, had questioned the neutrality of Taiwan's judiciary. Now he has come out stronger pointing to the continuing erosion of justice in Taiwan. In his article, Cohen used the corruption case of US Senator Ted Stevens as an example with "profound implications for efforts on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to stamp out corruption while fostering a rule of law based on the adversarial system of criminal justice." It is an example he feels Taiwan should heed. ...

Jackie Chan and the Utter Failure of Confucianism
Tuesday April 21

Speaking at the Boao Forum in the Middle Kingdom of Pollution, Poison and Propaganda, Jackie Chan gave forth with some unusual alleged personal insights. In reality they were statements in support of the authoritarian rule/dictatorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Chan declared "We Chinese need to be controlled." And further "If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic." Chan's remarks drew applause from the "fat cat" businessmen attending for obvious reasons. And though Chan has since been raked over the coals by many for his words, ironically if one goes deeper between the lines, what he did was actually highlight the utter failure of Confucianism as a way of life in Chinese history. ...

The Blood of Taiwan's Patriots: Dang Nylon--One of Many
Friday April 17

Thomas Jefferson is known for the quote, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." In Taiwan's quest for liberty and democracy, too many of its patriots have shed their blood for it but not enough of its tyrants. And it is high time that we honored those patriots who shed their blood as well as stopped praising the tyrants who did not. ...

A Kafkaesque System of Justice: The Plight of the Poor in China
Monday April 13

When you live in an authoritarian state where corrupt courts reign supreme and judges are often feted by the wealthy, local magistrates, what chance does the little man have? In China local justice is rarely available so what happens? In the imperial past, the little man could petition the emperor if he felt he did not get justice locally. This practice has continued into the Communist era in China but now such petitioners are either beaten by thugs or placed in mental institutions. This follows a recent article in "China Newsweek" written by Sun Dongdong an associate professor of law. He declared them mentally ill. Is this the fault of the poor? And what are the yearly numbers of these petitioners?

Kinmen and Matsu, Where Do They Belong? To Taiwan or China?
Friday April 10

In my posting of March 7, "Taiwan Was Never Part of China's Civil Wars, Part II," and "Taiwan, Samoa, US Passports for All? Who Knows?" (February 5) I mentioned the recent case of Lin/Hartzell that was before the US Court of Appeals in Washington DC. Well the Court of Appeals issued its verdict yesterday, and while it denied Lin/Hartzell's cause, it opened up a whole different Pandora's Box on Taiwan's sovereignty, status, and rights. Point blank, it admitted that the US policy of ambiguity for over the past sixty years had trapped the citizens of Taiwan in "political purgatory."

Corruption Taiwan Style: It Depends on Who You Know?
Wednesday April 08

Yu Wen, Ma Ying-jeou's secretary from the days when Ma was Mayor of Taipei has just gotten out of jail. Yu had embezzled nearly a half million dollars (US$) from the Taipei Mayor's fund and put it into Ma's account. Yu denied any charges of corruption, "I did not take one cent." OK, fine but that leads to the next questions. What about motivation? If you did not take a single cent, then why did you do it? And why are you the only one that went to jail for this? And further, do you always act alone and put money in other people's accounts? Some things defy logic or do they? ...