Jerome F. Keating's writings

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

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:49:10 +0700

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

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:00:10 +0700

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

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:50:34 +0700

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???

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:31:56 +0700

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?

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 07:44:34 +0700

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?

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:53:25 +0700

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

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:19:00 +0700

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

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:21:49 +0700

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

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:29:28 +0700

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?

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 01:38:10 +0700

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

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 03:38:51 +0700

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

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 03:16:46 +0700

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

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:41:23 +0700

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

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:59:15 +0700

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

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:02:49 +0700

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?

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:20:56 +0700

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

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 09:38:29 +0700

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

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:05:33 +0700

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

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:35:02 +0700

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

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 03:12:12 +0700

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

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:05:08 +0700

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

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:07:30 +0700

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?

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 07:09:50 +0700

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

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:00:58 +0700

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?

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:30:50 +0700

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

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:53:50 +0700

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

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:05:25 +0700

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

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:05:10 +0700

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

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:28:43 +0700

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-�-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

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 06:19:36 +0700

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

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:31:32 +0700

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?

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:58:41 +0700

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.

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 06:36:32 +0700

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

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:34:46 +0700

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

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:54:58 +0700

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. ...

Tales of the Bandits Taiwan-style, the KMT and PFP

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:13:58 +0700

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"

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:20:23 +0700

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

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:28:26 +0700

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

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:20:14 +0700

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?

Mon, 30 May 2011 05:30:36 +0700

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

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:39:16 +0700

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?

Mon, 23 May 2011 02:02:56 +0700

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?

Sun, 22 May 2011 02:50:11 +0700

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

Thu, 19 May 2011 09:21:57 +0700

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?

Thu, 12 May 2011 02:37:51 +0700

There are times in listening to world leaders that one wonders whether they are being simplistic, blind, na�ve, 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

Tue, 10 May 2011 05:05:05 +0700

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

Mon, 09 May 2011 09:58:29 +0700

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

Thu, 05 May 2011 07:11:24 +0700

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

Tue, 03 May 2011 09:53:22 +0700

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

Sun, 01 May 2011 06:35:42 +0700

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

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 06:54:00 +0700

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

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 06:50:07 +0700

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

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:00:43 +0700

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?

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 09:24:37 +0700

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?

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 01:28:25 +0700

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

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:31:47 +0700

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

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:29:22 +0700

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?

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:13:51 +0700

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.

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:54:44 +0700

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

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 03:52:22 +0700

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

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:22:03 +0700

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

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 09:15:49 +0700

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?

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:01:50 +0700

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

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 08:33:54 +0700

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?

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 05:35:55 +0700

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

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 01:15:25 +0700

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?

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:12:10 +0700

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

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 08:02:47 +0700

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?

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 01:36:30 +0700

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

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:46:58 +0700

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

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:19:16 +0700

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

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 03:30:08 +0700

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?

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:32:41 +0700

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

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:47:14 +0700

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

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:17:43 +0700

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

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:48:00 +0700

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

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:19:26 +0700

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

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:31:55 +0700

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

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 06:46:29 +0700

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?

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 03:37:25 +0700

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

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:06:44 +0700

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

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 07:27:26 +0700

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?

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:32:43 +0700

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?

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:56:17 +0700

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"

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 07:45:28 +0700

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?

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 02:59:21 +0700

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

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:31:35 +0700

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

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 07:35:39 +0700

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

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:55:46 +0700

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.

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 01:25:09 +0700

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

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:27:29 +0700

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

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:29:10 +0700

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

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:43:28 +0700

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

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:37:18 +0700

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???

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:10:18 +0700

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

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:40:22 +0700

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.

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:45:39 +0700

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?

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 05:00:23 +0700

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

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 05:55:42 +0700

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

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 03:31:17 +0700

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!

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:51:57 +0700

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?

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 05:53:31 +0700

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

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:54:00 +0700

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

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 07:38:41 +0700

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"

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 04:12:42 +0700

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.

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:46:55 +0700

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.

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:50:48 +0700

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.

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 09:13:45 +0700

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

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 01:03:50 +0700

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

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:26:58 +0700

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

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:51:33 +0700

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?

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:21:39 +0700

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

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:52:39 +0700

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

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:58:02 +0700

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

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:11:29 +0700

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

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:49:46 +0700

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

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 23:51:37 +0700

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?

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:42:32 +0700

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"

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 03:38:35 +0700

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

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 02:31:13 +0700

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

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 02:03:27 +0700

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?

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:44:47 +0700

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

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:16:29 +0700

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

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:19:07 +0700

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

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:50:18 +0700

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!!

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:07:18 +0700

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

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:29:44 +0700

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

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:34:16 +0700

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

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:33:39 +0700

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

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:04:48 +0700

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

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:07:45 +0700

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

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 06:43:15 +0700

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

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 03:01:29 +0700

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"

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:32:09 +0700

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

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:14:31 +0700

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

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:46:17 +0700

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

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:54:56 +0700

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

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:33:18 +0700

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

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:35:15 +0700

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"

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:46:30 +0700

This past week in Taiwan had a combined sense of d�j� 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

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:51:06 +0700

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.

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:02:30 +0700

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?

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:40:30 +0700

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?

Sat, 29 May 2010 07:43:40 +0700

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

Sun, 23 May 2010 01:16:32 +0700

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?

Tue, 18 May 2010 08:45:38 +0700

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?

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:32:12 +0700

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

Sun, 09 May 2010 21:07:24 +0700

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?

Fri, 07 May 2010 09:16:14 +0700

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?

Tue, 04 May 2010 07:42:12 +0700

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

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:54:18 +0700

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

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:15:11 +0700

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

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:27:25 +0700

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

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 05:37:41 +0700

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

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:10:58 +0700

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

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:09:19 +0700

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

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:22:04 +0700

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?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:53:59 +0700

"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?

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:01:51 +0700

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

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 04:10:06 +0700

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!

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:03:22 +0700

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

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:03:14 +0700

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?

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:19:59 +0700

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

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:58:39 +0700

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

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:22:37 +0700

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

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:42:57 +0700

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

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:43:57 +0700

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

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:27:14 +0700

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

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:09:47 +0700

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

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:04:25 +0700

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"

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:49:13 +0700

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

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:49:39 +0700

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) (��)(��). 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

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:38:06 +0700

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

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:33:35 +0700

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

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:40:37 +0700

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

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 02:30:42 +0700

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

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:13:15 +0700

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

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:39:24 +0700

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

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:12:26 +0700

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?

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:22:49 +0700

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

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:52:47 +0700

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 fa�ade. 'Taiwan Up,' who came up with that embarrassing inept slogan? ...

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

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:34:14 +0700

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

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 01:51:29 +0700

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

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:55:19 +0700

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

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:24:24 +0700

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?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:26:17 +0700

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

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:22:47 +0700

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

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:29:42 +0700

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

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:33:44 +0700

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

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:07:53 +0700

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?

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:55:53 +0700

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?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:33:33 +0700

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

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:43:43 +0700

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.

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:07:04 +0700

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

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:22:23 +0700

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

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:45:30 +0700

"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

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:35:50 +0700

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

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:21:11 +0700

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.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:40:08 +0700

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?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:12:41 +0700

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

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:51:14 +0700

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

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:47:30 +0700

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,

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:07:34 +0700

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?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:25:02 +0700

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 fa�ade 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?

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:21:17 +0700

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

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:05:21 +0700

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

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:43:57 +0700

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?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:51:53 +0700

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

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:01:06 +0700

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

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:27:47 +0700

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.

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:17:25 +0700

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

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:26:43 +0700

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

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:50:48 +0700

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?

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:07:06 +0700

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

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 07:36:49 +0700

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

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:08:36 +0700

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

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:02:04 +0700

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

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:51:07 +0700

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

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:15:02 +0700

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?

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:36:44 +0700

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

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:52:52 +0700

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

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:50:29 +0700

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!

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:36:39 +0700

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?

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 02:39:11 +0700

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?

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:42:52 +0700

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

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:11:27 +0700

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

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:13:11 +0700

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!

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:41:09 +0700

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

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:48:07 +0700

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

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:15:34 +0700

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

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:42:13 +0700

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

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:42:46 +0700

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

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:07:21 +0700

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

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:53:53 +0700

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

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:22:46 +0700

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

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:19:51 +0700

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

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:07:12 +0700

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

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:51:01 +0700

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

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:52:48 +0700

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

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:33:22 +0700

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

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:58:18 +0700

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?

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:58:40 +0700

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?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:30:01 +0700

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

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:35:19 +0700

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?

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:09:59 +0700

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

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:24:00 +0700

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?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:16:43 +0700

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

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:10:22 +0700

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?

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:03:07 +0700

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

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:17:10 +0700

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

Thu, 28 May 2009 21:24:36 +0700

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

Tue, 26 May 2009 16:19:17 +0700

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"

Sun, 24 May 2009 00:06:37 +0700

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 fa�ade 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?

Tue, 19 May 2009 09:09:28 +0700

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

Mon, 18 May 2009 06:08:16 +0700

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

Sat, 16 May 2009 09:42:10 +0700

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

Thu, 14 May 2009 04:07:27 +0700

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?

Thu, 14 May 2009 02:55:16 +0700

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

Wed, 13 May 2009 05:55:34 +0700

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

Mon, 11 May 2009 02:40:35 +0700

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"

Fri, 08 May 2009 06:18:55 +0700

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

Fri, 08 May 2009 03:03:01 +0700

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

Thu, 07 May 2009 08:16:47 +0700

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

Wed, 06 May 2009 07:07:56 +0700

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

Sun, 03 May 2009 05:53:41 +0700

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

Fri, 01 May 2009 08:33:54 +0700

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!

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:17:38 +0700

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

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:16:10 +0700

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

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:17:50 +0700

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

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:33:01 +0700

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

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:16:39 +0700

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?

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:00:00 +0700

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?

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:58:08 +0700

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? ...

Taiwan Needs Resistance Art: Where are the Taiwanese Artists Who Can Meet That Need?

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:53:45 +0700

If you ask a dozen people what the purpose of art is, you will get a dozen answers. For some art should stand for something, for others it communicates feelings, ideas, thoughts, expressions etc. Still for others it is there to inspire, to pacify, to heal, to make us think, to give us experience, to memorialize, to symbolize, to beautify etc. etc. You get my drift. But the subject I want to raise today is a more narrow type of art; an art that I believe Taiwan is in dire need of. Taiwan needs Resistance Art. ...

Leeches Part IV, Taiwan's Uncle Toms Perpetuate the KMT Superiority Complex

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:32:35 +0700

Are there so many Taiwanese that remain brain-washed? Is this the result of nearly a half century of Martial Law, White Terror and forced education? Such questions can and must be asked. Where is Taiwanese pride? Why do the Taiwanese, a majority population, allow the belittling and exploitative behavior of the minority Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) exemplified by people like Kuo Kuan-ying, Diane Lee etc. to still flourish. Bottom line, why are so many Taiwanese "Uncle Toms?" ...

Ma Ying-jeou, EFCA, MBPP and Taiwan, Wake Up Taiwan!

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:02:21 +0700

The horse still does not know how long his face is, and Ma Ying-jeou continues to live in his own little world. True when he was elected President a year ago, with overblown and outrageous campaign promises he got 58 per cent of the vote. However, once he took office and failed to live up to those promises, reality finally began to set in for many Taiwanese. Ma's popularity has since plummeted to as low as 23 per cent and for the last several months it has remained below 30 per cent. Instead of facing this, Ma fantasizes and postulates that the solution is for people to give him a blank check in drawing up his latest fly-by the-seat-of-your-pants brainstorm an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (EFCA) with China. ...

The GIO and the KMT, a Joint History of Murder, Intrigue, and Cover Up? Wake Up Taiwan.

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:41:46 +0700

Kuo Kuan-ying is not a career diplomat. He has always been an employee of the Government Information Office (GIO) and that may explain his lack of diplomatic professionalism. Nonetheless the hate-mongering case of Kuo Kuan-ying took a new turn today when he admitted that the GIO knew and had covered up the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) murder of Henry Liu in 1984. Kuo was working for the GIO at that time and stationed in New York. Perhaps out of kindness or perhaps as a warning, he seemed to break with government "ethics" and revealed to Liu's wife the true story of what had happened. Liu's wife also confirmed yesterday that Kuo had told her such at that time. ...

When Will Taiwan Awaken? The KMT Leech Has Always Been at Your Throat, Part III, Miaoli, a Glimmer of Hope?

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:01:49 +0700

With people like Kuo Kuan-ying, calling himself a "superior Mainlander," the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has since 1945 profited from Taiwan and its resources. Despite its sordid past, the current KMT government now claims to have changed and will support clean government. Who has not heard President Ma Ying-jeou say that the KMT aims at rooting out corruption? Who has not heard KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung re-echo that the KMT is against corruption? For this reason it was a real shock to Taiwanese (or was it?) that in Miaoli, the KMT supported the wife of convicted vote-buyer KMT Legislator Lee E-tin in the replacement elections. ...

When Will Taiwan Awaken? The KMT Leech Has Always Been at Your Throat? Part II, the Past

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:46:54 +0700

The recent scandals of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) loyalists Diane Lee and Kuo Kuan-ying's exploitation of Taiwan are mere tips of the iceberg. Collecting steady, paychecks from the nation, they nevertheless have shown little loyalty and/or respect for its people by their actions. This is however a simple continuation of the KMT history of past exploitation. The more classic example is the thousands of KMT members who had held "iron rice bowl" positions in the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly from 1947 up until their forced retirement in the early 1990s. Elected once in 1947, they never faced elections again; all also drawing comfortable paychecks until death or their final forced retirement.

When Will Taiwan Awaken? Diane Lee, Kuo Kuan-ying, the KMT Leech Has Always Been at your Throat!

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:29:46 +0700

The recent media scandal of Kuo Kuan-ying, information division director of Taiwan's Toronto office, again points to the condescending and demeaning attitude that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has always had towards Taiwan and its people. It is the same attitude for which they were driven from China, losing both the Civil War there and the propaganda war with Mao Tse-tung. It is the same attitude by which they always claim privileged entitlement to exploit. The shame of it is that so many Taiwanese (some brain-washed under the KMT past one-party state and others too generous and na�ve to realize) remain blind to it. ...

The Erosion of Human Rights in Taiwan Continues: The KMT Seeks the Right to Go on Fishing Expeditions Against its Enemies.

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:55:01 +0700

Whenever the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) says that it is against corruption, step back and examine what it professes to support and what it condones. Ma Ying-jeou's secretary is in jail because he "laundered" nearly a half a million US dollars into Ma's bank account; yet, Ma Ying-jeou is found innocent by the KMT courts and so walks the streets proclaiming his virtue. Diane Lee was forced to resign her position as a KMT legislator because she illegally collected US$3 million dollars in salary, but she also walks the streets free. This is not corruption in the KMT's mind and they will not pursue restitution. These are two of many examples of KMT justice. But not satisfied with that KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang wants to have the right to go on fishing expeditions against KMT enemies.

Taiwan Was Never Part of China's Civil Wars: Part II

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:52:32 +0700

During World War II, the US bombed Japan's colony of Taiwan regularly, and had considered an invasion of the island but chose instead to invade Okinawa. Later with the dropping of the atom bombs, Japan announced its surrender on August 15, 1945 and formally surrendered on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 (V-J-Day). What then would become of Japan's colony of Taiwan? That was 1945; it would be another seven years before the San Francisco Peace Treaty would be ratified in 1952. The Chinese Civil War between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allegedly ended in 1949. Here then the murkiness begins. ...

2-28, 1980 The Lin Family Murders; the Surviving Daughter's Account

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:05:55 +0700

The Lin Family Murders took place on 2-28, 1980; they happened shortly after the Kaohsiung Incident (December 1979)and show that some 33 years after 2-28, 1947, the same vicious mentality lived in many of the KMT. This following account is by the surviving daughter as she came to terms with the past. It is a moving story, read it more than once to get all the details. Come, Take a Walk With Me: Out of Darkness into the Light ...

Taiwan Was Never Part of China's Civil Wars: Part I

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:55:32 +0700

If you ask people when China's Civil War occurred, be prepared for a variety of answers. Some will say from 1945 to 1949; others will add the years 1927 to 1937 and still others will point out that it continued intermittently throughout World War II. In giving their answers most will be thinking of the power struggle between the two Leninist modeled parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But I propose a different perspective. ...

2-28, The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Sins of Their Fathers

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:47:09 +0700

I am not one who believes that the sins of the fathers should be laid upon their children and certainly not to the third and fourth generation. However, I do believe that if those children constantly try to ignore and whitewash the sins of their fathers and insist on keeping the profits and privileges resulting from the sins of their fathers, then that is a different matter.

The Unbearable Lightness of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou's Words

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:45:43 +0700

Ma Ying-jeou again shamefacedly took the cake when he pledged that he would seek the truth of 228 and provide compensation for the survivors and families of those murdered. How nice this sounds until one examines just how many survivors are now living some sixty-two years later. Anyone who was at least twenty years old at that time (1947) would now be eighty-two years old. Even if one was a baby at that time, he/she would be now sixty-two years old, so how would they possibly have any memory or recollection of that horror. Add this to the fact that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had practically a half of a century of one-party state rule to sanitize any guilt or responsibility for what happened in 1947 and destroy the convicting documentation. ...

Can Chen Shui-bian Get a Fair Trial? Taiwan's Prosecutors Leave More Smoking Guns.

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:59:32 +0700

Anyone who lived through the Watergate scandal and obstruction of justice will readily recall Rose Mary Woods and the "smoking gun" 18 minutes of erased tapes to protect President Nixon. In Taiwan, we are having some similar experiences though it appears that the ones erasing tapes and leaving the smoking guns are not Chen Shui-bian's lawyers, but the KMT Court Prosecutors who are supposed to be protecting evidence and upholding justice. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns, Questions of a Cheated Past

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:08:11 +0700

The Pareto Principle is dead in Taiwan's bureaucracy. This principle frequently referred to as the 80/20 rule, means that 80 per cent of the effects in any given endeavor come from 20 per cent of causes. In quality control it means that 80 per cent of your product defects come from 20 per cent of the process; thus if a company can cure the 20 per cent, it will have eliminated 80 per cent of its problems. Looked at in a positive way 80 per cent of a company's sales come from 20 per cent of its customers. They should therefore be cultivated. Or 80 per cent of the work in an organization is done by 20 per cent of the people, and they should be rewarded properly. So what does this have to do with Taiwan's civil servant system? ...

Taiwan: As theWorld Turns Greased With Corruption

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:27:46 +0700

Ma Ying-jeou's administration continually tries to spin itself as a clean government and those who lack memory or who have zero investigative powers will probably buy what they sell. So while the media are abuzz with the continuing trial of Chen Shui-bian who has been judged guilty even though his trial has just begun, maybe we should still peek behind the curtain of the side that tries to pass itself off as clean. ...

Can Ma Ying-jeou Make the Crumbs of His Mole-hills Look Like Mountains?

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:10:51 +0700

As the first year of Ma Ying-jeou's presidency nears completion, Ma, his cabinet and his spin-masters are desperate for some sign, symbol, or semblance of success, but the picture is looking bleak. When it comes to dollars and cents and spending power, no amount of media hype and exaggeration, no amount of pictures in the paper, no promises, platitudes or dreams can change the hole in the nation's economic pocket and the lack of dignity the people feel as Taiwanese. And so while President Ma Ying-jeou, if we can still call him president, pretends that all is working out as he planned, one is reminded of a variation of an old nursery rhyme. ...

Diane Lee Continues to Blow Smoke in Taiwan

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:10:02 +0700

Diane Lee and her lawyer continue to blow smoke and have dragged out a letter from Barbara Schrage, the managing director of the Washington office of the American Institute in Taiwan. In the letter of January 16 2009, managing director Schrage repeats what she said in her November 22 letter. "Loss of US citizenship occurs when a citizen voluntarily commits a statutorily define potentially expatriating act with the intention of relinquishing US citizenship." The key words are "potentially expatriating act" and "with the intention of relinquishing US citizenship." How does one separate that "intention" from the intention of one who "intends" to deceive and thus rip off the citizens of Taiwan while still keeping her passport? ...

Taiwan, Samoa, US Passports for All? Who knows?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:11:42 +0700

The arguments are in and the ball is in the court of, well, the court of the US Court of Appeals. When and what the judges will decide is not announced but we do have the following report that comes from the "Boston Progressive Examiner." Regardless of that decision, there will certainly be a lot of denials and agreements as different pundits weigh in. The China lobby is going to have to spend a lot of bucks to try and put this one down. Here follows the report in the Examiner by Michael Richardson. Let the games begin. ...

Taiwan's Sovereignty and Statehood Still "Undecided" ??

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:23:37 +0700

On February 5th, the oral arguments of a provocative lawsuit will go before the US Court of Appeals at 9:30 am. In this presentation, Dr. Roger Lin is arguing that the sovereignty and role of Taiwan in the international community remains a piece of unfinished business left over from World War II (WWII). Lin is claiming that since the US conquered Japan and its territories, it bears responsibility for the disposition of those territories and in particular that of Taiwan. That disposition was not made, treated or designated in the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952. Taiwan was given neither to the Republic of China (ROC), nor the People's Republic of China (PRC). ...

Why Chen Shui-bian Will Not Get a Fair Trial in Taiwan.

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:35:30 +0700

Chen Shui-bian will not get a fair trial in Taiwan. This is not assessing whether he is guilty or not, but simply that he will not get a fair trial in Taiwan. Why? First, remember that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has always controlled the Legislative Yuan and that for three years they refused to appoint any members to the Control Yuan, the governmental watchdog, until they got a KMT president making the appointments of their own people whom they would approve. ...

The KMT's Diane Lee Takes Her Illegal US$ 3Million Dollars and Runs

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:58:08 +0700

If westerners or others want to understand the double standard in application of justice and media coverage in Taiwan, they need look no further than the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) hypocritical former legislator Diane Lee. The controversy of Lee's illegal possession of dual citizenship has been going on for nearly a year with Lee failing to prove her innocence. With a recent press statement, Diane Lee had the gall to claim that since she has resigned from her position as a KMT legislator, she now does not have to produce any documents that would bare her falsehood. In essence, the KMT's Diane Lee is trying to take her illegally earned money (US$ 3 million) and run. The KMT dominated legislature is doing nothing about it. How can thieves accuse one of their own? ...

Scholars Issue Yet Another Letter on the Erosion of Justice in Taiwan

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:49:16 +0700

Previous posts of November 15, and November 29, 2008 had presented two open letters to Taiwan's Minister of Justice on the erosion of justice in Taiwan during the short presidency of Ma Ying-jeou. Minister Wang failed to provide any kind of satisfactory answer to both letters and as a result the scholars and writers issued a third letter. This time the letter was addressed to President Ma Ying-jeou before the Lunar New Year holiday. The text is provided below; an answer has since been given by the Government Information Office. It too was inadequate but it will still be provided at a later date. Unable to live up to its pre-election hype and face the bankrupt inadequacy of its programs, the Ma government can only resort to denial. ...

No Virginia, the 21st Century Will Not be China's Century!

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:17:09 +0700

International pundits chomping at the bit for something provokingly sensational to declare in past years have said that the Twenty-first Century is China's Century. Power-hungry Chinese searching for the wish-fulfillment of their dreams will champion this slogan. And even average Chinese citizens long-suffering from their own self-inflicted humiliations will hopefully proclaim that yes this is their century. But it isn't. In an age of global interdependence and instant news-messaging the Twenty-first Century belongs to no one, let alone the dreamers of China. ...

A Happy Lunar Year of the Ox to All, and Now Back to Work

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:52:11 +0700

A Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! In Taiwan the weather up north was typical, wet and cold, but that did not dampen the celebrations. Now as the sun comes out the nation braces for the work ahead to keep its democracy and human rights from continued erosion. ...

Barack Obama is President, Let Us Celebrate!

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:49:12 +0700

Prejudice dies hard and old prejudices die even harder; that is what makes the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States all the more meaningful. It is the death of one of the oldest prejudices in the United States. ...

Diane Lee, Taiwan Updates, the Shame Continues

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:49:59 +0700

The irony of ironies took place in Taiwan when the World League of Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) Republic of China chapter celebrated the upcoming World Freedom Day at their 53rd convention in Taipei. Everyone was praising how Taiwan had become a democracy (which it has) but no one admitted how long it took to do so and how much Taiwanese blood had to be shed to accomplish that. This is just one of the unsaid items of the day. ...

Ma Ying-jeou's Impotency Bodes Ill for Taiwan

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 04:04:13 +0700

Like the kingdom of the Fisher King in T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land," Taiwan is suffering from a deep malaise. Its problem is that its president Ma Ying-jeou is impotent, impotent as a leader and impotent in his party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT); because of that he is impotent to make any long-term constructive contributions to the nation of Taiwan. He can only talk. ...

Taiwan's Freedom Fighter, Linda Arrigo Turns the Big 6-0!

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:26:41 +0700

Linda Arrigo, a name well known in Taiwan since the days of the Kaohsiung Incident (when she was unceremoniously kicked out of the country) cheerfully celebrated her sixtieth birthday here yesterday. With her were a diverse group of well-wishing friends, whom we could dubiously call some of the usual suspects in Taiwan's pro-democracy and pro-environmental circles. They included members of the Green Party, prominent bloggers, and even a classmate from Taipei American School high school days who had come up from Pingtung. ...

Freedom House Ranks Taiwan High and China Low, but There is More

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:36:49 +0700

On January 13, Freedom House (FH) presented the 2009 findings of its flagship publication "Freedom in the World." This was the first time the publication had been made in Asia. In doing this, FH purposely chose Taiwan as the place for its presentation, noting that Taiwan after many struggles and sufferings had finally become a "vibrant democracy" and "one of Asia's success stories." ...

Zhang Ziyi, Taiwan, and the Perverse Shaming of China

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:09:16 +0700

Recent topless photos of Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi have created an uproar and online debate in China; they also expose a dark side of Chinese culture. It is a culture that because of several of its underpinnings unfortunately allows control freaks and people without a life of their own to gravitate to the top of the society. This in turn allows that element to create the self-righteous group thinking that makes China the continued dangerous hegemonic threat it is in Asia. ...

Diane Lee Resigns and Puts KMT Justice on Trial.

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:35:42 +0700

Fabrication, fabrication, who would do the fabrication to save Diane Lee? Apparently no one. So as the forces of justice closed in on her falsehoods, Diane Lee decided to try a little fabrication of her own. Two days ago, she brought out letters and documents stating that this was all a mistake, a misunderstanding; the US Consular Office's right hand did not know what the left hand had been doing. Lee had proof that she had given up her US citizenship. She was again innocent. ...

The KMT's ex-legislator Diane Lee: the Smell of Rotten Fish Becomes Stronger in Taiwan

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:36:16 +0700

There is indeed something rotten in both Denmark and in Taiwan as the Diane Lee case drags on. Lee has now resigned from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) but she still remains locked in denial. Who wouldn't if you had committed a criminal act and owed over US $3 million dollars to the people of Taiwan? There is a simple solution however, but Diane Lee does not provide it. Diane Lee got her first passport in 1991. US passports are good for ten years; that means that Diane Lee's passport would have to have been renewed in 2001. So why would the US state that her passport is still valid? What number is the passport under? Does it show renewal? 2001 was a crucial year in US history and entrance requirements have become much stricter. ...

The KMT's Diane Lee, the Ways of the Weasel Part II

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:26:31 +0700

Fabrication, fabrication, who will do the fabrication? The case of Diane Lee becomes more complex and more devious. Below follows some expert advice from someone well versed in the ins and outs of the US consular service. There is a formal process that is gone through and with such a process, the magical way that Diane Lee claims her US passport has disappeared becomes less and less credible. In the meantime, however though it becomes more evident that Diane Lee has ripped off the government and people of more than US$3 million, and violated Taiwan's Constitutional law, Diane Lee is allowed to roam free and collude with whomever she wants to develop her strategy for exit. She has not even been sought for questioning, let alone handcuffed etc. before indictments. Would that Chen Shui-bian had friends in high places. It will be interesting to see what evidence Diane Lee provides in the coming month and how it was fabricated, or shall we say mysteriously found. ...

The KMT's Diane Lee, Legislative Abuse, and the Ways of the Weasel

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:06:54 +0700

For those that watch the scandals and rumor-mongering of Taiwan, Diane Lee's name is an all too familiar by-word. One of her more famous past escapades and abuses of her legislative position was in 2002 when she wrongfully accused DPP supporter and head of the Department of Health, Twu Shiing-jer. Lee charged that Twu kissed another man in a KTV parlor and that public morals were being corrupted. She insisted over and over again that she had her man and she was the upholder of morality not rumors. Of course, investigations proved Lee wrong and she had to make a public apology - what else could she do when caught in a blatant falsehood. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) dominated Legislative Yuan (LY) gave her a slap on the wrist and let her off easily as it has with the convicted Chiu Yi. It seems now she is again counting on her KMT comrades in the LY to bail her out once more. ...

David Wu, Taiwanese American US Congressman Criticizes Ma Government

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:17:10 +0700

David Wu is the only Taiwanese American serving in the US Congress; and he was recently re-elected to his sixth term representing the 1st District of Oregon. Wu knows the difference between true freedom and democracy, and so he also wrote to US President Bush to express his deep concern over the clampdown of human rights and civil liberties in Taiwan under President Ma Ying-jeou. Wu urged US President Bush to push for an investigation of these abuses under Ma and to closely monitor Taiwan's problems. What makes Wu's letter all the more important is that he purposely wrote his own letter instead of joint signing with the 14 other US Congressman who also expressed concern to President Bush. By separating himself, Wu is making a statement. He is one that truly knows both Taiwan and knows human rights and civil liberties; therefore he is not fooled by Ma's propaganda or platitudes. Wu's letter follows. ...

US Congress Expresses Concern over Abuses Under Ma Ying-jeou

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:58:34 +0700

It is not only numerous International Human Rights Organizations, media watchdogs and other guardians of human rights and civil liberties that are shocked at the violations that have already taken place in Taiwan during the first seven months of the rule of President Ma Ying-jeou. Fourteen members of the US Congress took pains to write US President Bush advising him that he must keep a "close eye" on the machinations of the Ma government. These Congressmen are well worried that Ma's definition of "peace in our time" does not come at the expense of Taiwanese civil rights. Their letter follows. ...

Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian, Guilty or Not-Guilty?

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:57:19 +0700

Anyone reading about Taiwan news would know that former president Chen Shui-bian has been accused of just about stealing everything from the Presidential Office kitchen sink to the treasures in the National Palace Museum. Some may wonder where I stand on this. My response is simple; if Chen is guilty of money laundering etc., then I say "hang him high." If not then let's get on with life and face the fact why so many hate not only Chen, but also the reality of Taiwan's sovereignty that he represents. For it is this that inconveniently sticks in their craw and disrupts their profits and sculpted agendas for the world. For sure, Chen has been already, judged and found guilty in the pan-blue media and subsequently hung, drawn and quartered so many times that it is not just de rigueur but the only thing they can think of to print. Innocent until proven guilty? Not in pan-blue Taiwan. ...

The List of Protests Against Ma Just Grows and Grows; Is There Anyone That Has Not Spoken Up

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:36:39 +0700

The list of complaints against Ma Ying-jeou has become so numerous that one hesitates to add another. For those who know Ma, it is reality finally surfacing. Ma never had an image of Mr. Clean; those on the inside have always seen through that from Ma's days as a student spy. Now, Reporters Without Borders (RWP) has spoken out on how President Ma Ying-jeou is not keeping his promises to respect public media independence. In response, Ma had written in a letter to its secretary-general Jean-Fran�ois Julliard, "We believe that accusations of this administration's interference in Taiwan's media are based on some wrong information or misunderstandings." But despite such denials the organisation continues to get disturbing reports of the ruling Kuomintang party decisions undermining the independence of the public media. ...

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou, the Cracks Have Become Fissures, Part I

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:13:34 +0700

Ma Ying-jeou has been president of Taiwan for some seven months and already the cracks in his counterfeit fa�ade are becoming fissures. As one elected with a popular majority, his image, so carefully crafted in the past, has not stood up to the test of the reality and responsibility required by the role of President. Even rascals and under-achievers have had a longer honeymoon period than Ma's bare one month. ...

And Still Another Two Human Rights Organizations Join the Protest Against Ma Ying-jeou's Rule

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:09:47 +0700

Read through the past ten posts where international organization after international organization speaks out on the erosion of justice and the violation of human rights in Taiwan. Earlier this week, the police forcefully removed the students in silent protest at Liberty Square in Taipei. With clubs and shields the Taipei police moved in on the sleeping students at 4 am in the morning; U-tube recordings of the event are available. And yet in almost mocking ironic contrast, Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou spoke at a seminar on Dec. 10th Human Rights Day. While outside abuses of human rights followed abuses Ma said that all was progressing well under his administration. Ma may still fool some of the na�ve in Washington DC but almost in answer another two organizations, The Taiwan Association for Human Rights (Taipei) and the Formosan Association for Human Rights (US) added their cries to the mounting criticism of Ma Ying-jeou. Their words follow. ...

Amnesty International Adds its Voice to Protests Against the Erosion of Justice under Ma Ying-jeou's KMT Government

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:07:36 +0700

On December 7th, the Wild Strawberries will have a march to continue their protest against the harsh Parade and Assembly Laws that Taiwan has and which are a carry-over from the Martial Law days. The march will be peaceful; it will also be carried out without a permit required by the law. It constitutes a peaceful act of civil disobedience reminiscent of the thought and practices of Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. Almost as if in support, Amnesty International has added its voice to the continuously growing number of organizations that question the dedication to justice of the government of Ma Ying-jeou. You simply have to look at all the previous posts on this page and you will see some ten protests and organizations listed. ...

The Taiwan Bar Associations and Judicial Reform Foundation Weigh in on the Abuses of the Ministry of Justice

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:22:36 +0700

The evidence mounts, and it seems like it will never end. On Nov. 21, in a Joint Statement, the Taiwan Bar Association, the Taipei Bar Association and the Judicial Reform Foundation expressed their dissatisfaction on the abuses demonstrated by Taiwan's Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The MOJ appears to be selectively carrying out its vendetta against Taiwan's former president and members of the Democratic Progressive Party. Taiwan's President who appointed the Minster of Justice also tries to dodge the guilt by claiming that is the MOJ business. ...

Scholars Find Taiwan's Minster of Justice's Response Inadequate

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:45:21 +0700

The previous posting of Taiwan's Minister of Justice's response to the JOINT STATEMENT of the scholars and writers (posted November 15) did not address the real issues of the erosion of justice in Taiwan. Ignoring numerous other protests also listed below, the Minister's response appears to hide behind the technicalities of the Constitution. Taiwan's current Constitution has many inadequacies; among them is that it was created for continental China but ill fits the island nation of Taiwan. By the Minister's implication it is so broad that it allows numerous abuses that may be technically within the letter of the law but far from the spirit and purpose of the law. For this reason it can allow the selective application to one's political opposition and still fall under the umbrella of the Constitution. For that reason, the scholars/writers of the first statement on the erosion of justice in Taiwan felt obligated to respond in specifics to the Minister's letter. That response can be found below. ...

Taiwan's Minister of Justice Responds to the Scholars' Joint Statement

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:37:18 +0700

On November 6th some twenty US, Canadian, European, and Australian scholars wrote a Joint Statement to Taiwan's Ministry of Justice and other government agencies expressing deep concern over the recent series of detentions in Taiwan (that statement can be seen below on November 15). The statement was also published in the "Taipei Times" on November 6. The Honorable Wang Ching-feng, Taiwan's Minister of Justice recently responded to that statement stating that it was inaccurate on several points. Minister Wang's letter was printed in the "Taipei Times" on November 25. On November 26 the Taipei Times editorial addressed the Minister's letter and in particular where it claimed that all Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) figures arrested were charged according to law within 24 hours. The editorial stated "This unfortunately, is also 'simply untrue' raising concerns that Wang did not mean what she wrote or lacks a basic grasp of the legal system." The full editorial can be found in the Taipei Times for November 26. ...

And Yet Another World Agency Protests Abuses of Rights under Ma Ying-jeou

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:30:17 +0700

The recently quoted Chinese proverb, "The Horse does not know how long his face is," appropriately fits Taiwan's situation under Ma Ying-jeou. There Ma's Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government and KMT dominated judiciary proceed blithely on claiming to be working for peace with the totalitarian regime in China while ignoring the abuses of power within their own ranks and inflicted on the democracy of Taiwan. Another world agency, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) has sent the following open letter to Taiwan's President Ma. ...

Freedom House Adds Yet Another Voice Against the Abuses of Ma Ying-jeou's KMT Government

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:10:14 +0700

While Ma Ying-jeou remains the one-trick pony whose only hope seems to be in running to China for solutions to boost his sagging approval rating of 23 per cent; his permitted or possibly directed abuse of his own people and the sovereignty of their nation continues. Another voice that has spoken out in this regard is Freedom House which also wants the abuses looked into. Since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) dominated judiciary continues it's fishing expedition and witch hunt to punish the opposition party leaders; it seems however that the citizens of Taiwan will get an impartial response to Freedom House's inquiry. ...

Annette Lu, Taiwan's Former Vice President Adds Her Voice to Protests Against the KMT Dominated Judiciary

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:27:59 +0700

Former Vice President Annette Lu is no stranger to persecution and bad-mouthing from both the People's Republic of China (PRC) as well as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Until now after leaving office, she has been relatively silent on the recent abuses of the KMT dominated judiciary system under Ma Ying-jeou. In the following statement however, she does not hold back and adds her voice and legal experience to the many other critics of the heavy-handed measures used by the KMT judiciary. A Harvard educated lawyer, Ms. Lu goes into great detail on the specifics of the abuses. ...

The USA Heritage Foundation Further Lays Bare the KMT's Current Abuse of Justice

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:02:29 +0700

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) controlled judiciary in Taiwan continues to abuse its powers. At present it conducts both a witch hunt and fishing expedition in its attempt to squelch its opposition party the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Former President Chen Shui-bian has been arrested and led away in handcuffs but to date no formal charges have been leveled against him. Likewise in abusing their powers they have arrested and held incommunicado numerous others of the DPP. These are all held in prison under the guise that they will now obstruct justice in a case that has been tendered and pursued for a long time. ...

Scholars Around the Globe Criticize Abuses Under Ma Ying-jeou and the KMT

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:51:31 +0700

This JOINT STATEMENT of US, Canadian, European and Australian scholars/writers started the ball rolling. It highlighted numerous abuses of civil rights and liberties already clearly evident in the first five months that Ma Ying-jeou had been in office. This statement came out on November 4th, 2008, even before Chen Yunlin had completed his visit and further police brutality and violation of civil liberties would become evident. These scholars wrote to express concern about the growing political prosecutions in Taiwan under Ma Ying-jeou. It reads as follows. ...

The Prebyterian Church of Taiwan Adds its Voice to Questioning the Government of Ma ying-jeou

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:24:42 +0700

The Presbyterian Church of Taiwan, a long-time and a staunch supporter of human rights and democracy in Taiwan has added its voice to the growing criticism and disillusionment with the government of Ma Ying-jeou and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The following letter explains. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN TAIWAN
3, Lane 269, Roosevelt Road Sec. 3, Taipei 10647 TAIWAN
General Secretary: Rev. Andrew T. C. Chang
11 November 2008 ...

Canadian Human Rights Association Puts Ma Ying-jeou's Government on Watch List

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:36:47 +0700

Statement by Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada, November 13, 2008 Condemns Ongoing Political Prosecutions in Taiwan Calls on Human Rights groups to put the "Republic of China" on watch list ...

Taiwan's Wild Strawberry Student Protest Challenges the Inequities of the Nation's Laws

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:01:34 +0700

As long as Taiwan has Wild Strawberries, the country will maintain its democracy. Just as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in its will to maintain a one-party state miscalculated the will of the people and the strength of their determination in the Kaohsiung Incident on Human Rights Day (December 1979), so too, a generation later, the KMT is attempting to stonewall the Wild Strawberries who similarly are protesting against police abuse. The protest is also aimed at the continued failed action of the Legislative Yuan (always dominated by the KMT) to amend the harsh Parade and Assembly Law existent in Taiwan as a substitute for martial law. Following is the protest statement of the students who belong to no political party ...

Taiwan's President, The Little Man that is There!

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:09:48 +0700

After a stormy five day sojourn in the country of Taiwan, Chen Yunlin is on his way back to China. Now that he is gone, it is time for Taiwanese to see their primping president for the little man that he really is. What should have been a routine visit by a low level person from China to ink prearranged agreements turned into a near riot and cost Taiwanese citizens millions of dollars in wasted resources as well as the experience of police brutality not seen since the days of the Kaohsiung Incident. This is not because of legitimate anger and protests of concerned citizens, but because of the inept mishandling and callous indifference of the whole situation by Taiwan's sometime president, Ma Ying-jeou. ...

The KMT's and Ma's Surreal Dream of Yesteryear

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:50:57 +0700

Like an opium reverie of bygone years, a strange surrealistic cloud is descending on Taiwan. Members of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their sometime leader Ma Ying-jeou are nostalgically striving to recreate the celebratory one-party state days of their colonial yesteryear rule as they wine and dine a civil servant of China, Chen Yunlin. Chen is head of China"s Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS); he is no head of state; he is simply head of an association to negotiate trade and is here to sign some trade agreements. The question then is why is Ma spending so much and trying to convince Taiwan citizens as well as the foreign media that something momentous is going on? ...

Special News from Taiwan Sovereignty Watch

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:59:23 +0700

Coordinator: Taiwan Sovereignty Watch/ Contact Info: Billy Pan 0968-718673; Michael 0935-156396; Luna 0917-228-367 ...

The US Elections, Is McCain the Republican Throwaway Candidate?

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:50:21 +0700

The US elections are drawing to a close and with all the rhetoric that has been flying most are probably glad that it will soon be over with. I was glad to see that at the American Legion dinner (I believe) last week, both candidates were able to laugh and joke in each others presence, despite the somewhat rabid behavior that each of their followers have exhibited. That gives me faith in the system. ...

1895, A New Film Coming out on Taiwan's Early Republic

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:58:56 +0700

A new film, "1895", will be coming out within a month and it will be screened in many theatres in Taiwan. Its title and subject is 1895 - the year that the Republic of Taiwan was established. If you remember, the Manchu Qing Dynasty lost a war with Japan over who would control Korea during that year. In the subsequent Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Qing falsely surrendered all of Taiwan to Japan. Why do we say falsely? The Qing never controlled all of Taiwan; they only controlled the western part of the island. Nevertheless in mock and false generosity, they gave away all of Taiwan to the Japanese. In this process, no one ever asked or told the Taiwanese on the western part that they were being given away. Nor did anyone tell aboriginals who controlled the eastern half and the central mountain range that they no longer controlled their lands. ...

Adam Smith and the Invisible Hand: Part II, the Manila to Acapulco Trade Route

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:49:04 +0700

Part I of this series can be found on Oct. 17. Now while Taiwan is often the center my writings, as far as Spain was concerned in the 16th and 17th centuries, Taiwan was only one part of the larger picture of its trade, empire and expansion. An oft-forgotten part of that picture is the long standing Manila-Acapulco Trade Route, whose establishment and history have enough tales, challenges and adventures to create several novels. For though the Spanish had arrived in the Philippines as early as 1521 and a remnant of Magellan's men would continue west to complete their round-the-world journey, the Spanish faced yet another problem. If they were to develop consistent trade with Asia, they would need to find a way back east across the Pacific Ocean.