Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Premier in court over violent evictions

Taipei Times

Protesters hold banners with Premier Jiang Yi-huah’s portrait outside the Taipei District Court yesterday, where he was questioned about the handling of the Sunflower movement protests.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

Under a heavy police presence and with more than 100 demonstrators calling on him to resign, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday afternoon appeared in court to face charges of attempted murder filed against him and high-ranking police officers in a private prosecution over the violent crackdown on protesters who briefly took over the Executive Yuan in March.

Control Yuan vote another hit to Ma

Taipei Times Editorial

The legislature on Tuesday voted on President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) nominations for members of the Control Yuan during its second extraordinary session this summer.

While Chang Po-ya (張博雅) and Sun Ta-chuan’s (孫大川) nominations for the positions of president and vice president respectively were approved, along with 16 of the 27 remaining members, 11 of Ma’s nominations were rejected. Although the Control Yuan can continue to operate until the current term expires today, the outcome of the decisions will have a major impact on Ma and on the operations of the next Control Yuan.

US report slams China’s religious freedom record

Taipei Times

US Secretary of State John Kerry has released Washington’s 16th annual report on religious freedom, which showed stark differences between Taiwan and China.

While there were no reported cases of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice in Taiwan last year, it was a much different story across the Taiwan Strait, the report showed.

The report said that Beijing “harassed, assaulted, detained, arrested or sentenced to prison” religious adherents and there were also reports of “physical abuse and torture in detention.”

Is it time to dump the name ROC?

Jerome Keating

In the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, vexed with questions of family loyalty versus her love for a Montague, Juliet asks the provocative question: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Her thoughts and interest of course go far beyond the relationship between nomenclature and the characteristics of flowers.

In the same vein, applying Shakespeare’s words to countries instead of flowers, Taiwanese can ask: “What’s in a name?”

More Articles...