Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Government is busy doing nothing

Taipei Times Editorial

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) achieved a whole new level of chutzpah this week in going on the defensive over its economic stimulus plans (or lack thereof) and its stolen party assets. The sheer brazenness of the comments from administration and party lawmakers almost defied belief, except that under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, we have come to expect that the emperor has no clothes.

First up was Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Steven Chen (陳士魁), who said on Wednesday that the government was hard at work trying to boost the economy, but was not concerned about whether the public could see any improvement, calling the determination of progress “a subjective matter.”

Ma has failed to stand up to Beijing: report

Taipei Times

A new study by the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI) said the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had failed to stand up to Beijing.

It said that following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Taipei appears “content to accept” whatever increase in the nation’s international status Beijing allows.

“Such is the path of least resistance, but one that does not necessarily lead to the brightest future,” the study said.

Chinese Authorities offers cash for information on self immolation

Phuntsok Yangchen

DHARAMSHALA, October 25: The Chinese Authorities are offering monetary reward for Tibetans who are willing to provide information on possible self-immolation.

According to US based Radio Free Asia, “Notices, dated October 21 and written in Tibetan and Chinese, have been posted in the Kanlho (in Chinese, Gannan) prefecture of China’s northwestern Gansu province,asking residents to assist police in preventing the self-immolations.”

Cherish this anti-nuclear opportunity

Taipei Times Editorial

Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) recently spoke on the Diaoyutais dispute and also gave up her NT$270,000 year-end bonus in the wake of the controversy over year-end bonuses for retired government employees. Lu’s actions won praise for setting an example for civil-service retirees, and her assertions and knowledge regarding the disputed islands were clear and admirable. However, it could be her efforts on an anti-nuclear referendum in New Taipei City (新北市) that go down in history as her most important legacy.

The New Taipei City Council’s passage of the Act Governing New Taipei Referendums (新北市公民投票自治條例) on June 25, the first referendum law at the local level in Taiwan, made it possible for residents to have a say on local matters via referendums.

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