Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan Political Prisoner Report, Jan. 9, 2013. Wu Shu-chen, the former First Lady of the Republic of China in-exile, convicted of a perjury charge, has been spared a prison cell like the one where her husband, Chen Shui-bian, has been confined. Wu, paralyzed since 1985 when she was ran over several times by a truck at a political event, would present significant care needs for her ROC jailers if she was imprisoned and was placed under house arrest in 2011.

The petite woman greeting us in a modest Taipei apartment was at once polite, humble, gracious, and friendly. Unfortunately, the occasion was not so friendly. I was there to ask her about corruption, to confront her face-to-face about whether she took money she should not have taken.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has been repeatedly bragging that Taiwan is pretty much clear of its economic woes. However, apart from not being able to end its multitude of economic problems this year, there is also a risk that things could take a turn for the worse. Taiwan’s GDP may grow by 3 percent or 4 percent this year because it is compared to a lower base period — last year — but if the many longstanding problems are not completely solved, simply improving economic indicators will not improve living standards.