Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Be careful what you wish for

Taipei Times Editorial

Taiwanese academics should be careful what they wish for. By saying that Taiwan would only enter political negotiations with China on an ultimate solution to the cross-strait standoff if and when China democratizes, they are backing themselves into a corner that will be difficult to get out of, and that has quite a few pitfalls.

It is understandable that Taiwanese academics at a cross-strait forum recently held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would use this tactic as a stalling action for entering political talks with Beijing. After all, it does not look likely that China will become a democracy anytime soon, and placing this as a prerequisite for political talks is a surefire way to put those talks on the back burner.

‘China Times’ editor threatens student with lawsuit

Taipei Times

National Tsing Hua University student Chen Wei-ting holds a placard calling for freedom of speech in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times

Despite repeated threats that he would file a lawsuit against National Tsing Hua University student Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) over an image posted on Facebook, China Times Weekly deputy editor-in-chief Lin Chao-hsin (林朝鑫) had yet to act on his threat yesterday, while Chen said he was ready to defend freedom of speech on the Internet.

“Instead of finding out the truth about the ‘walking fee incident,’ Want Want China Times Media Group chose to [threaten to] file a lawsuit against a college student for posting an image on Facebook,” Chen told a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning. “The lawsuit is not only against me, it’s against all netizens, and Taiwanese civil society.”

Olympics flag flap showcases Taiwan’s political purgatory to sports world

Michael Richardson

The 2012 Olympics showcases to the sports world that Taiwan’s long-standing “strategic ambiguity” remains the rule of the day. The 44 Taiwanese athletes competing in the London games do not represent Taiwan or even the Republic of China in-exile. Instead, the athletes from the island of Formosa must compete under the name Chinese Taipei or be barred from participation.

Taiwan is also excluded from the World Health Organization but permitted observer status under the Chinese Taipei name. However, it is not just the name Chinese Taipei that has been imposed on the Olympic competitors in London, now a new flag has been unfurled.

Farmers must take brave stand

Lee Wu-chung 李武忠

The government has successfully amended the law to relax legal restrictions on beef imports containing residue of ractopamine. Considering the entire process surrounding this heated dispute, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration really needs to take a moment to reflect and make improvements.

The government has repeatedly promised to ensure clear labeling of beef products so that consumers can avoid buying and eating certain products. This may seem feasible enough, but with the abundance of marketing channels and an inefficient government, implementation will prove difficult and it will be pretty much impossible for the public to put their minds at ease.

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