Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

US politician urges Chen Shui-bian to be freed from jail

Taipei Times

Ranking member of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee US Representative Howard Berman has written to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to appeal for the medical parole of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

“Releasing Chen from prison on humanitarian grounds would allow him to receive the thorough, long-term medical treatment that he needs and would aid in his physical and mental recovery,” the letter says.

US Ambassador to China visited Ngaba: State Department

Phayul.com

US Ambassador to China Gary Locke

DHARAMSHALA, October 17: The State Department has revealed that the US Ambassador to China last month visited the beleaguered Ngaba region of eastern Tibet, which remains the epicenter of the ongoing wave of self-immolations in Tibet.

Ambassador Gary Locke visited the Ngaba region in September as part of a broader trip to Chongqing and Sichuan province, State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland told reporters at a regular news conference Tuesday.

Respecting freedom of opinion

Taipei Times Editorial

The latest controversy to hit the government was sparked by comments Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) posted on his Facebook page concerning the US’ visa-waiver policy and a decision to extend the National Health Insurance program to Chinese students. The Executive Yuan is to investigate whether Shih violated the Civil Servants Work Act (公務員服務法). The government is being rather selective in what it decides to investigate: Is it thinking of hoisting Shih’s head on a spike outside the city gates as a warning to others? This raises questions over freedom of expression.

Ma jeopardizing UN bid: critics

Taipei Times

Civic groups and academics yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for disregarding the bid for UN membership under the name Taiwan and warned that Ma’s inaction on the diplomatic front would jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty.

“While Taiwan is a de facto independent country, we need to work hard to make it a de jure independent country and applying for membership of the UN under the name of Taiwan is the only way to do this,” the nation’s former representative to Japan, Koh Se-kai (許世楷), told a symposium.

More Articles...