Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

When public figures should shut up

Taipei Times Editorial

Two prominent individuals are head-to-head this week in the contest for “bad person of the week” thanks to the tactlessness of their public remarks. Our first candidate, Wang Shaw-lan (王效蘭), publisher of the Chinese-language United Daily News, showed her true colors in comments on the sidelines of a book fair in Taipei last Friday when she called Taiwanese “detestable,” adding that she did not want to live in Taiwan anymore because its people “angered” her.

Chen’s health no laughing matter

Taipei Times Editorial

The sanctity of life is not a laughing matter, including the life of a prisoner, whose imprisonment should not be considered a deprivation of his or her basic rights. In the case of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), his medical rights are in jeopardy. Regrettably, however, reports of Chen’s deteriorating health suggest President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his government have not been taking the life of the nation’s former head of state seriously.

Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou Gets Caught Again with a Foot in Each of Two Boats

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

While the disputes over the sovereignty of the Diaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands continue to dominate the news, Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou finds himself once again in a conundrum that his posturing and bravado will not solve. One cannot deny that posturing has served him well on occasion in the past, but at root here is something deeper, Ma’s inability to break with his Chinese past. This attachment to his past leads to a divided thinking which in turn then dictates his unfortunate but frequent modus operandi, that of trying to keep a foot in each of two boats.

Human rights group to question Ma Ying-jeou about Chen Shui-bian’s condition

Michael Richardson

The Human Rights Action Center based in Washington, D.C. has issued a preliminary statement on the prison conditions of Chen Shui-bian, the imprisoned former president of the Republic of China in-exile. Chen has already served four years of a lengthy prison sentence following his conviction for alleged corruption during his term in office.

Speaking at Taoyuan Hospital in Taipei, Hans Wahl of the HRAC called the 23-hour days that Chen Shui-bian is confined to his tiny cell “harsh treatment” and said that an explanation for such conditions will be sought from the Ministry of Justice and President Ma Ying-jeou, Chen’s successor in office.

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