Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

US mayor lectures Chinese official on freedom of speech

Taipei Times

Beijing is fighting to have an artist’s mural promoting independence for Taiwan and Tibet removed from a brick wall in the small town of Corvallis, Oregon.

Two officials from the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco have written to the mayor of Corvallis about the mural and last week visited the town to lodge a formal complaint.

“As you are aware, the First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees freedom of speech in this country and this includes freedom of artistic expression,” Corvallis Mayor Julie Manning has told them.

Taiwanese and Tibetans strengthen bonds

Phayul.com

DHARAMSHALA, September 8: In growing exchanges between Taiwan and Tibet, a Taiwanese group is currently in Dharamshala, the exile Tibetan headquarters, visiting Tibetan offices and meeting with exile leaders.

Organisers of the trip, the Gu Chu Sum Former Political Prisoner’s Movement of Tibet and the Taiwanese Friends of Tibet group, yesterday held a joint press conference, addressed by Professor Chang Yen Hsien, head of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.

Rubbing salt in the wound

Taipei Times Editorial

It is a shame to realize that you can get away with murder in Taiwan, never reaping the penalties for your misdeeds, at least if you were a senior military officer at the time of the crime.

Former ministers of national defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) and Lee Tien-yu (李天羽), former air force commander-in-chief Huang Hsien-jung (黃顯榮) and the many other military officers involved in the Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶) travesty of justice can rest assured that they are unlikely to ever see the inside of a courtroom as defendants.

Protests aided Taiwan’s democracy

Jerome Keating

Taiwan is no stranger to protests. From the Kaohsiung Incident on up to the present, protests have occurred with increasing frequency and over an increasing variety of issues. More recent protests include issues like the red shirts against corruption under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), China’s “Anti-Secession” Law, the import of US beef and even dissatisfaction following President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) first term in office. However, with any social movement or protest, questions naturally arise on how to evaluate their success and effectiveness as well as how crucial they were to a nation’s development.

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