Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ying’s words opportunity to reflect

Taipei Times Editorial

After it was revealed that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) had praised the Taipei City Government for hosing down a park in Wanhua District (萬華) to drive our homeless people — not quite the Christmas spirit — her comments and the issue of homeless people has set off intense public debate. While many have said that spraying the park with water on a cold winter evening displays a cruel lack of humanity, Ying does not, in fact, lack compassion — she has long worked for the welfare of prison inmates and is a board member of an animal protection association.

Neutrality needed from Beijing and Washington

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

It is a bit peculiar to see that suddenly so many US government officials are visiting Taiwan these days. During the past few weeks, there was US Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. The week before that it was USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, while in September US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Suresh Kumar visited Taipei. And earlier in the year, US Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Sandra Henriquez swung by.

Why Taiwan Cannot Afford to Waste Another Four Years on Ma

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

As Taiwan's January 14 presidential election approaches, one idea is becoming more and more clear; Taiwan cannot afford to waste another four years with Ma Ying-jeou as president. Despite measured hopes and claims, predictions on Taiwan's GDP for the coming year continue to fall; they have now dipped into the 3 per cent bracket. This indicates that the so-called up-coming Golden Decade that Ma proposes as his campaign slogan has already died in the same way that his 6-3-3 promise never got off the blocks. James Soong's description of Ma as a Persian Cat (something pretty to look at but inept at catching mice or doing anything) is being seen more and more as on the mark. Ma has too long lived on King Pu-sung's hype and surface imagery while he foregoes substance and results; he remains in effect the inveterate poseur par excellence.

The biggest losers of the presidential campaign

James Wang 王景弘

Voters still haven’t gone to the ballot box, but the four great losers of the Jan. 14 elections are already appearing.

The biggest loser is Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如). Holding a doctorate from the University of Chicago, she has always succeeded in everything she does. With such a good background, one wonders why she had to get involved in crooked, underhanded political attacks by attempting to frame opponents using forged documents. It is all too clear that she has ulterior motives and in an instant, she has destroyed the good reputation and goodwill she has spent a lifetime building.

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