Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Living in a world divided in half

Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財

Taiwan has a surface area of 36,000km2, on which 23 million people live. Difficult, perhaps, to imagine then that this modestly sized country incorporates two very different worlds. One is a world of leisure and enjoyment, the other a world of poverty and want.

Living in the first, one can enjoy a huge fireworks display to mark the centenary of the Republic of China (ROC) not so long after wandering around the Taipei International Flora Expo, and then from the fireworks display to the Dreamers (夢想家) extravaganza, and the inspirational, visual feast that was. And the cost? No need to worry about that. The NT$13.6 billion (US$449.67 million) spent on the expo, the NT$100 million up in smoke in one 20-minute fireworks show, the NT$215 million spent on four hours’ worth of performances spread over two nights for Dreamers, all came out of the public’s pocket. It was courtesy of the taxpayer. Were private individuals even asked to cough up?

Selling out Taiwan not an option for the US

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

Relations between Taiwan and the US are an important issue and are given serious thought by many in the US, in Taiwan and elsewhere. Most of these emphasize the shared values between the two countries, Taiwan’s ascendance to democracy or the country’s strategic value in the western Pacific.

We have also seen some irresponsible ideas floated, such as those by George Washington University professor Charles Glaser, who thinks that by reducing the US’ commitment to Taiwan, it could get China to be cooperative in other areas, such as Iran or North Korea. I have maintained that these arguments are short-sighted and uninformed.

2012 ELECTIONS: KMT denies Ma met with bookmaker

Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lin Shu-fen, left, and Chen Ting-fei, right, at a press conference in Taipei yesterday, urge President Ma Ying-jeou to clear up allegations that he met with one of the nation’s top bookmakers in September.

Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

The Presidential Office and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday denied President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) met privately with one of the nation’s most powerful bookmakers in September, insisting that the president has handled all political donations in accordance with the regulations.

The Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday reported that Ma held a closed-door meeting with bookie Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) in Chiayi on Sept. 10 when campaigning in the city. According to the magazine, Chen is allegedly in charge of major underground betting activities on local elections.

Why Does Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou Not Want to End China's Civil War?

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

A frequent joke that comes up in the United States is when those who are from the Southern States are at a party with those who are Northerners and the Southerners claim that the Civil War never ended. It happens when discussions turn regional and political; thus someone will inevitably say, "Save your Confederate dollars my friends, the South will rise again." The joke is accepted by all since it provides a humorous way to avoid the potential tension and hostility that can arise when politics as well as religion are discussed. In Taiwan, however, any such past Civil War jokes linked to China's and not Taiwan's past are not a way of relieving potential tension, but the result of its current president and some others living in a bygone age and not being able to let go of it. Why? This is what Taiwanese need examine as the 2012 elections approach.

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