Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Veterans’ China visits questioned

Taipei Times

A new study on the rising number of retired senior Taiwanese military officers who visit China concludes that retired officials of “mainland” heritage represent the constituency in Taiwan most likely to support unification and could serve as willing conduits for Chinese propaganda intended to manipulate public perceptions in Taiwan.

“Retired Taiwanese military officers have visited China in an individual capacity for many years,” writes John Dotson, a research coordinator on the staff of the congressionally mandated US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in the latest issue of the Jamestown Foundation’s China Brief.

Suspended opinion poll smacks of conspiracy

Hsu Yung-ming 徐永明

The sudden and unexpected announcement that the Global Views Monthly Survey Research Center will no longer conduct or accept commissions for polls on elections and political issues — with a presidential election looming — is suspicious and places a dark cloud of conspiracy over the upcoming election.

The move was unexpected because when Global Views released their latest poll that showed that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was holding a small lead over President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), they said they were planning to increase the frequency of their polling in the run-up to the election.

Tsai ends tour with huge rally in Taipei

Taipei Times

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is determined to win the presidential election in January to save people from an unhappy nation with a bad economy, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a rally in Taipei yesterday to conclude her 11-day campaign trip.

“We are going to march toward the Presidential Office. We are determined to return to power in 2012,” the presidential candidate told tens of thousands of screaming supporters on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.

The US has to support Taiwan’s democracy

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

It has been a couple of weeks since Oct. 4, when the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, held a hearing titled “Why Taiwan Matters.” A good moment to do a retrospective.

That the hearing took place at all is significant in itself. It certainly is an antidote against the noise from academic circles to the effect that support for Taiwan in Congress is waning, or suggestions by some academics in ivory towers that the US should reduce its commitments to Taiwan.

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