Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), son of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who was stripped of his Greater Kaohsiung councilor position after being found guilty of perjury, said yesterday the court’s sentence amounted to political persecution.

The younger Chen lost his job after the Supreme Court on Wednesday sentenced him to three months in jail for perjury in a case related to his father’s state affairs fund case.

Chen Chih-chung issued a statement saying he could not accept the sentence and he did not believe those who voted for him would accept it either, because the public could not allow political vendettas to be carried out “to such an extent.”

What good is a foreign ministry if it cannot defend a nation’s name and dignity when the need arises? Sadly, this appears to be a recurring situation in Taiwan. Despite a protest lodged by the Government Information Office about two weeks ago, the Taiwanese public was yesterday treated to the news that the Taiwan-produced epic Seediq Bale (賽德克巴萊) is still labeled as a film made in “China, Taiwan” on the Venice Film Festival’s Web site.

The film’s director, Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖), was quoted by local media as saying that he was at one point asked by foreign ministry officials what he felt the bottom line on the matter was.

“I am just a movie maker,” Wei said dejectedly. “Why are we the ones who need to define a stance on the matter?”