Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Act before your apathy does

Taipei Times Editorial

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out ... Then they came for the Jews, but I was not Jewish so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

These are the famous words of German pastor Martin Niemoeller during World War II about not stepping forward sooner and speaking out against the Nazis.

Considering the various controversial social and judicial incidents that have arisen in the past three years, many cannot help but be reminded of Niemoeller’s statement as concern brews over what further absurdity could happen next if a majority of the public continues to stay silent on what happens to other people.

Taiwan sends not-so-subtle signal on China’s carrier

Taipei Times

In a blunt departure from tradition, the military yesterday displayed a model Hsiung Feng (“Brave Wind”) III (HF-3) anti-ship missile with, as a backdrop, a large picture of a burning aircraft carrier that bore a striking resemblance to China’s retrofitted Varyag, which embarked on its maiden voyage earlier in the day.

The booth, set at a prominent location at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), which opens today, was the center of attention of reporters who were given a chance to take a look around during a pre-show visit.

Ma’s day in ‘Provence’ could cost

Taipei Times Editorial

Typhoon Morakot was a turning point for the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Its mishandling of the disaster response made a mockery of the slogan — “We’re ready” — adopted by Ma’s campaign team during the 2008 presidential election. After the Morakot fiasco, Ma’s popularity rating plunged from 70 percent to just over 30, and never really recovered. It’s been two years since the typhoon wreaked havoc and the government is still hoping to pick itself up and dust itself off. It’s a shame Ma can’t stop putting his foot in his mouth.

Ma, keen to show solidarity with Morakot victims, spent Saturday in Majia Township (瑪家), Pingtung County, in a new “permanent housing” unit built for those left homeless by the disaster. He said it was a pleasant experience, describing his stay as balmy and comfortable and likening the area to Provence, France, and “Peach Blossom Land” — the latter being the paradise on earth described in a popular Chinese fable.

Tsai would have good relations with US, China: Chen

Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) could expect a sound relationship with the US and China if she were to win January’s presidential election, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) wrote in an article published yesterday.

“I’m confident we will have the first female president in Taiwan’s history in January,” Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year jail sentence for corruption and money laundering, wrote in his latest column titled “The truth you did not know.”

The DPP presidential candidate would stand behind her pledge to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and not make deals with China in exchange for personal benefit, Chen wrote in the article, which was dated July 30.

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