Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A downward spiral for the economy

Taipei Times Editorial

A Bloomberg article last week about the loss of Taiwanese jobs to China has drawn mixed reactions. The article attributed the losses to the nation’s sluggish easing of investment rules and slow development of the service industry, saying these have caused Taiwan to fall behind Singapore and Hong Kong.

Some sources attributed job erosion to the government’s China policies, which they said helped domestic manufacturers relocate to China in the shortest time possible without creating jobs at home. Others said Taiwan was facing a labor shortage, rather than high unemployment, with the nation’s unemployment rate falling to 4.27 percent in May, its lowest level in 33 months, after peaking at 6.13 percent in August 2009.

KMT slams Tsai campaign slogan

Taipei Times

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign office yesterday crossed swords with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential nominee Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) over the latter’s latest campaign slogan: “I am a Taiwanese (我是台灣人),” which follows two earlier slogans — “Taiwan NEXT” and “Taiwan, what do you want?”

Tsai said in a speech in Nantou County yesterday that if elected, she will “ensure people feel proud about being Taiwanese.”

Tsai said that the willingness to identify oneself as Taiwanese in public, with pride, is a symbol of Taiwan’s democratic values and social progress.

Pro-independence supporters announce establishment of new political party

Taipei Times

A group of pro-Taiwan independence supporters yesterday announced the formation of a new political party, the Taiwanese National Party (TNP, 台灣民族黨).

The party, to be officially established tomorrow, will seek independence for Taiwan through a national referendum.

A group of TNP members made the announcement on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei with the Presidential Office in the background, chanting the slogans “Long live the Taiwanese nation” and “Liberate the Taiwanese nation.”

“We are determined to resort to every possible method to achieve the eventual goal of independence for Taiwan,” said the unofficial leader of the party, Huang Hua (黃華), who used to be an adviser to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

Neglect is hurting military morale

J. Michael Cole 寇謐將

In his Art of War (孫子兵法) military treatise, ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu (孫子) makes a convincing case for the need to ensure good morale in the ranks while undermining that of one’s opponent, adding that this will be a determining factor in a military’s will to fight.

If Sun were alive today and asked to assess the balance of morale in the Taiwan Strait, he would quickly conclude that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is faring much better than the Taiwanese military. A handful of factors in recent years have contributed to this state of affairs, including the inability of Taiwan to keep up with the PLA in terms of modernization of its military, defeatism in the public sphere and lack of a clear mandate from the executive branch.

More Articles...