Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Expert slams Washington over TRA

Taipei Times

A leading US foreign policy expert is charging that the administration of US President Barack Obama has “shown little to no knowledge or real interest” in the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA). William Bader, a former chief of staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, makes his case in a letter given prominent display in Thursday’s edition of the Financial Times.

The letter is a response to a column published in the newspaper last month by Asia editor David Pilling and headed “US cannot sacrifice Taiwan to court the Chinese.”

Red Cross criticized for delay in sending Japan disaster funds

Taipei Times

The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China (ROC), which has raised nearly NT$1.7 billion (US$58.5 million) for disaster victims in Japan, more than all other Taiwanese charities combined, is facing criticism that most of the money has yet to leave Taiwan.

The complaints that only about a quarter of the money earmarked for Japan had been given to charitable aid efforts by yesterday came as attention focused on how the organization is managing the fund and how it plans to allocate the money.

Is Ma living in cloud cuckoo land on economy?

Lin Cho-shui 林濁水

Sometimes you really do have to ask yourself whether President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is actually living in cloud cuckoo land.

Fresh from the fiasco of nominating a controversial “dinosaur” judge to the Council of Grand Justices, Ma got it wrong again in a comment he made about the economy. On Saturday he said that last year’s economic growth rate was the best the Taiwanese economy has seen in 63 years. What on earth is he talking about? This goes against the facts of Taiwan’s economic development. Ma was here during Taiwan’s most prosperous era, so how can he not recall those heady days?

Taiwan still matters

Will Inboden

I've been in Taiwan this week with a small delegation sponsored by the estimable Project 2049. Our visit comes at what would appear to be an auspicious time in cross-strait relations, as Taiwan and mainland China have made concrete steps over the past two years to reduce tensions and improve their economic and transportation ties, along with increasing political dialogue through multiple channels. But complacency is not in order. I have heard numerous concerns expressed this week about the fragility of the current equilibrium. In particular, both Taiwan and China face political transition points next year that could also exacerbate cross-strait tensions. And many Taiwanese feel uncertain of the White House's commitment to Taiwan's security -- an uncertainty that could possibly undermine their confidence in continuing to improve their relationship with China. Maintaining a security equilibrium takes regular tending and frequent calibration. The Obama administration should consider taking steps now to preserve the current stability, as well as preparing contingency plans for possible disruptions in the next year.

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