Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Doubts over fortitude of Taiwanese democracy

Peng Ming-min 彭明敏

Having just returned from overseas, I feel it necessary to share the deep concern about Taiwan’s presidential election that I encountered among many people, including overseas Taiwanese and foreign experts.

They doubt that the presidential election will be held as scheduled and are especially worried that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) may not hand over power should the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) win the election. In a normal, mature democracy, if the government loses, it hands over the reigns of power without a moment’s thought. It then takes on the role of “loyal opposition” and continues to work for the people and the country according to the party’s founding principles.

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?

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