Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

MAC blasted for sending funds to China

Taipei Times

Legislators across party lines yesterday showed a rare display of unity in accusing the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of violating its budgetary code by illegally using emergency government funds to help Chinese provinces with post-disaster reconstruction projects.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said the council intended to allocate a total of NT$65.57 million (US$2 million) from the central government’s emergency fund — also known as the -“second -reserve fund” — in this year’s budget request to help residents of two Chinese provinces rebuild their homes.

Another Slap in the Face for Taiwan under Ma Ying-joke

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

The farce and the charade of Taiwan's president Ma continue increasing the reasons why the people call him Ma Ying-joke. Take for example the bogus 1992 Consensus. In a statement issued yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC)proudly stated that its negotiations with China were conducted under the framework of the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and not any "one China" policy. The MAC continued that it has upheld the sovereignty and dignity of Taiwan and that exchanges with China are conducted under the 1992 Consensus, a consensus that everyone (except Ma and his government) acknowledges was made up.

Ball in Taiwan’s camp on missile defense, analyst says

Taipei Times

Despite the ability of the radar systems deployed by Taiwan’s military to track and engage large numbers of targets simultaneously, Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3 missile batteries alone would be insufficient to deter China from launching a missile attack, a US specialist wrote.

“Patriot batteries are only one element of a complete missile-defense system,” Ed Ross, a former principal director for security cooperation operations at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and senior director for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, wrote in the latest issue of the Jamestown Foundation’s China Brief.

Egyptians, Tunisians send sobering message to Beijing

Dani Rodrik

Perhaps the most striking finding in the UN’s recent 20th anniversary Human Development Report is the outstanding performance of the Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Here was Tunisia, ranked sixth among 135 countries in terms of improvement in its Human Development Index (HDI) over the previous four decades, ahead of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico and India. Not far behind was Egypt, ranked 14th.

The HDI is a measure of development that captures achievements in health and education alongside economic growth. Egypt and (especially) Tunisia did well enough on the growth front, but where they really shone was on these broader indicators.

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