Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A tale of greed and bad governance

J. Michael Cole 寇謐將

It’s hard to tell which is more embarrassing — that hundreds of Taiwanese would prostrate themselves before a wealthy Chinese tycoon so they could receive a “red envelope” from his hand, or the fact that after two-and-a-half years in office, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has failed to look after the economic well-being of its own people.

A visit to Taiwan this week by Chinese recycling magnate Chen Guangbiao (陳光標), ostensibly on a “thanksgiving” tour to hand out an estimated NT$500 million (US$17.2 million) to Taiwan’s poor, initially sparked controversy when it was revealed that said envelopes were embossed with the inscription “the Chinese race is one family (中華民族一家親).”

MND apologizes for wrongful execution

Taipei Times

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday issued an official apology over what now appears to have been the wrongful execution of a soldier convicted of sexually abusing and murdering a five-year-old girl in 1996.

Amid calls by legislators for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the military to account for the execution of Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶) in 1997, the ministry said in the afternoon that it would fully cooperate with an investigation, adding that the military and judicial system had learned a lesson from this case and that more rigorous investigation mechanisms should be adopted to ensure the protection of human rights.

Quality time, not face time, is needed

Taipei Times Editorial

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has once again demonstrated his preference for style over substance with the launch of his own Facebook page yesterday.

There’s not much on the site yet, just two videos, some personal information like his birth date, the address of the Presidential Office Building, a brief biography and a short statement about how he hopes to use the site to share views with the public. Oh, and he listed jogging and swimming under “interests.” These details are hardly earth shattering or informative, yet by yesterday afternoon, 62,551 netizens had clicked on the “like” button on Ma’s page.

Creole, Syncretic or Hybrid? Taiwan, Understanding an Identity in Process, Part II

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

In these troubled times, Taiwanese know they are different but they may not always be able to verbalize how different they are. From the Japanese era on, Taiwanese had begun to gain a unified sense of their difference. At that time, unlike under Qing rule, the Hoklo, Hakka and indigenous people realized that they should not let outside rulers play one group against the other. They became united in forging an identity. Thus, as Taiwan now distances itself from the martial law, propaganda and attempted indoctrination of the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) one-party state, its citizens feel more free to claim their true identity;Taiwanese. In this process they should examine three terms, creolism, syncretism and hybridization.

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