Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ma’s fight with AP not at the heart of the issue

Lai I-chung 賴怡忠

In recent days, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has had another fight with The Associated Press (AP) over whether he will enter into political talks with China if he is re-elected in 2012. Ma remains adamant that he never made any statement to the effect that he was planning such a move if re-elected and he insisted that it was all a misunderstanding by the AP reporter. Ma even demanded that AP offer an apology. However, regardless of whether AP eventually folds under mounting political pressure, the press release issued by the Presidential Office shows that the AP’s conclusion is based on fact.

Former president releases new book

Taipei Times

After almost 700 days in detention, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would not flee the country if he were released, he says in a new book that he wrote while incarcerated at the Taipei Detention Center.

“I choose to confront rather than escape,” he says, speaking of his legal troubles, including accusations that he committed forgery, embezzled state funds and laundered money through Swiss bank accounts.

China poses challenge to new START ambitions

Peter Brookes

Discussion of the US-Russia Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — aka New START — has so far pretty much skipped one very important consideration: China.

In the run-up to last week’s Senate committee vote to send the treaty to the floor for ratification this fall, senators quite rightly debated whether New START overly restrains US missile-defense options, has weak verification procedures, cuts too many US missiles or warheads or might affect nuclear North Korea and near-nuclear Iran.

Ex-US Navy chief calls for tougher stance on China

Taipei Times

A top US military figure has declared that China’s continuing missile buildup opposite Taiwan — despite progress on economic and political relations — makes no sense unless Beijing “is preparing for war against the only Chinese democracy.”

Retired admiral James Lyons, former commander in chief of the US Pacific Fleet and senior US military representative to the UN, said: “After a year of dallying, the [US President Barack] Obama administration has started to stand up to China, but it is not doing enough.

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