Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Birdcaging democracy

Taipei Times Editorial

As expected, the Executive Yuan’s Referendum Review Committee yesterday, for the third time, rejected the Taiwan Solidarity Union’s (TSU) proposal on holding a referendum on the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). This is also the third time the absurd situation has arisen in Taiwan’s democracy where a handful of Referendum Review Committee members have struck down a collective wish petitioned by more than 200,000 people who want a public vote on the government’s trade pact with China.

Taiwan and the 2011 Centennial: 100 years of What?

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

2011 Yes 2011 has been designated a centennial year for Taiwan to celebrate; but as it celebrates 100 years, Taiwanese need to examine more closely just what it is that they are being asked to celebrate 100 years of? Certainly 1911 marked the year that the Manchu Empire (a.k.a. the Qing Dynasty) and dynastic rule in China began its final crumbling in the Xinhai Revolution. From that the Republic of China (ROC) was born and on January 1, 1912 Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated provisional president of the new republic. But that republican birth was short-lived. Call it a still birth or abortion since not all provinces agreed with the revolution. In the next month (February) the dictatorial Yuan shih-kai would be the one who forced the actual abdication of the Emperor Puyi and that was in a brokered deal.

WikiLeaks trove of secret Taiwan cables may derail Chinese visit to Washington

Michael Richardson

As preparations go forward for the formal state visit of Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China to Washington, D.C. later this month, a large cache of secret U.S. State Department memos could upset the Chinese leader’s travel plans.

WikiLeaks has previously disclosed it has obtained 3,456 memorandums and other documents generated at the United States defacto embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan. Over a thousand of the State Department cables are marked ‘Confidential’ with another hundred-plus cables classified as ‘Secret’ by the U.S. government.

An inconsistent Presidential Office

Taipei Times Editorial

If futures were built on promises, Taiwan under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would be the envy of the international community — prosperous, dignified and safe from harm.

Sadly for Ma, running a country requires more than slogans designed to meet a moment’s requirements — statesmanship calls for vision, action and consistency, all qualities that our promise-prone president, after more than two-and-a-half years in office, has yet to show us he possesses.

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