Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Exploring All of One's Roots: Taiwan and its Lapita Heritage

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

Taiwanese will often wonder how and why after nearly a half a century of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) indoctrination and brainwashing, they still think differently, act differently and even have different sets of values than the post World War II carpetbaggers that fled to Taiwan from China (1945 to 1949). They may further wonder why they find their thinking is even more than miles apart from that of a different brainwashed set, the sheep on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. Those sheep are no closer to a democracy than they were 100 years ago when Sun Yat-sen proposed a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Why is this so? Why did democracy take root in Taiwan and not China? Surprisingly, the answer can be found in Taiwan’s history and one word, Lapita.

For better relations, China has to alter approach: Tsai

Taipei Times

Attempts by Beijing to improve cross-strait relations would have to include a fundamental change in how China deals with issues concerning Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday in response to the latest remarks by the Chinese leadership.

During a closed-door meeting on Saturday with Taiwan’s APEC envoy, former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should communicate and negotiate on issues pertaining to Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.

Taiwan’s finances are in a dreamland

Chang Ruay-shiung 張瑞雄

Recently, the media has been preoccupied by news about the Taipei International Flora Exposition, the special municipality elections and the results of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) various trials. Not too many people have been paying attention to major international events, especially the recent strikes and reform to the pensions system in France.

Under the previous French law, the retirement age was 60 and anyone who made social security payments for 40-and-a-half years could claim full pension benefits from the age of 65. However, an aging population has meant that pension and healthcare costs have increased steadily. Combined with the falling number of taxpayers — a result of falling birth rates — this made reform of the pensions system very urgent.

2010 ELECTIONS: KMT threatens lawsuit over TV show

Taipei Times

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) threatened legal action after guests on a talk show criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), but the party said it was only defending its reputation against political talk show guests and comments it regarded as departing from the truth, and was not taking action against media outlets themselves.

KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) made the remarks in response to a report published by the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday that said the KMT would file a lawsuit against Formosa Television (FTV, 民視) over comments recently made on its political talk show Boss Talk (頭家來開講).

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