Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Legislature must act as an ECFA watchman

Ku Chung-hwa 顧忠華

Taiwan is a democracy, and the basic principles underlying democracy are the separation of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, and the mutual checks and balances thereof. Of these three, it is the checks and balances of the first two, the executive and legislative branches of government, that are the most crucial. This is because they are instrumental in making sure government policy reflects public opinion, and in preventing it from going off in its own direction unchallenged.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has been in power for two years, and he has doubled as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman since last October. Over the past two years, the power of the legislature has been curbed to the extent that it is losing its ability to effectively keep the government in check or participate in policymaking.

Ma's racialism risks Taiwan's free choice

Taiwan News Editorial

It is unfortunate that we must admit that "we told you so!"

In an editorial on March 16, 2008, we warned that the sudden conversion to "Taiwan self-determination" by President Ma Ying-jeou, then the candidate of the right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), was a "counterfeit."

We warned voters that Ma's sudden publication of half-page advertisements in local media declaring that "We Resolutely Advocate That the Future of Taiwan Must be Decided by the Taiwan People Themselves" was "little more than an attempt at piracy" of the core value of the right of democratic self-determination for the 23 million Taiwan people cherished for decades by the Taiwan democratic movement and by the Democratic Progressive Party.

An open letter to Wang Jin-pyng

Nat Bellocchi, et al.

Dear Mr Speaker, Wang Jin-pyng (王金平),

As strong supporters of a free and democratic Taiwan, we would like to call your attention to a number of concerns we have regarding the ongoing negotiations between the Taiwanese and Chinese governments to arrive at an economic cooperation framework agreement.

ECFA a threat to food security: experts

Taipei Times

Legislators and academics yesterday warned that signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China could potentially undermine Taiwan’s food security because the nation’s food self-sufficiency rate is alarmingly low, about 30 percent, and Chinese suppliers of agricultural products would be able to influence Taiwan’s food markets.

They said unless efforts are made to improve the nation’s food self-sufficiency, the trade pact the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government is seeking to sign with Beijing next month would mean China would gain significant control over wheat and corn imports and prices of wheat-derived foodstuffs, animal feed and meat products, putting Taiwan’s food security at risk.

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