Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ma Ying-jeou Recycles His Old Promises but Taiwan is None the Richer

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

The world continues to turn in Taiwan, and Ma Ying-jeou is once again the official Chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). For those whose memory is short, Ma had been chairman from 2005 to 2007 when he had to step down because he was indicted for corruption. Fortunately, Ma got his secretary to take sole and total responsibility for depositing roughly a half-million US dollars into Ma's personal bank account; as a result with his secretary in jail for putting this money in Ma's personal account, Ma has dodged the bullet. So now Ma has been re-elected chairman and is recycling his old promises. Recycling old promises, what's that?

Chen Shui-bian and Roger Lin may face death penalty in Taiwan over U.S. litigation claims

Michael Richardson

In a dramatic development that threatens the lives of two men, the longstanding American "strategic ambiguity" that has enshrouded Taiwan for 64 years is unraveling. Former Republic of China in-exile President Chen Shui-bian and Taiwanese politician and international legal expert Roger C.S. Lin have been subpoenaed by a Kaohsiung court for depositions on possible treason. The sentence for treason under the ROC administration is the death penalty.

Court's cowardice harms rights of all in Taiwan

Taiwan News

The Council of Grand Justices displayed a tragic lack of judicial independence and courage Friday by failing to take a clear stand on the validity of the court proceedings which resulted in a conviction and life sentence meted to former president Chen Shui-bian on "corruption" charges by the Taipei District Court last month.

In their role as Taiwan's Constitutional Court, the 15 grand justices issued Interpretation 665 in response to a petition filed in January by the former president's legal defense team on several issues.

Illusions about Chinese goodwill

Chu Ping-tzu 祝平次

While he was in office, president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) published a book entitled The Road to Democracy: Taiwan’s Pursuit of Identity (台灣的主張). It was appropriate and justified for Lee to write about democracy. In it, he laid out his intentions and concerns as a leader, as well as showing his determined character.

The political effect of the book was to give the public a clear view of where the nation was headed, and thus a sense of security. Although many people voiced their opposition to what Lee stood for, they could direct those opinions against concrete positions.

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