Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Cao Cao would be much amused

Taipei Times

It is no small irony that the visit last week of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) would bring to the fore a potentially damaging rift within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

No sooner had Chen returned to China than the party’s old guard — personified by former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) — accused the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of mishandling a decision to avoid holding major banquets for Chen.

Taiwan's DPP must offer China policy alternatives

Taiwan News Editorial

The week-long protest against the secretive talks between China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yun-lin and Strait Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Ping-kun for Taiwan's Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government launched by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party and other Taiwan-centric political and social groups started with legitimate and effective actions to "check and balance" President Ma Ying-jeou's China - tilting policy but regretfully ended Thursday with an unexpected clash between a fundamentalist group and Taichung City police.

Taiwan's Prosecutors Continue to Abuse Their Power

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

Taiwan's prosecutors continue to abuse their power in the Chen Shui-bian case as they set out on yet another fishing expedition. They recently announced a fourth round of indictments (22 people) in Chen's case. So far they have called in just about anyone and everyone that ever shook hands with Chen or offered to buy him a cup of coffee.

Why are so many indicted? Despite having kept Chen in jail so long that he cannot prepare a proper defense, the prosecutors do not have a solid case of their own. They need to continue fishing. They need to find someone who they can threaten, bully or cajole to at least forge or fabricate a story to comply with their position. Or they hope by constant indictments to force Chen to bargain with them.

Taiwan leaders must push for Liu Xiaobo's freedom

Taiwan News Editorial

During a five-day visit which ends today, the chief negotiator on cross-strait relations for the authoritarian People's Republic of China for Taiwan affairs has repeatedly declared that Beijing will "absolutely respect" the expression of different opinions within Taiwan society regarding the cross-strait talks and on whether to welcome his journey.

These pious declarations by Association for Relations Across the Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin, a former director for Taiwan affairs for both the PRC government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party, have been discordant with his own statements that Beijing will not "waver" in its current policy direction on Taiwan due to these "different voices."

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