Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A head of state, but no leader

Taipei Times

The Presidential Office’s statement on Wednesday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was not involved in the decision to allow construction of the 23-story I Pin Building (一品苑) in the Boai Special District (博愛特區) when he was Taipei mayor should come as no surprise.

The exoneration of Ma over actions deemed to have jeopardized his security now that he is president is just the latest example of his avoiding responsibility for anything controversial or potentially embarrassing that occurred on his watch.

Can’t we use ‘Taiwan’ in Taiwan?

Taipei Times

A recent controversy over the use of the word “Taiwan” at an event in Taipei City has highlighted the absurdity of China’s sensitivity to the name and cast doubt on the city government’s commitment to upholding the nation’s dignity.

With the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers in Taipei this week for exhibition games, preparations were under way at the Taipei Arena ahead of the first game today.

The PRC's Seven Axioms of Peaceful Rising

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) recently celebrated its 60th anniversary with plenty of fanfare and a superb show of military power. The cost while not spelt out was undeniably large. In the previous year, Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics and put on a US $43 billion dollar spectacle to awe the world. So, it is no wonder that even with a billion people at poverty level or below, pundits are continuing to say this is China's Century, and expound on how the PRC as the World's factory is also a world power ready to challenge anyone. What else is there to say? One can of course choose to examine the formula behind this hoopla, but do we really want to face the axioms it depends on?

A wake-up call for the Aborigines

Jerome Keating

Typhoon Morakot did more than expose the incompetence and lack of leadership in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration. It highlighted another salient issue: the plight of Taiwan’s Aborigines.

Like many indigenous peoples suffering the fate of colonialism, these people are pulled in opposite directions. Tugging on one side is the wish to maintain traditional lifestyles and identities; on the other are the demands of survival and dignity in a modern, fast-paced and high-tech society.

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