Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

What 'Formosa' means for today's Taiwan

Taiwan News

The coincidence of the 30th anniversary of the Kaohsiung or "Formosa" Incident and the 61st anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights yesterday provides an important moment for reflection on both the Taiwan's difficult democratization and the state of our democratic society after 19 months after the restoration to governance of the former party of authoritarianism.

Exactly three decades ago in Kaohsiung City, a riot broke out between police and supporters of the democratic movement attending a banned demonstration called to commemorate International Human Rights Day organized by "Formosa" monthly, the self-designated "magazine of the Taiwan democratic movement."

Taiwan needs no more 'King-makers'

Taiwan News

In an apparent effort to recover his declining popularity and hopefully rebuild the collapsing credibility of his ruling right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), President and KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou made a stunning decision last week to appoint his former top aide and ex-Taipei City deputy mayor King Pu-tsung as KMT secretary-general.

Coincidently, Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ying-wen tabbed former interior minister Su Chia-chyuan as the opposition party's new secretary-general days after its rebound in the December 5th "three-in-one" local elections.

Wu ‘blows his top’ at inefficiency

Taipei Times

At a Cabinet meeting this week, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) expressed dissatisfaction with administrative inefficiency. If high-level officials must blow their top before civil servants start doing what they’re told, he said, why doesn’t he simply create a “blowing my top” chop to use? The deteriorating efficiency of Taiwan’s government institutions has been lamented throughout the country, and it has been a millstone around the neck of Taiwanese competitiveness for years.

A lapse or a strategy? It’s a worry either way

Jerome Keating

The most significant outcome of last Saturday’s elections was the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regaining power in its former stronghold of Yilan County.

Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), as both president of Taiwan and chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), had zealously and extensively campaigned there to prevent this, putting both his and his party’s reputation on the line.

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