Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ma criticized at home and abroad

Taipei Times

The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou is facing its first real crisis since taking office in May last year. Criticism of its mishandling of the disaster created by Typhoon Morakot is coming from every quarter, both from the pan-green camp and traditionally blue villages hit by the catastrophe. The international media, which made Ma its darling, is joining the fray, with CNN International holding a public vote on the question: “Should Taiwan’s leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?”

In a further sign of media bungling, the Government Information Office (GIO) retracted a request that the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club instruct correspondents who signed up for a press conference with Ma today to submit their questions to the GIO prior to the media event — which the club adamantly refuses to do.

Ma Ying-jeou's Government Continues to Try to Flip-Flop its Way Out of Blame

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

If you remember when the USA and Japan immediately offered aid to Taiwan in the aftermath of the destructive typhoon, Ma's government refused that aid. Then, as embarassment rose, it was declared that they accepted it and the first statement was in error. A typo was blamed. Well tommorrow, Ma will meet with the Taiwan Foreign Correspondent's Club (TFCC) and again we have the flip-flop.

At first the Government Information Office (GIO) sent an email to the TFCC saying that Ma would only accept questions that were written out and submitted beforehand. The TFCC president immediately refused and issued this statment to members.

China misreads Taiwan ‘dissidents’

Suzanne Pepper

The relationship between Hong Kong’s stalled demand for full universal suffrage and Beijing’s plans for unification with Taiwan came to the fore late last month when Hong Kong played host to a high-profile Chinese Communist Party (CCP) representative. Du Qinglin heads the party’s United Front Work Department and came from Beijing to aid what he called the “difficult and complex” task of national reunification.

Du’s assignment was to officiate at inaugural ceremonies for the Hong Kong branch of China’s Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification. The organization, established in 1988, now has chapters in more than 80 countries and works primarily among Chinese communities to promote relations across the Taiwan Strait. A branch was set up in Macau five years ago.

Snapping Ma out of complacency

Taipei Times

Seven days after Typhoon Morakot wreaked havoc in southern Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou finally realized how serious the situation is and called a national security meeting. The government’s slow and disorganized response to the disaster has angered victims and stirred criticism across the political spectrum and from the international community.

Ma’s Cabinet ministers may hold doctorate degrees, but they have failed the test this time, with Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi and local government heads busy blaming each other while the military “awaited orders” to join rescue efforts.

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