Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Many degrees of incompetence

Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財

Having the title doctor or the letters PhD after your name carries the connotation of having broad knowledge. In reality, while people with doctoral degrees often possess highly specialized expertise and might be held in high esteem among their peers, they are likely virtually unknown to the general public. In Taiwan, people with doctorates are common, while probably fewer than one out of 100 of them could truly make a name for themselves.

Of course, there are exceptions. Those who gain media exposure can easily become well-known, especially if they are involved in politics. However, many fail to live up to their academic titles, instead becoming known for making crude jokes and absurd remarks.

Ko’s reputation seriously damaged

Taipei Times Editorial

For the past few weeks, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and its Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) have been embroiled in a series of scandals related to irregularities in their presidential campaign financial reporting. These scandals continue to expand as more evidence surfaces, raising more questions about the party’s financial propriety and competency.

These irregularities include unusually high spending, allegedly accepting donations from abroad, reporting 97.3 percent of personal donations as “cash,” making large payments to marketing firms with close ties to the party and accounting errors.

Eight convicted in espionage case

Taipei Times

The High Court yesterday convicted eight current and retired military officers for developing a spy network for China, including a failed plot to fly a CH-47 Chinook attack helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait.

The defendants received sentences ranging from 18 months to 13 years for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) and taking bribes.

The defendants were with key military sites, including the 601st Brigade of Aviation and Special Forces Command and the Huadong Defense Command.

Ukrainian response in Russia will terrify PRC

Tommy Lin 林逸民

Russian President Vladimir Putin probably believed in his heart that after invading Ukraine it would be left with no choice but to take a beating with no means of fighting back. He likely believed Ukraine would use up all of its might to defend itself and be left with no energy to turn the fight around and into Russia. He was relaxed and unburdened. Regardless of which direction the war would take, the fight would never leave Ukrainian territory. The Russian public believed the same thing and did not concern themselves with the war, with some even going so far as to support Putin.

Putin’s smug sense of security was a golden opportunity for Ukraine to implement a strategic surprise attack. Putin has assigned the majority of Russian troops to the eastern and southern Ukraine battlefronts, thereby weakening border defenses and leaving the door into Russian territory wide open. Ukraine, with intelligence provided by Europe and the US, knew the Russian military’s weaknesses. After receiving F-16 jets that gave its air force an advantage, Ukraine audaciously launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

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