Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Taiwan must focus on ‘hard power’

Liberty Times Editorial

The US House of Representatives earlier this month unanimously passed the Taiwan Travel Act, which stipulates that the US government should encourage US-Taiwan visits at all levels. It is no surprise that Beijing is not happy about this development, but for the act to become law, it needs to be passed by the US Senate and then signed by US President Donald Trump.

The Senate’s version of act was proposed in May last year. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018 signed by Trump suggested naval port of call exchanges between the US and Taiwan, leading the Chinese ambassador to the US to warn: If a US warship arrives in Taiwan, China will activate its “Anti-Secession” Law.

US government removes ROC flag from Web sites

Taipei Times

A composite image shows the Taiwan entry under the “countries and regions” tab on the Web site of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs before and after the Republic of China flag was removed.
Screen grab from the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Web site

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its disappointment over the removal of the Republic of China (ROC) flag from several US government Web sites, saying it has conveyed its grave concerns to Washington.

Is it a question of law, or of judges?

Wu Ching-chin 吳景欽

The legislature last week confirmed the new Control Yuan nominees, one of whom, Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), during the nomination process pledged to “launch probes against those in the judiciary who selectively take up prosecution against pan-green camp politicians and government officials.”

Whether Chen has already demonstrated that he is unable to carry out his role as a member of the Control Yuan in a sufficiently objective and neutral manner will depend on the decisions and actions he takes in the coming months and years. He will certainly be scrutinized very closely.

Control Yuan could help repair trust

Taipei Times Editorial

All 11 new Control Yuan members are to report for duty by the end of the month after the Presidential Office in a notice on Wednesday last week announced their terms, which are to last until July 31, 2020.

Of the new Control Yuan members, Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) has sparked the most discussion following his comments at the nomination hearings at the legislature on Monday last week. When fielding questions from lawmakers, Chen, who served as Presidential Office secretary-general under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), said he believes that Chen Shui-bian is a victim of judicial persecution and he would take action against judges who were “biased against members of the pan-green camp and lenient on members of the pan-blue camp.”

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