Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Legislators’ conflicts of interest

Chen Yi-nan 陳逸南

On Monday last week, Citizen Congress Watch released a statement calling for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) not to stand for election as co-convener of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee until a judicial investigation confirms her innocence in an ongoing legal case.

The statement also said that when deciding who to nominate as committee conveners, legislative caucuses of all parties should live up to public expectations by making sure to avoid conflicts of interest.

Third, they said that laws and regulations concerning the Legislative Yuan should be reviewed to establish a comprehensive system for avoiding conflicts of interest among legislators.

Time to reinstate military trials

Tommy Lin 林逸民

Former army corporal Hung Chung-chiu’s (洪仲丘) death in 2013 sparked public outrage as people were appalled by the inappropriate discipline in the military.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets with the intention of making the management of the nation’s army safer and more efficient.

Then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) responded to the growing public anger by abolishing the Military Trial Act (軍事審判法) in a rush.

The US, leader of the world’s democracies, still has military tribunals, because military discipline is the root of military power and the survival of a nation.

Equality for all foreign spouses

Taipei Times Editorial

An online petition started by a doctor in Taichung called on lawmakers to halt an amendment that would shorten the time needed for Chinese spouses of Taiwanese to gain citizenship in Taiwan.

The amendment could put a strain on Taiwan’s already burdened National Health Insurance (NHI) system, Cheng Ching Hospital thoracic surgery division doctor Tu Cheng-che (杜承哲) said. Doctors have seen many Chinese spouses bring their relatives to hospital emergency rooms, asking for full checkups, he added.

“They [Chinese spouses] even tell their relatives that healthcare in Taiwan is free and is easily accessible, and that healthcare providers in Taiwan would not deny a request for a full checkup,” Tu said.

US skepticism and national identity

Taipei Times Editorial

Small states with powerful, larger neighbors in international relations face a challenging reality.

Counting on bilateral trade for their domestic prosperity, they must grow economic ties while ensuring they do not develop a trade dependency that would undermine their independence.

To safeguard their security, they must decide whether to develop closer diplomatic ties with their larger neighbor, offering assurances and trust-building mechanisms, or to seek an external alliance with other nations in a coalition, protecting themselves and keeping threatening neighbors at bay.

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