Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ma snipes at DPP’s Tsai on ‘status quo’

Taipei Times

President Ma Ying-jeou, left, shakes hands with former US deputy secretary of state James Steinberg at the opening of the Taiwan-US-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday cast doubt on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) proposal to maintain the cross-strait “status quo” if elected, urging the DPP chairperson to offer a clear definition of what she means by “status quo.”

KMT’s futile obsession with history

Taipei Times Editorial

In an interview with Japanese magazine Voice, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) said that Taiwan did not fight in the Second Sino-Japanese War, because at that time Taiwan was part of Japanese territory, and Taiwanese were fighting for their mother country — Japan. The statement was strongly condemned by members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), with the Presidential Office demanding an apology and KMT legislators planning to amend the law to deprive Lee of his privileges as a former president.

Removing the ROC to form a new Taiwan

Koh Se-kai 許世楷

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the global media, including the media in Taiwan, were focused on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s televised address, looking for how he would reflect on Japan’s role in World War II, and the scope and depth of the apology he expressed.

However, from a Taiwanese perspective, there is another way to approach what Abe said in his speech. When he was talking about those he was to include in his reflections, he listed the peoples of Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and of neighboring countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and China.

History, deceit and fabrication

Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財

History provides a record of social activity and acts as a tool for dialogue between modern society and the past.

Truth and objectivity are two fundamental elements that are exposed through the writing of history. History provides images of warmth and prosperity, as well as death and hardship. It is populated with noble and honorable figures, as well as lowly and contemptible figures. Some issues might feel sordid or shameful when talked about, while others might sound stupid and make people feel uncomfortable. It is historians’ responsibility to interpret and record historical facts. Any intentional editing, removal or embroidering of these facts is inappropriate.

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