Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Times in Taiwan ‘Are a-Changin’

Wayne Pajunen

Bob Dylan sang in his song The Times They Are a-Changin: “Come gather ‘round people, wherever you roam … you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin’.”

This year is likely to be remembered as the year young people in the Sunflower movement spurred independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to win the Taipei mayoral election and rocked the nation’s political paradigm to the core.

A-bian did not admit guilt, beg: son

Taipei Times

The Presidential Office received a letter from jailed former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) last week, office spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) confirmed yesterday, but she declined to reveal its contents.

Ma made the remarks in response to a report in yesterday’s edition of Chinese-language Next Magazine, which said that in the letter addressed to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Chen termed himself “a man of sin” and “a wrecked person,” and said that he was “in no position to ask to be released from prison.”

Ko Wen-je leads group to visit imprisoned A-bian

Taipei Times

Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je speaks yesterday outside Taichung Prison, where he went to visit jailed former president Chen Shui-bian, restating his support for Chen to receive care at home.
Photo: Yang Cheng-chun, Taipei Times

Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday visited former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at Taichung Prison, restating his support for Chen to receive home care in light of his deteriorating health.

Ko was accompanied by a delegation that included Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) and Ketagalan Academy president Chang Fu-mei (張富美).

Protesters take on Cross-Strait CEO Summit

Taipei Times

A protester scuffles with police officers yesterday as China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Deming arrives at the Cross-Strait CEO Summit in Taipei’s Xinyi District.
Photo: Reuters

After a week-long trip around Taiwan dogged by persistent protests, China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) returned to Taipei yesterday to attend the annual Cross-Strait CEO Summit — only to be greeted by more demonstrations.

Although the summit purports to facilitate business relationships across the Taiwan Strait, critics say the meeting in effect allows the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to formulate decisions on cross-strait trade policies while circumventing legislative and administrative procedures.

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