Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

The emergence of student power

Ivan Ho 何明修

How did National Tsing Hua University student Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) come to be called “Taiwan’s rudest student”? He has been threatened with a lawsuit for slander and the pro-blue camp Chinese-language United Daily News blasted him for failing to uphold the Confucian tradition of “honoring teachers.” How did an open legislative committee meeting come to be referred to by a well-known academic as a “cultural revolution” in which students denounced teachers, leading the legislature — the body that invited Chen to participate in the meeting — to amend its procedures? How did a university that boasts of liberal traditions and values and claims to encourage students to participate in public affairs end up clamping down on their activities? It is because they all fear the emergence of student power in the nation.

Law professor Jerome Cohen to form committee to study Chen Shui-bian’s trial

Michael Richardson

Law professor Jerome Cohen announced his intention on Dec. 18 to form a study committee to review the human rights of former Republic of China in-exile President Chen Shui-bian. Cohen’s announcement followed his first-time visit to the hospital cell of Chen who is serving a 17-year sentence for alleged corruption. Chen was convicted in 2009 following a controversial trial.

Although Cohen enjoys an ivy-league reputation he labors under a heavy burden on this project to establish his credibility as neutral because of statements he published in 2009 about Chen’s trial.

Chen’s trial unfair, FAHR mission says

Taipei Times

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) did not receive a fair trial and could be seen as a de facto political prisoner, a fact-finding mission sent by a Taiwanese-American organization concluded in its preliminary findings after a two-week investigation in Taiwan.

The way Chen, who is serving an 18-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption and is currently in hospital receiving medical treatment for various ailments, has been treated in prison and the way his trial was handled have not been seen even in some dictatorships, the two-member mission told the Taipei Times in an interview.

TV host resigns as rumors swirl

Taipei Times

Grace Liao, right, host of SET-TV’s political talk show New Taiwan Go Go Go, is pictured in a screen grab from the show on Thursday.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuen, Taipei Times

Grace Liao (廖筱君), host of SET-TV’s New Taiwan Go Go Go (新台灣加油), the successor to popular political TV talk show Talking Show (大話新聞), famous for its criticism of the government and China, confirmed her resignation on Friday, allegedly due to increasing pressure by the Chinese government on the show’s editorial autonomy.

“I don’t feel at all sleepy even though I have been awake the entire night. Making this decision was not an easy task, but after doing so, there is a sense of relief … We will meet another day and until then, we will fight for this land called Taiwan,” Liao said in a Facebook post at about 4am on Friday.

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