Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ma has failed to stand up to Beijing: report

Taipei Times

A new study by the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI) said the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had failed to stand up to Beijing.

It said that following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Taipei appears “content to accept” whatever increase in the nation’s international status Beijing allows.

“Such is the path of least resistance, but one that does not necessarily lead to the brightest future,” the study said.

Chinese Authorities offers cash for information on self immolation

Phuntsok Yangchen

DHARAMSHALA, October 25: The Chinese Authorities are offering monetary reward for Tibetans who are willing to provide information on possible self-immolation.

According to US based Radio Free Asia, “Notices, dated October 21 and written in Tibetan and Chinese, have been posted in the Kanlho (in Chinese, Gannan) prefecture of China’s northwestern Gansu province,asking residents to assist police in preventing the self-immolations.”

Cherish this anti-nuclear opportunity

Taipei Times Editorial

Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) recently spoke on the Diaoyutais dispute and also gave up her NT$270,000 year-end bonus in the wake of the controversy over year-end bonuses for retired government employees. Lu’s actions won praise for setting an example for civil-service retirees, and her assertions and knowledge regarding the disputed islands were clear and admirable. However, it could be her efforts on an anti-nuclear referendum in New Taipei City (新北市) that go down in history as her most important legacy.

The New Taipei City Council’s passage of the Act Governing New Taipei Referendums (新北市公民投票自治條例) on June 25, the first referendum law at the local level in Taiwan, made it possible for residents to have a say on local matters via referendums.

US senator asks AIT director to visit former president

Taipei Times

A US senator has asked Christopher Marut, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), to visit former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in jail or hospital.

Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, said in a letter sent this week to Marut that Chen is suffering from severe depression and is undergoing psychiatric treatment at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

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