Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Retrial ruling reveals secret diplomatic efforts

Taipei Times

A ruling by the Taiwan High Court last week, in which former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was found not guilty of misusing his special state affairs fund, inadvertently revealed secret diplomatic efforts by Taipei as it explained in detail how Chen spent state affairs funds to promote relations with other countries.

PRIME MINISTERS

The ruling said that Taipei in the 1990s lobbied former Japanese prime ministers Ryutaro Hashimoto and Junichiro Koizumi to support Taiwan’s efforts to attend the WTO Ministerial Conference on Agriculture — efforts that succeeded in the long run.

Tsai not the one who needs a reality check

Jerome Keating

An important issue that Taiwanese voters will have to evaluate as next year’s elections approach is not only what each party’s cross-strait policy or “China policy” is, but also how realistic it is. In line with this, barely a week before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presented its policy, in an almost laughable essay, David Brown, as if pontificating as a hired gun for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the rest of the world, “demanded” that DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) present a realistic case.

“Taiwanese voters deserve a clear understanding of Tsai’s policies,” he wrote.

Retrial finds A-bian not guilty of graft

Taipei Times

The Taiwan High Court yesterday rescinded previous rulings and found former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) not guilty of corruption, in a retrial of their state affairs fund case.

However, it upheld Chen’s previous conviction for his role in the use of fraudulent receipts to obtain reimbursement for spending from the state affairs fund. On that charge, Chen was given an additional 20-month prison sentence that was cut to 10 months in accordance with a commutation statute.

The court also upheld Chen’s conviction for his role in a money laundering case that concerned a land deal in Taoyuan County’s Longtan (龍潭) and sentenced him to another two years in prison.

So Who Needs a Reality Check on Clarity, Taiwan and China?

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

An important issue that Taiwanese voters will have to evaluate as the 2012 elections approach is not only what each party's cross-strait policy or "China policy" is, but also how realistic it is. In line with this, barely a week before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presented its policy, in an almost laughable essay a certain David Brown pontificating like a hired gun for Taiwan's ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the rest of the world "demanded" that the DPP present its realistic case. "Taiwanese voters deserve a clear understanding of Tsai's policies." Ironically of course, at the very moment Brown was trying to pontificate for clarity, Tsai's team was putting the finishing touches on the party's policy. Regardless of that timing, what made Brown's essay so laughable was his implication that it was time for Tsai and not the rest of the world to do a reality check on their policies. This was more than the pot calling the kettle black; it was a stove blackened pot questioning the cleanliness of an untarnished kettle. Who does need a reality check here?

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