Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Opposition questions comic fest choice

Taipei Times

Taiwan has turned down an opportunity to join an exhibition as a “theme country” in a renowned European comic convention, prompting criticism from opposition lawmakers yesterday over the government’s commitment to participating in international activities.

The organizers of the Angouleme International Comics Festival, the largest of its kind in Europe, had invited Taiwan to take part in the convention next year as a theme country, but the Taiwanese government rejected the invitation.

Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Philip Yang (楊永明) defended the decision at a press conference, saying “it was simply due to limited budget resources and manpower,” making it difficult for the government to prepare for the event in such a short period.

Nepal tightens screw on Tibetans

Phayul Stringer

Kathmandu: In what appears to be another bid to please China, the Nepal Police on June 21 arrested a dozen Tibetans who had gathered to take part in the birthday celebrations of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.

Nepali police in full riot gear closely watching Tibetans offering prayers at the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu which has for centuries been a holy place for Tibetans. (Photo/Kevin Bubriski)

The incident occurred in Boudha, a Buddhist area of the capital on Wednesday where around 70 Tibetans had gathered to offer prayers. Witnesses say police randomly picked the dozen Tibetans-all men when they were coming out of the monastery. The 12 arrested are still held at the local police station in Boudha on charges of carrying out anti-China activities.

Taiwan is in need of real leadership

Jerome Keating

Next year’s presidential election is drawing near and Taiwanese must do some serious soul searching.

As they look back at the past four years under the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), basic questions must be asked: Is Taiwan better off now than it was in 2008? Has the economy and overall status of the nation improved significantly since Ma’s infamous “6-3-3” campaign pledge?

No president could have stepped into office with a better position and with better support than Ma. Not only did he receive about 58 percent of the vote, but also by disproportionate representation in the Legislative Yuan (the pan-blue camp had only 54 percent of the vote), Ma was able to get an unstoppable 76 percent majority of the seats.

Ratings agency says China debt was understated

Taipei Times

China’s local government debt may be 3.5 trillion yuan (US$540 billion) larger than auditors estimated, potentially putting banks on the hook for deeper losses that could threaten their credit ratings, Moody’s said yesterday.

Moody’s reviewed a report released by China’s state auditor last week, which found that local governments had chalked up 10.7 trillion yuan of debt. Moody’s said it identified more loans funded by banks after accounting for discrepancies in figures given by various Chinese authorities.

Investors worry the pile of loans, about half of which were racked up during a 2008 stimulus spending binge, could destabilize the Chinese economy in the long run. If banks have to absorb heavy losses, it could restrict lending.

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