Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Tsai reaffirms willingness to hold talks with Beijing

Taipei Times

Seeking to assuage apprehensions about the future of cross-strait relations, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reaffirmed her party’s willingness to hold talks with Beijing.

Concluding a three-day visit to the Philippines, Tsai made the remarks during a breakfast meeting with reporters.

The DPP, she said, was willing to sit down with China to discuss proposals for building a “feasible and viable” interaction framework between the two sides, adding that the talks would not come at the expense of the DPP’s political values and principles.

Seeing through China’s strategy

Liberty Times Editorial

It recently came to light that a retired general from Taiwan’s armed forces said during a visit to China that there should no longer be any need to talk of a Nationalist army and a Communist army, because “we are all Chinese armies.” His comment stirred up a hornet’s nest in Taiwan and has been denounced by supporters of the pan-blue and pan-green camps alike, while ordinary people resent the fact that retirees whose pensions are paid out of our taxes should go around talking like traitors.

From China’s point of view, no matter what happens next, the general’s pronouncement was a mark of success for its united-front strategy aimed at eventual unification. For Taiwan, on the other hand, it comes as yet another blow to the morale of its armed forces and the public at large. The incident also shows that there are some people who are quite aware that China’s every move is aimed at unification, yet still gather like moths around a candle, only to get burned when they fly too close.

Judicial reforms concern everyone

Jerome Keating

Taiwan still carries a lot of baggage from its past one-party state days under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). One particularly large piece of that baggage has been the nation’s need for judicial reform. This need had been long evident, but it could only begin to be met after martial law was lifted in 1987.

Nonetheless, efforts to address this issue with appropriate legislation had long proven futile. Finally, however, in the latest legislative session, a bill called the Judges’ Act (法官法) was passed. What has spurred on this change? There have been several forces at work; one has certainly been and continues to be public awareness of the problem.

Ma's Chinese Tourists, Just What Are They Here For?

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

Before the Pearl Harbor attack, part of Japan's plan was to send tourists to Hawaii to map out where the battleship berths were, where the airfields were etc. etc. and know the whole military layout. From this and other means they were able to build a mock copy of Pearl Harbor and so plan how to attack and do the most damage. Obviously they were successful.

Guess what? Just recently several Chinese tourists (one of Ma's supposed ways of boosting the economy) were caught and expelled from Hualien Air Force Base during a military show. Many of Taiwan's weapons systems were on display at the base which was open to the Taiwanese public, but not to Chinese tourists. And believe it or not, the Chinese tourists were taking pictures, surprise, surprise. I guess all tourists go to a country to check out their air bases.

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