Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Ex-AIT chair warns on political system

Taipei Times

Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush yesterday expressed concern about whether Taiwan’s democratic system, which he said is “polarized” and “divided,” could withstand Beijing’s efforts to bring about unification.

Before wrapping up his short visit to Taipei, Bush remarked on the state of cross-strait relations and Taiwan’s democratic system during a roundtable discussion at a symposium entitled “A Spectacular Century: The Republic of China (ROC) Centennial Democracy Forums.”

In his speech, Bush discussed how the development of cross-strait relations might have constrained the choices available to Taiwan’s political system, examining how changes to the balance of power might have impacted Taiwan’s democracy.

Taiwan must build consensus: Bush

Taipei Times

Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush said in Taipei yesterday that it is important to build a consensus in Taiwan about its core interests so that the country can face the challenges that lie ahead.

The former AIT head, who now serves as the director of the Center for Northeast Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, made the remark at an international conference titled “A Spectacular Century: The Republic of China (ROC) Centennial Democracy Forums.”

The two-day conference was organized by the Council for Cultural Affairs as part of a year-long celebration of the country’s 100th anniversary.

Court ruling leaves a bad taste

Taipei Times Editorial

The Taiwan High Court decision this week to uphold a 30-day jail sentence given to a blogger for criticizing a restaurant is a chilling reminder of how young the concept of free speech and a free press is in this country.

The court’s Taichung branch sentenced a woman to 30 days in detention and two years of probation, and ordered her to pay NT$200,000 in compensation to a beef noodle restaurant over a July 2008 blog post saying the food was “too salty,” the place had cockroaches and was unsanitary and that the owner was a “bully” because of parking issues. The restaurant owner sued the blogger for defamation. The case went to the High Court after the blogger appealed a 30-day detention order handed down by the Taichung District Court, which said her criticism had exceeded reasonable bounds.

Experts call for US, China policy shift to avoid war

Taipei Times

Experts told a conference in Washington on Wednesday that to avoid war over Taiwan, Beijing and Washington must change their current policies.

“China must renounce the use of force against Taiwan or Washington must declare clearly, unequivocally and publicly that it will defend Taiwan against Chinese attack,” said Joseph Bosco, who served in the office of the US secretary of defense as a China country desk officer in 2005 and 2006.

The US, China and Taiwan urgently need a “declaration of strategic clarity,” he said.

Quoting former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Bosco said that while ambiguity was sometimes the lifeblood of diplomacy, it could not be maintained indefinitely.

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