Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Committee should not muzzle public

Taipei Times Editorial

In a democracy, public servants — by definition — are employees hired by taxpayers to serve public interests. They exist as agents to attend to the collective concerns of the people, not the other way around, such as acting in their own interests, hijacking the people’s rights and deciding for the people what they can ask the civil service to do and not to do.

Such absurdity appears to be brewing in Taiwan as an appeal petitioned by about 200,000 people is now on the brink of being rejected by a handful of public servants who are supposed to serve them, thanks to the birdcage Referendum Act (公民投票法), which is known for its unreasonably high threshold needed to launch a referendum drive and the establishment of a so-called Referendum Review Committee that screens people’s voices.

Taiwan needs to stand by its allies

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

Taiwan’s fate was influenced by events in Korea once before: When North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung attacked South Korea in June 1950, then-US president Harry Truman sent the US Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait, thereby preventing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from attacking Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) troops, which had just retreated to Taiwan. The PRC subsequently sent its troops across the Yalu River to assist Kim, who had been losing ground quickly, thus prolonging the conflict that only technically ended in 1953. This cemented an ambiguous status quo, but did not resolve the situation in Korea nor the debate on Taiwan’s future.

France to close military liaison office in Taiwan

Taipei Times

France said it would close a low-key military liaison office in Taiwan in retaliation over a ruling in a controversial arms deal, local media said yesterday.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported that the office, which arranges visits by military personnel and facilitates Taiwan’s acquisition of French-made weaponry, would be shut down next month.

Students hold nationwide debate on ECFA

Taipei Times

The debate over a controversial trade pact Taipei intends to sign with China entered the classroom yesterday, as students from nine universities met to debate whether the government should move to sign the agreement.

The event, held at National Taiwan University (NTU) by the pro-independence Northern Taiwan Society, saw students raise concerns that an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China could have a negative impact on their future career prospects and more fragile Taiwanese industries.

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