Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Freedom House warns on rights in Taiwan

Taiwan News Editorial

President Ma Ying-jeou and his Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) administration should seriously re-examine its performance in civic and human rights in the wake of the downgrading of Taiwan's level of civil liberties by a prestigious international human rights monitoring organization.

In its annual survey of "Freedom in the World," the New York - based Freedom House downgraded Taiwan`s rating in civil liberties was reduced from grade 1 to grade 2 primarily due to violations of the rights of defendants in criminal cases and other new restrictions on freedom of expression and news freedom since the right-wing "formerly authoritarian" KMT regained governance in May 2008.

Time for Adimmune to show data

Mayo Kuo 郭明裕

While Adimmune Corp’s production of vaccines is the concern of the company and the Food and Drug Administration, vaccination policy is jointly managed by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The government departments that oversee production and use of vaccines are on an equal footing, neither being subordinate to the other, and the relationship between the vaccine maker and the government being one of buyer and seller.

Former health ministers have voiced their support for the government’s swine flu vaccination program — Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) by volunteering for a flu jab and Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) by saying that he hoped everyone would get vaccinated. The vaccines are supplied by two companies — Adimmune and Novartis — and they do not have the right to be partial to one or the other.

Proud of being called "Bian Casters"

Taiwan Tati Cultural & Educational Foundation

We are a group of A-bian's supporters, and are proud of being called "Bian Casters" with the following concensuses:

1. Against one China policy, and resist to unify with China. Taiwan and China are two separated independent countries.
2. Advocate the "No Unification with China" referendum and the cohesion of Taiwan's internal unity.

Exam-free policy risks Taiwan education quality

Taiwan News Editorial

The plan by the President Ma Ying-jeou's Chinese Nationalist Party government to replace the national examination system for senior high schools vocational schools with a new "examination-free admission system" threatens to breed even more social inequity and could throw the doors to Taiwan's secondary education to a flood of students from the People's Republic of China.

In June 2009, the Ministry of Education released a set of "Draft Guidelines for Exam-free Admission to Senior and Vocational High Schools and Junior Colleges" that announced its intention to phase out the current system of deciding admission primarily through distribution based on joint national examinations taken in the last year of junior high schools in favor of "examination free" admission.

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