Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

KMT, CCP hit gas pedal for 'one China' market

Taiwan News Editorial

The ruling parties of Taiwan and the authoritarian People's Republic of China unmistakably signalled yesterday their common intention to accelerate Taiwan's economic integration into the PRC-led "one China market" under the guise of an "economic cooperation framework agreement."

In the wake of the symbolic setback suffered by Ma's right-wing Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) in the Dec. 5 "three-in-one" local elections, pundits have been divided on whether the polls would compel the Ma administration to slow down or accelerate the negotiations for the controversial trade pact.

Excuse our ‘technical issues’

Taipei Times

It was a slap in the Taiwanese government’s face when negotiations on a cross-strait mechanism to avoid double taxation broke down at the last minute on Monday.

However, it should be a precious lesson for President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration: Haste makes waste.

US should stop fooling around and back Taiwan

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

Policymaking is always an art of finding a balance between continuity and change: Governments want to maintain what is perceived as good or beneficial for their respective countries and at the same time make progress in the right direction. Circumstances change and force people, organizations and governments to adapt to the new circumstances.

The US itself is built on the precept of change. The nation was born out of the belief that Americans have the vision, ingenuity and perseverance to make the world a better place. Thus, our policies have always supported change … in the right direction. That is why it is peculiar that in one specific area we cling to the “status quo” — our policy toward Taiwan.

Learning the lessons of Kaohsiung

Liberty Times Editorial

On Dec. 10, 1979, the publishers of Formosa Magazine, a dissident monthly of which only four issues had been published, held a public meeting in Kaohsiung to mark Human Rights Day. The rally ended with clashes between the public and police and military personnel, in which dozens of people were injured. Two days later, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government arrested dissidents in a mass roundup.

Independent legislator and Formosa Magazine publisher Huang Hsin-chieh (黃信介) and others were tried for sedition, convicted and sentenced to long jail terms. This event came to be known as the Kaohsiung Incident. This month, 30 years after the incident, the Kaohsiung City Government and civic groups have been holding activities to commemorate this key event in the history of Taiwan’s democratic development.

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