Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Morakot's first scalp was a true scapegoat

J. Michael Cole

During separate press conferences with local and foreign media on Tuesday, President Ma Ying-jeou announced that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia — who came under fire over a leaked memo ordering overseas missions to decline offers of aid in the wake of Typhoon Morakot — had tendered his resignation.

That Ma would make this information public implies that Hsia’s resignation has, for all intents and purposes, been accepted.

Expansive China faces foreign resentment

Christian Lowe

Algerian shopkeeper Abdelkrim Salouda has witnessed China’s global economic expansion first-hand and he does not like it, especially since he was in a mass brawl this month with Chinese migrant workers.

“They have offended us with their bad behavior,” said Salouda, a devout Muslim who lives in a suburb of the Algerian capital. “In the evening ... they drink beer, and play cards and they wear shorts in front of the residents.”

Morakot has revealed the true Ma

Jerome Keating

What world does President Ma Ying-jeou live in? After Typhoon Morakot, it is a world of images — images past and images present. It is a world of imaginary images that have been built on, fostered and fashioned by years of faulty Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) paradigms and reinforced by their propaganda.

In the mind of Ma, his party and his spin-masters, image has always trumped performance. Taiwanese are finally realizing this and realizing that regardless of his words, Ma has no idea what it is to be Taiwanese.

Ma has China in mind, not Taiwan

Taipei Times

President Ma Ying-jeou has been roundly condemned for his and the government’s lackadaisical attitude to the human suffering caused by Typhoon Morakot.

The lack of empathy shown to victims by Ma and senior Cabinet members in the days after Morakot struck has left a bad taste in the mouth of many that is not likely to fade. This could impact on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) performance in December’s local elections, not to mention Ma’s chances of re-election in 2012.

More Articles...