Ma aide in green card mission: Hsieh

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MIGHTY MELONS
Visitors to the annual Tropical Agriculture Fair in Pingtung walk below a trellis of loofah vines yesterday, the last day of the fair. The fair attracted more than 300,000 visitors, almost 100,000 more than last year.


PHOTO: LI LI-FA, TAIPEI TIMES

　

　

Ma aide in green card mission: Hsieh
　

NOT ON THE AGENDA: John Feng conceded that he met with AIT officials, but said it was to discuss the election, not to cancel a US residency permit for the KMT candidate
　

By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTERS
Sunday, Mar 02, 2008, Page 1

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) campaign team yesterday said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) sent an aide, former diplomat John Feng (馮寄台), to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on Thursday to sort out the matter of his green card.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper) said in a front page story yesterday that the Hsieh camp had been informed late on Thursday night of Ma's move to send an unnamed aide to the AIT.

At a press conference yesterday morning, the Hsieh camp declined to reveal its informant and did not name the aide, but said it had tried to verify the information it obtained through the AIT and "other reliable channels," the report said.

"We were concerned when we heard the response from the AIT, which told us it could not confirm it. The AIT did not deny it either. We thought there must be something fishy going on," Hsieh's spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) told the press conference.

When approached by reporters for comment at a campaign event in Taipei's Da'an Park, Ma said he had not sent any aides to the AIT on Thursday to fill out public Form I-407 for him.

Ma accused the Hsieh camp of making false accusations for political gains.

"It's totally untrue," Ma said, accusing a "certain newspaper" of cooperating with Hsieh's camp by spreading rumors to manipulate voters.

Hsieh has alleged that Ma still has a valid US green card because he never completed a Form I-407 to relinquish his permanent residency in the US, nor has a US immigration court invalidated his card.

Ma has repeatedly dismissed the claim, saying that his green card automatically became invalid in the late 1980s after he started traveling to the US on visitor's visas.

The Central Election Commission said on Feb. 15 that it would employ the help of foreign diplomatic missions in Taiwan to check whether either of the two presidential candidates holds foreign citizenship. Both have formally consented to the probe.

Ma's campaign team held a press conference at his campaign headquarter's yesterday morning, rebutting the Liberty Times' report.

Ma's spokesman Tsai Shih-ping (蔡詩萍) accused the Hsieh camp of making false accusations and said Hsieh and his staff should apologize.

The Ma camp wants nothing to do with Hsieh's smear tactics, Tsai said.

Hsieh's camp responded by holding a second press conference, during which Chao identified Ma's aide only as a former diplomat surnamed Feng, who had been instructed by Ma to go to the AIT.

Feng was at the AIT all afternoon, Chao said, calling on Ma to explain why Feng went there and what he had done.

Chao was referring to the former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, who now serves on Ma's campaign team as the director of the international affairs section.

"Whether Feng was at the AIT to help Ma fill out Form I-407 or for other formalities [a US green card holder has to] go through to invalidate the card, as an informant had told us, we want Ma to tell the truth," Chao said.

"Could it be that Ma wanted to resolve his green card problem secretly, sending Feng to the AIT on a national holiday instead of a business day?" he asked.

"What the informant told us was what he himself heard from Feng. Before we made any allegations, we determined the context in which the dialogue took place as well as the nature of the relationship between Feng and the informant," he said. "The informant did not overhear this by accident."

The informant learned that Feng felt "relieved" after leaving the AIT, telling the informant in private that "the green card problem was finally solved" Chao said.

In response, the Ma camp held a second press conference later in the day, with Feng in attendance.

Feng conceded that he had met AIT officials on Thursday, but said it was to discuss the election and other political matters. He also said the meeting was at the Grand Hotel, not at the AIT.

"I did not go to the AIT on that day," he told the press conference. "I did not discuss Ma's green card with the officials or fill out Form I-407 during our meeting."

He and the official discussed the presidential election and Feng took the occasion to reiterate Ma's request that the AIT tell the media that his green card is invalid.

Feng said Ma sent a letter to the AIT last week requesting that the AIT provide documentation showing that his green card was invalid.

"I meet AIT officials regularly, so it's normal," Feng said.

Asked if he knew in advance that Feng intended to meet AIT officials, Ma said at a separate setting yesterday that it was Feng's job to establish contacts and relations with foreign media and representatives. It is unnecessary for Feng to report about every private meeting he has with AIT officials, Ma said.

With regard to the discrepancies between the accounts provided by the informant and Feng, Chao said the Hsieh camp would attempt to verify the details.

"I suspect that Feng only told part of the truth. He must have concealed many facts," Chao said.

Commenting on the matter yesterday, Hsieh questioned Ma's credibility.

"In the morning, Ma called the report a serious accusation, but in the afternoon, his camp admitted that the meeting took place," Hsieh said. "Ma always modifies his previous remarks. He has no credibility whatsoever. How would people relax with such an unreliable person leading the country?"

Asked for comment, AIT Spokesman Thomas Hodges said: "When it comes to the Taiwan presidential election, the position of the American Institute in Taipei and the US government is neutral."

He said the AIT was closed on Thursday because of the holiday.

Ma's campaign team issued a statement late last night demanding Chao offer an apology within 28 days or else it would file a suit.

　

　

Chen Shui-bian joins Frank Hsieh on the presidential hustings
　

A-BIAN IN ON THE ACTION: The president started to canvass voters for Hsieh at a rally in Taipei yesterday, as well as in Taichung County, Taichung and Miaoli County


By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Mar 02, 2008, Page 3
　

President Chen Shui-bian, right, and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh pose during a campaign event in Taipei yesterday.


PHOTO: SAM YEH, AFP

　

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday shared the stage with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and he called on supporters of "A-bian," Chen's nickname, to campaign for Hsieh.

The rally was the first time the two had shared the same stage since the legislative elections in January.

"I hope you all bring the willpower you put into my campaigns in the past into full play to campaign for Hsieh and [running mate] Su Tseng-chang [蘇貞昌]," Chen said to hundreds of supporters, all members of the "Friends of A-bian," which was established in 1998.

After the DPP suffered a defeat in the legislative elections, Chen said he would not take part in campaign events for Hsieh, either in public or in the media, if his participation were deemed to be a negative influence on the outcome of the election.

However, Chen started canvassing voters for Hsieh not only at the rally in Taipei yesterday, but also rallies organized by the "Friends of A-bian" in Taichung County, Taichung and Miaoli County. He is also scheduled to do an interview with the Public Television Service tomorrow.

Addressing the crowd at the rally yesterday, Hsieh said he appreciated Chen's support for him.

Hsieh vowed to follow Chen's lead and give priority to Taiwan's interests if elected president.

"Being president of the country is to be a defender of Taiwan's interests, security and dignity," Hsieh said. "[Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate] Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)], who advocates a `cross-strait common market,' is incapable of being such a defender."

With the implementation of a "cross-strait common market," Ma would remove all tariffs imposed on materials and goods imported from China and lift bans on Chinese workers, which would deal a heavy blow to local industries and result in unemployment, Hsieh said.

While US Senator Hillary Clinton solicited votes for her resolution to counter Chinese goods, and her rival Barack Obama has said he supports a prohibition on toy products imported from China, during the US Democratic primaries recently, is it not strange that one of Taiwan's presidential candidates would advocate more opening up to China? Hsieh said.

　

　
OUT FOR A STROLL
Members of a traditional performance troupe walk through the streets of an Ilan County town yesterday at a festival organized by the National Center for Traditional Arts. Traditional performance troupes will perform on weekends throughout this month.


PHOTO: CNA

　

　

US hopefuls use China-bashing in Ohio

AP, WASHINGTON
Sunday, Mar 02, 2008, Page 7

　

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama eats a tortilla during a campaign stop at the Sombrero Festival in Brownsville, Texas, on Friday.


PHOTO: AP


China has proven a reliable punching bag, and potential vote-getter, for US presidential candidates: The fast-growing country's massive factories, staffed by underpaid workers, fill US stores with tainted food and dangerous toys, voters are told.

Candidates accuse China's government of crushing dissent and befriending thug rulers in Sudan and Myanmar; Beijing's currency manipulation and trade distortions, they say, make it impossible for US companies to compete.

As a crucial primary on Tuesday in the industrial, midwestern US state of Ohio approaches, Senator Hillary Clinton and Democratic presidential front-runner Senator Barack Obama are each working to convince voters that they are the stronger candidate to confront China.

The campaign China-bashing offers another side to what US President George W. Bush calls the "complicated" relationship with Beijing. His administration has balanced criticism with a recognition of China as an important trading partner and as a world power whose cooperation is needed to settle nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea.

Voters are wary of China's rise. With US recession fears growing, many Americans are more likely to think about jobs lost to China than about the low prices they pay for Chinese products. Their view of China's power can also be exaggerated: A recent survey found that four in 10 Americans believed China, not the US, was the world's top economic power.

Candidates are trying to tap into that unease. Yet, despite the tough talk, whoever wins the White House could take a more moderate approach The next president will need Chinese help to confront a host of global issues important to the US.

Clinton, in a foreign policy speech this week, dealt with voter discomfort with China. "Today, China's steel comes here and our jobs go there," she said. "We play by the rules and they manipulate their currency. We get tainted fish and lead-laced toys and poisoned pet food in return."

Obama has recently called China "the biggest beneficiary and the biggest problem that we have with respect to trade."

He spoke of Ohio workers watching equipment being "unbolted from the floors of factories and shipped to China, resulting in devastating job losses and communities completely falling apart."

In Ohio, where thousands of manufacturing jobs have disappeared this decade, the complaints on China will appeal to voters.

"China is very front and center," Senator Sherrod Brown, an Democrat from the state, said. "My guess is both candidates would acknowledge that trade is a bigger issue in Ohio than even they knew."

China's economic and trade policies have long been criticized by US lawmakers and manufacturers, especially as a huge US trade deficit with China has grown. The trade gap has been blamed for contributing to the loss of 3 million manufacturing jobs in the US since 2000.

Dozens of bills in Congress would punish China for what critics see as unfair trade practices.

Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, said that whatever the candidates say about China during the campaign, Bush's successor will find a way to improve ties with China.

As Obama and Clinton fight for the right to face presumed Republican nominee Senator John McCain, China is closely watching how it is portrayed by the candidates.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) told reporters this week that he spends "more time watching US television channels and reading US newspapers than what I did in previous years."

Asked if US-China relations could be hurt by domestic US politics, Yang said it is a "mainstream consensus" among Democrats and Republicans to "further grow the relationship with China."

Recently, McCain has measured his comments on China, criticizing its pollution and efforts on climate change.

He also has taken a tough line, saying the US "must take note" of China's "warlike rhetoric" toward US ally Taiwan.

China's close economic and diplomatic relations with "pariah states" such as Myanmar, Sudan and Zimbabwe will result in tensions, McCain wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs.

　

　

　

　

Nations are two-faced

Sunday, Mar 02, 2008, Page 8

While we may congratulate the nations that have recently recognized Kosovo for their boldness or principled assertions of self-rule, we may now take fresh occasion to scold them all for their continued scorn of Taiwan's national sovereignty. And while the merits of Kosovo's case for independence have at least lingering grounds for debate, there is no uncertainty, outside the scope of China's flagrantly false propaganda, that Taiwan is anything but an independent nation.

For the sake of clarity, let it be understood that Taiwan has first, a polity of citizens, second, a democratically elected president and legislature, third, a military that is comprised of citizens, fourth, a national currency that is recognized internationally, fifth, a national passport recognized internationally and sixth, clearly defined national borders and territory, which are not in dispute.

If a declaration of independence is necessary, then many of the speeches made by the sitting president or his predecessor would suffice, as they contain such verbatim phrases. If historical reference is necessary, one may see that Taiwan and the outlying islands that constitute its national territory have never at any time been the property or jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China. While nations accept Taiwan's money and passports (not to mention technology exports), they continue the disrespectful, two-faced behavior of voting against Taiwan's annual appeals to join the UN.

Mark Cartwright
Yuanlin, Taiwan
　

　

Identity is the issue posing the greatest risk

Sunday, Mar 02, 2008, Page 8

`There is still no effective domestic consensus on Taiwan's being an independent and sovereign state.'

In his book Risk Society, sociologist Ulrich Beck proposed the concept of a "risk society." He used this concept to highlight the unpredictable high risks that modern technology brings, such as nuclear disaster or global warming. The concept implies that risk distribution has become a major issue external to wealth distribution and can only be prevented by the concerted effort of humanity as a whole.

At our current level of development, the risk society concept can of course be applied to Taiwan, which is why the members of the public who questioned the two presidential candidates during the first televised presidential debate were so concerned with environmental issues.

Of all the challenges that Taiwan may face in future, however, the most important may be the risk posed by our fuzzy national identity. In other words, because Taiwan is so restricted internationally by the "one China" concept, it has never been able to participate as a normal state at any level of global governance, instead being abandoned by the international community.

In the domestic political arena, this peculiar international status translates into a "unification or independence" complex that has resulted in a confused understanding of national identity. This in its turn has led to the insight that Taiwan is a "risk state" that continuously has to deal with a stream of domestic and international attacks and attempts at division.

One example of this is how, when Taiwan's representatives were stopped from attending the inauguration of South Korea's president a few days ago, some people in Taiwan said that Taiwan should not have sent "national" representatives, but rather "party" representatives if they wanted to be assured admittance.

This kind of discourse highlights the huge differences that exist within Taiwan. There is still no effective domestic consensus on Taiwan being an independent and sovereign state, not to mention a consolidated view of "national behavior" shared by the whole citizenry that would serve to strengthen Taiwan's risk management ability.

Against this ominous domestic backdrop, what kind of national leader should we elect? The Taipei Society (澄社) is gathering academics in preparation for a comprehensive investigation into the presidential candidates' personal character, their team, policy suggestions, executive abilities and vision. The most crucial components in this inquiry are their positions on the issue of national status and in what direction they want to take Taiwan.

Taiwan is not a normal state, a position that implies many unpredictable dangers. Because of this, the national leader must not be a president for an era of tranquility. Instead, he must at all times display strong determination and visionary decision-making to lead the country out of this dangerous situation and on toward independence to avoid becoming an appendage to another state.

Whether we will elect a president capable of shouldering the important task of leading a "risk state" will depend on our ability to understand Taiwan's difficult situation.

Ku Chung-hwa is a professor in the Department of Sociology at National Chengchi University.

　

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