EDITORIAL: Chaos will define 2011 in Taiwan - Taipei Times

EDITORIAL: Chaos will define 2011 in Taiwan - Taipei Times: "Taiwan now consists of five special municipalities and 17 counties, with 60 percent of the population living within the former. The implications for how finances are to be divvied up are horrendous. The newly-elected mayors of these municipalities inherit huge debts, and to fulfill campaign promises they are going to need to go cap in hand to the central government for cash, personnel and other resources. The 17 counties will be allocated a smaller portion of the pie and will see their subsidies fall. The five municipalities already exist, but the legislation concerning the allocation of finances, namely the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) and the Public Debt Act (公債法), are held up in the legislature, waiting for amendments. This means a worsening of the disparity between urban and rural areas, and between rich and poor.

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More muscular China made change necessary | The Japan Times Online

More muscular China made change necessary | The Japan Times Online: "The new defense guideline calling for a drastic shift to the southwest is a necessary and natural move for Japan amid China's growing military might and tougher diplomatic posture in the East China Sea, military analysts said.

The National Defense Guideline approved by the government Friday labels China 'a matter of concern' and calls for a stronger defense around the remote Nansei Islands of southwestern Japan, including new deployments of Self-Defense Forces units.

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Taiwan independence groups to follow China envoy everywhere | My Sinchew

Taiwan independence groups to follow China envoy everywhere | My Sinchew: "Radical Taiwanese independence groups Thursday vowed to follow China's top negotiator 'every step of the way' when he visits the island next week, showing their anger in a series of protests.

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Shooter not aiming for Lien: report - Taipei Times

Shooter not aiming for Lien: report - Taipei Times: "The suspected gunman reportedly passed lie detector tests in which he said he was targeting a KMT councilor because of a dispute over land

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台灣女人

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Chen describes court ruling as ‘political murder’ - Taipei Times

Chen describes court ruling as ‘political murder’ - Taipei Times: "Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has railed against Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that he and his wife should spend at least 11 years in prison — calling it “political murder” and suggesting that the verdict was unconstitutional, close supporter Ellen Huang (黃越綏) said yesterday.

Huang, a one-time national policy advisor, visited the former president at the Taipei Detention Center yesterday.

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Tsai urged to apologize for TV host’s words - Taipei Times

Tsai urged to apologize for TV host’s words - Taipei Times: "Tsai Ing-wen said while the remarks were ‘inappropriate,’ they had been made by someone who was not a party member at a non-DPP event

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Understanding Taiwan’s status - Taipei Times

Understanding Taiwan’s status - Taipei Times: "It is nothing new that Ma and his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) tend to ignore the existence of the Treaty of Peace with Japan of 1951, of which Article 2(b) stipulated that “Japan renounces the right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores.”

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EDITORIAL: Ma must stand up to Beijing - Taipei Times

EDITORIAL: Ma must stand up to Beijing - Taipei Times: "Over the years, the government has rarely, if ever, indicated to Beijing that it will simply not tolerate similar acts of rudeness

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Rights violators unwelcome: council - Taipei Times

Rights violators unwelcome: council - Taipei Times: "The central government should investigate the human rights record of these Chinese officials when checking their applications to enter Taiwan, Kang said.

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Security experts warn on China threat - Taipei Times

Security experts warn on China threat - Taipei Times: "Waldron made the remarks during the afternoon session of the International Symposium on 50 Years of US-Japan Security Alliance and the Security of Taiwan organized by the Taiwan National Security Institute and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

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EDITORIAL: Repulsing the public with hypocrisy - Taipei Times

EDITORIAL: Repulsing the public with hypocrisy - Taipei Times: "“It also needs to be ensured that [Taiwanese] people have the right to decide the future development of cross-strait relations,” she said.

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Opponents lambaste PTS’ reshuffle - Taipei Times

Opponents lambaste PTS’ reshuffle - Taipei Times: "ing Hwa Yuan Taiwanese Opera director Chen Sheng-fu (陳勝福), a strong Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporter, has been officially sworn in as acting chairman.

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "When Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) met with the press after returning from a visit to Singapore, he said that if the KMT loses three of the five special municipality elections on Nov. 27, he would consider himself to have failed and take full responsibility. The KMT thinks it will be difficult to win in Tainan and Kaohsiung, but that it holds the upper hand in Taichung. Since it also expects a narrow win in Sinbei City, Taipei City is crucial.

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "While acknowledging that US ties with Beijing were improving, he said: “There is a very strong commitment and appreciation for the tremendous achievements that the people of Taiwan have accomplished both in the economic and especially in the political sphere.”

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "Sept. 3 was Victory over Japan Day in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published an editorial claiming the victory was a result of the leadership and efforts of the CCP, which represented the will of all Chinese in the anti-Japanese war effort. Neither the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nor the Republic of China (ROC) were mentioned.

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "Something smells in Taipei — and it’s not the 25 million flowers and plants purchased to decorate the city for the upcoming flora expo. Rather, it is Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) scrambling to explain why the city paid 30 times market price for the greenery to a contractor with ties to his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration. In recent days, investigators have also uncovered what appears to be the overpricing of building materials. It is ironic that Hau initiated the multi-billion-dollar project to boost his re-election bid in November.

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "aiwan defeated Texas 9-1 to win the Junior League Baseball World Series championship on Saturday in Michigan

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China ups military edge over Taiwan, Pentagon says | Reuters

China ups military edge over Taiwan, Pentagon says | Reuters: "'Many uncertainties remain regarding how China will use its expanding military capabilities,' according to the annual U.S. Defense Department report to Congress on China's military.

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台灣極不公平的司法是人民最大公敵Taiwan's extremely unfair judicial system is public enemy number one

台灣極不公平的司法是人民最大公敵Taiwan's extremely unfair judicial system is public enemy number one: "Taiwan's extremely unfair judicial system is public enemy number one

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "Four protesters in Beijing cut off their fingertips and swallowed them in a desperate bid to bring attention to their cause, state media reported yesterday.

The men, from Hunan Province, traveled to the capital to seek resolution of a dispute with their former employer, who they said fired them on trumped-up charges, the official Global Times newspaper said.

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) warned the US yesterday not to internationalize the issue of the South China Sea, where Beijing’s territorial claims conflict with other nations.

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Evil ma not a leader

Taipei Times - archives: "In 2006, the Taipei District Court sentenced former Miaoli County commissioner Ho Chih-hui (何智輝), who also served several terms as a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, to 19 years in jail for corruption, which the Taiwan High Court later reduced to 14 years. In May the High Court found Ho not guilty on appeal, overturning the earlier verdicts. Then, a few days ago, the matter took an altogether unexpected turn when six people, including three judges, were detained on charges of accepting bribes to acquit Ho in the High Court.

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survival rights

Taipei Times - archives: "Farmers from Dapu [大埔], raise your hands! Farmers from Wanbao [灣寶], raise your hands! Farmers from Erchongpu [二重埔], raise your hands! Farmers from Jhubei [竹北], raise your hands! Farmers from Siangsiliao [相思寮], raise your hands! Farmers from Tucheng [土城], raise your hands!” called out Taiwan Rural Front spokeswoman Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧).

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives: "Imagine for a second what Taiwan would be like today if the Wild Lily Student Movement of the 1990s had not occurred or if student activists had stayed at home rather than protest the absurdity of the First National Congress, elected in China in 1947 under then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, serving in perpetuity in Taiwan.

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這是我的部落格 - Yahoo!奇摩部落格

這是我的部落格 - Yahoo!奇摩部落格

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Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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Taipei Times (TT): The government released the ECFA’s early harvest lists — goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff reductions — for the first time on Thursday. It looks like the list will favor Taiwanese exporters as China will lower tariffs for 539 Taiwanese items, Taiwan’s market will open up to 267 items from China. What’s your thoughts on this list?

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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If one country’s currency rises in value against another’s, people in the first country naturally become more confident in their economy and political system.

So, when Credit Suisse Group AG said yesterday that China’s yuan was almost 50 percent undervalued against the US dollar, it implied that China should have 50 percent more confidence in its economy and political system.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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Before Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) became Taiwan’s president in May 2008, Taiwan was regularly portrayed in China as a “troublemaker” and was the main cause of tension between China and the US. Now Taiwan has become something of a diplomatic afterthought because it no longer makes trouble. At the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, indeed, Taiwan was barely mentioned, as North Korea, Iran and the value of the Chinese yuan claimed the most attention.

It has always been unfair to demonize the Taiwanese merely for wanting what most people around the world take for granted: To uphold their basic human rights and way of life, including the right to decide through a democratic process their own future.

China, however, rejects such sentiments about self-­determination and, as a rising power, China is not a force that even democratic leaders dismiss lightly. For years, China’s ruling Communist Party has maintained that Taiwan is a “core national interest,” despite the reality that Taiwan has existed and functioned as a virtual state for 60 years.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son yesterday withdrew from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and announced he would run for Greater Kaohsiung city councilor as an independent.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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“The Referendum Review Committee must publicly apologize within three days and reopen their deliberations or the TSU will be suing [committee members that voted against the proposal] for ­misconduct and exceeding their authority,” the statement quoted TSU Chairperson Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) as saying.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged China not to block Taiwan from signing free-trade agreements (FTA) and other pacts with other countries.

The remarks came a day after a Chinese foreign ministry official said Beijing “firmly objects” to Taiwan signing official agreements with China’s diplomatic allies.

Taipei Times - archiveslabor conditions at Foxconn Technology Group

Taipei Times - archives

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Nokia and Sony yesterday joined a chorus of concern over labor conditions at Foxconn Technology Group’s (富士康) vast assembly plant in Shenzhen, China, after yet another attempted suicide by a worker who slashed his wrists.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday the world must respond to the sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on North Korea.

“This was an unacceptable provocation by North Korea, and the international community has a responsibility and a duty to respond,” Clinton said after talks with South Korean leaders.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives
On the eve of the second anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration, Taiwan Thinktank released the results of a public opinion poll showing that his approval rating stood at a mere 32.1 percent, while 58.6 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with his performance. The top reason cited for their dissatisfaction was Ma’s “pro-China policies and neglect of national sovereignty.” This was followed by a “poor economy” and “failure to care for the general public.” The results of the opinion poll show a fundamental flaw in Ma’s policymaking.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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To mark his two years in office, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has built two new castles in the sky: a “golden decade” and a “six country” goal — building a strong country based on innovation, reviving the country by promoting culture, initiating environmental protection measures to save the country, consolidating the country with constitutional politics, promoting social welfare to make the country more secure and ensuring peace to protect the country.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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Taiwan should prepare for the “possibility of a very difficult period ahead for US policy in the cross-strait area,” a Washington symposium heard on Tuesday.

sleep without fear

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives
In his April 30 interview with CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) declared: “We will never ask the Americans to fight for Taiwan. This is something that is very, very clear.”

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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Depending on who conducted the polls afterwards, Ma or Tsai prevailed in the debate, with some critics saying that Ma looked more comfortable than ever while Tsai failed to make eye contact and appeared too bookish. Some said the occasion helped Taiwanese better understand the reasons for and implications of the proposed trade agreement; others said it failed to persuade them. Tsai was criticized for what some said was turning the debate into an opportunity to position herself for the presidential election in 2012. For his part, Ma was accused of either not answering Tsai’s questions or of dissembling, an art — as we should all know by now — at which he has mastered.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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The symbolism of China’s growing power was dramatized in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent China visit as an exercise in smoothing relations with that country. Relations between France and China reached a crisis point in 2008 over a series of events such as protests in Paris over the Beijing Olympic torch relays, criticism of China’s human rights in Tibet and, above all, Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives
In view of the government’s eagerness to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China despite the concerns of domestic industries about the impact of Chinese-made goods flooding into Taiwan, it comes as a bit of a comfort to see the government at least working to promote MIT products in an attempt to dampen the possible impact to the nation’s market should an ECFA be signed.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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How to enhance the international space for Taiwan is a complex issue that needs to be addressed by the international community. Unfortunately, it is not even on the current agenda as we are preoccupied with other issues deemed more critical to international safety and security and therefore of higher priority to policymakers.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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The government has said it opposes a referendum on the ECFA issue. The official Web site of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) publicly states, “there are many ways for public participation. Public meetings and public opinion polls are feasible options.” However, referendums are not the “only choice” and “considering international convention and domestic majority support for an ECFA, there is probably no need to waste national resources by organizing a referendum.”

Ma and Wu’s public ­statements against a referendum are too numerous to record here. The fact is that Ma has never agreed to hold a referendum on the proposed ECFA.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

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To counteract former ­president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) maneuvering for a referendum in his reelection bid in 2003, the KMT passed the Referendum Act in the Legislative Yuan setting a very high threshold for initiatiating a referendum. However, Chen found a loophole in Article 17 of the law by launching the first-ever “defensive referendum” along with the presidential election in 2004. The KMT obstructed the referendum and violated the democratic principle of people’s freedom of choice by calling for its supporters not to cast referendum ballots.

Red terror

Taipei Times - archives

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A new study by Robert Kaplan — to be printed later this month in Foreign Affairs magazine — concludes that Washington and Taipei should work together to make the prospect of war seem “prohibitively costly” to Beijing.

referendum and people's power

Taipei Times - archives
Pan-blue lawmakers led by the KMT hold a majority of the seats in the 113 member legislature. KMT lawmakers head all eight of the legislative committees and its majority in the Procedure Committee has led to criticism that bills proposed by the opposition have been stifled.

外獨會意見交流

外獨會意見交流
發言人:新竹王小姐, on Apr 15/2010 10:21:41 (IP code: X.X.93.169)

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鄭新助議員，您好：

4月9日一早搭6：58高鐵趕到高院，已經有人幫我佔好位置在20名內。聽到現場有人在談論：「民進黨內部並不感激阿扁在選舉時所給的錢，因為他 們認為那是本來就應該給民進黨的！」正好下午4點多，陳總統答辯時說：1996年彭明敏、謝長廷搭檔選總統時，民進黨要他倆捐出政府每票補貼的1/2，而 彭謝只願付出1/3，據說當時鬧的很不愉快！陳總統怕此事再重演，所以把兩次選總統的每票補貼全部捐出，共3億2千萬。其他前前後後總共贊助民進黨候選人 加起來超過13億元，加上統媒所謂的海角7億 ，陳總統實際已捐出三分之二的個人政治獻金給民進黨，又有誰了解？說句良心話，不來這裡旁聽，還不知道陳總統這麼值得人家尊敬。


我從3/31、4/2、4/7、4/9這四場答辯裡觀察到，民進黨真是無知又太不認真！有多位立委4/7下午4點要求進入高院旁聽，每人在裡面約 待6-20分鐘，我實在不知道在這麼短的時間內，他們能聽出個什麼所以然來…？


4/7是因為陳昭姿社長拜會過民進黨，法警還問支持者：「今天是怎麼回事，來這麼多立委？」支持者很伶俐，回說：「網路流傳要阿扁們的票，要到法 院旁聽！」說真的，如果他們真正有心關懷陳總統，還需要北社陳昭姿社長開記者會並到民進黨中央黨部拜會要求嗎？


4/7這天，陳總統一早被帶到法庭，一開始鄧法官說了"想休息，可以到隔壁休息室看視訊，有發言必要再過來”，陳總統昨天回答到很晚，但他要留在 現場
(原來昨天下午開秘密庭，陳總統也出庭了)。


4/7這天，早上是李界木(龍潭案)ˋ郭全慶ˋ蔡明哲(郭蔡兩人是南港案)ˋ陳鎮慧這四個人的認罪，下午內容在檢座認為國務機要費是“專人專 戶”，把陳鎮慧提升為國務機要費的負責人，而律師這邊以過去李登輝時代長期來的經驗認定國務機要費是“專款專用”，也就是說“只要出具領據”總統認可就直 接核銷，陳鎮慧絕對不是國務機要費的專門負責人，陳鎮慧長期來是扁珍公私帳的出納。


4/7從早到晚上7點，陳總統只說了要留在現場的話，再沒其它發言`.


4/9早上，有一位鄭小姐來要求換證給立委，我當下表示我的旁聽證不出讓，鄭小姐不以為然，她認為立委出面才有力量，我反問：「民進黨立委們為陳 總統做了什麼？還不如一個鄭新助！」在一旁的蔡同榮立委自始至終不發一語，他大概也不知道要說什麼吧？！


4/9整個早上都是檢察官發言，那最後一個，字句放慢，一直講到12點，連鄧法官都牢騷了幾句，接下來陳總統很專注，他先謝謝三位法官並以肯定鄧 法官說過的：“只做法律判決不做政治考量”…等感言作為開頭，再以”罪刑法定ˋ證據裁判ˋ無罪推定ˋ罪宜微輕”程序答辯。早上站著講了一個鐘頭，下午繼續 站著講三個鐘頭，陳總統的思緒條理分明ˋ答辯清楚易懂，令人不得不佩服他的毅力！這麼清楚交代的被告，若被判有罪，那真的是“大人冤枉啊”！


4/9當晚11：00，陳總統最後講完話，過了幾秒我大喊：「司法人權加油！」結果當然是被趕了出來！一回頭，美靜姊跟在後面，她也被請出來，因 為她也喊了"請釋放陳總統"，有人對此舉動相當不諒解：「妳會影響法官的判決！」唉…台灣人就是這樣，不管做了什麼，沒成功就是不對，我不用替自己辯解， 而事實上…在午飯時間，律師就透露：今天不會放人！
(李美靜小姐有美國人身分，對陳總統及其家人的每一庭，她都到場旁聽，從懷疑到變成扁迷，他說陳總統才是台灣真正的公理正義)


對於海外戶頭事件，很多人來跟我說，叫他們別匯回來，否則會變成政治籌碼，我說鄧法官在4/2講過一句話，那個錢“不是判刑的實體資料，是量刑的 參考”，大家想想這句“中國話”，自由心證是什麼？ 民進黨因為“陳水扁”而發亮過8年，現在自己砸了這塊招牌，也難怪陳總統的家人要自求多福了！我能體會，我真的能體會！也不希望給陳致中、黃睿靚太多壓 力，只要他們做的，我全都贊同！


4/2下午4-5點左右，我從廁所走出來，在要回到法庭的中途，遇到黃睿靚表示她想上廁所，但不敢進去，之前有聽說她上洗手間時曾被紅衫仔冷嘲熱 諷，受到驚嚇，我直覺的反應是：裡面沒人，但她說有看到，於是我就陪她進去，民視女記者林弈岑跑來問她手機號碼並關心她身體狀況，因為只有20分鐘的休息 時間，我打岔說：「對不起，讓她方便一下！」那女記者站在化妝室門口，久久不去，當然我也順勢跟睿靚講了一下記者、名嘴們在媒體上的表現及說過的話。


3/31越芳如檢察官再三強調海外戶頭一事，本來鄧法官挺客氣，要陳致中問母親的意思，但致中的律師卻說“致中可以違反母親的意思，逕自簽名”， 當然我不懂律師的策略，只是覺得怪怪的，接著鄧法官的語氣轉為強硬，希望他們全力配合。


4/2越芳如又以外界批評扁案延宕太久，鄧法官說成：「希望明天就看到款項匯回來」，到晚間應該是超過10點，陳總統有點發火，引述拉法葉艦案佣 金6億美元在他任內沒匯回來的內情。


4/7下午吳淑珍也再三強調，他們該做的都做了，4/1陳致中ˋ黃睿靚有到特偵組簽名，連原先堅持錢要匯到中立第三者戶頭也都放棄了，就聽你偵查 組的！


四場聽下來，感覺是台灣不能有“能人”，像陳總統這種“能人”，被無腦的、貪心的人給害死，陳鎮慧、蔡明哲都轉為污點證人，從律師的口氣，他們對 於污點證人並沒有很具體的承諾，但陳總統已被這些“自己人”給害慘了！


媒體說辜仲諒的2億是被扁珍勒索的不樂之捐，其實辜仲諒說的是：他沒被勒索，只是沒想到當初的樂捐，到現在竟成為 “不樂之捐”(應該是指被調查審問的不樂情緒吧)！


蔡明哲在海外跟辜成允經手的錢，有1億元的出入(吳淑珍說她只收到2億，而蔡明哲堅持是3億)，結果那1億元一審判“沒收”，對1億元不再追究。
陳總統的律師相當不以為意，措詞鏗鏘，希望鄧法官能追查這關鍵的1億元


至於陳敏薰的大華證券董事長官位及那1000萬，陳總統說他事先不清楚1000萬，而私人企業的董事長官位，總統也沒權力干涉。


很多官邸花費的事，原來是陳鎮慧問過會計長、武官依循舊例申請的，譬如賴國洲的交通罰單可以報帳ˋ陳致中的不行，李登輝所養的羊，飼料可以報帳， 馬英九的馬小九飼料ˋ美容費都可以報帳，陳總統的勇哥飼料不行，沒想到李登輝可以請款報公帳的，到了陳水扁就不可以就變成貪污。換成別人當總統只要找個替 死鬼就沒事了，還可以告檢察官!!!


鄧法官一直要扁律師說明國務機要費有沒有全部因公支出呢? 陳總統提到有時為出席會議，出門突然淋到雨，臨時買來擦頭髮的髮油ˋ換成乾的內衣褲竟然都列為貪污，提到西裝也被列入貪污，陳總統更是一肚子氣，他說許陽 明也有西裝支出都沒事，為何他的西裝治裝費用叫貪污?！


會場內長期有兩個紅衫仔，在庭訊結束時他們會大喊：“檢察官加油”或“關到死”等話語對陳總統極盡羞辱！這四場聽下來我尊敬陳總統ˋ更佩服吳淑珍 夫人，對陳總統的子女及其配偶，特別是黃睿靚我都要豎起大拇指！


坦白說，我對於媒體正義、記者良心，相當失望！…拉拉雜雜，心情很亂，昨晚回到家是清晨2：45。


新竹王小姐4/10

shortsighted PHDs

Taipei Times - archives

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Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has said the 17 percent tax rate was determined by looking at Singapore and that the cut is intended to increase Taiwan’s attractiveness to foreign investors. The difference is that while Singapore relies on the service industry for its growth, Taiwan’s specialty is manufacturing. The economic structures of the two countries are different and offer different advantages, which means that the conditions required for industrial development differ even more.

Red terror

Taipei Times - archives

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China is sensitive about allowing Western acts to play in the country after Bjork went on a pro-Tibet tirade while singing ‘Declare Independence’

KMT can do what's good for Taiwan

Taipei Times - archives
As of the end of last year, 249,834 people, or 1.08 percent of the population, were considered to be living beneath the government-defined poverty line, which means their incomes were below the minimum cost of living for the city in which they lived.

freedom of speech

Taipei Times - archives

http://help.funp.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/funp/tools/tools_postbtn_script.png?cache=cacheIn an entry on the micro-blogging service Plurk on Monday, Plurk founder Alvin Woon said the social networking site had recently received letters from the police and prosecutors seeking personal information on, and the IP addresses of, Plurkers.

這是我的部落格 - Yahoo!奇摩部落格

這是我的部落格 - Yahoo!奇摩部落格

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YouTube - The History of Taiwan: Postwar Era and The 228 Incident (3/7)

YouTube - The History of Taiwan: Postwar Era and The 228 Incident (3/7)

Taiwan Aries 閃亮的小螺絲釘: 阿扁：希望這是最後一封來自北所的扁函

Taiwan Aries 閃亮的小螺絲釘: 阿扁：希望這是最後一封來自北所的扁函
一樣地，《阿扁們》不會是一個人，即使是從一個人開始，慢慢地也會變成一群 人。3月7日的ABC成立大會，扁辦告訴我有五、六千人。不是為了阿扁一個人，而是為了台灣2300萬人；不是為了救扁，而是為了《阿扁們》的五大主張、信念與目標的追求與實踐。

a traitor of Taiwan

Taipei Times - archives
His plan to visit China raised questions because government officials with access to classified information who resigned less than three years ago are legally required to file an application for permission to travel to China a minimum of three weeks prior to the date of departure. The Boao Forum is scheduled for April 9 to April 11 in Hainan Province.

support google

Taipei Times - archivesGoogle is still censoring search content for some of its customers in China, a company spokeswoman said yesterday, in a decision that underscores the Internet giant’s delicate effort to hold on to its Chinese businesses days after moving its search engine offshore.

The decision to provide censored searches was made to honor contracts with current business partners and Google will continue to meet those commitments, said Jessica Powell, the firm’s Tokyo-based spokeswoman.

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台灣人拜台灣神 不做無根之民

財團法人台灣大地文教基金會 - 台灣人拜台灣神 不做無根之民 - 走出金枝玉葉─我讀、我評（1） 列印
新聞報導 - 楊緒東專欄
作者 台灣大地文教基金會董事長 楊緒東醫師
2010/03/22, Monday


（photo source: 金石堂網路書店）

*粗體字為楊緒東醫師撰寫之書評

本書於公元2000年出版，內容反應阿扁與阿珍的真實面，中國黨對阿扁當上ROC的總統，非常感冒，認為是奇恥大辱，長久以來中國黨以帝王家族自居，台灣民主選舉，不過是要騙騙選民，對台灣人的態度，不但輕蔑、醜化，還刻意分化與打壓。

受過中國黨官僚教育出來的次中國黨人，甘心為KMT所利用，不願意為台灣人服務。我們所說的「公僕」只是虛性名詞，因為眾官員為KMT黨國服務，才能陞官發財，故為法治把關的調查、司法、特、憲、情治、監察組織，成為中國黨御用工具，為虎作倀，以打擊反對勢力、壓制反對人士，藉之鞏固領導核心，公器私用，以保障自己的飯碗。

阿扁被收押400天以上，Beijing高興、KMT歡喜，中國黨安枕無憂啦！

台灣人阿扁當總統，為當全民總統，走新中間路線，對中國黨巴結有之，軟到極點，對深綠的基層反而嚴格；想袪除深藍的心防與疑慮，故對於中國黨加諸人身的造謠、抹黑、栽贓，默默忍受；對超大型政治操作之「紅衫軍」寬厚而不加以打壓。

台灣人當總統，就是與This man－Ma不同；更甚者，馬騜善於運用ROC的憲法、法律，騙到總統大位，立刻成為「騜上」，下令收押A-Bian，有些中KMT毒的台派，還真以為 A-Bian有罪。現在DPP隔離A-Bian，某些台派大老不敢公開為A-Bian講話，馬騜的white terror與Beijing的red terror成為台灣民主的最大反對勢力。

反對中國黨，就要您好看，歸順可以為朝臣，不從則姦而殺之，輾而致死。

在眾人的驚呼聲中，她砰然倒地。大家在錯愕之際還來不及反應，那輛拼裝車伴隨著緊急煞車輪胎的尖叫聲，以全速倒車，正要扶起她的大嫂趕緊跳開，黑色的車輪無情地輾過她還在地上掙扎的身軀。

煞車、入檔、踩油門、再起步，拼裝車司機似乎事先經過了無數次的練習，毫不手軟地再次將車輪壓過瘦弱的她。

在失去意識之前，她還依稀聽到撞倒她的人說：「沒有撞死嘛！」

這一天是1985年11月18日，是吳淑珍生命中最漫長、黑暗的一天，也是陳水扁從政以來，最大的一次打擊。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，pp.4-5。

這場車禍其實是有前兆的，只是當時誰也沒想到，加害的對象竟然是吳淑珍而不是候選人陳水扁。當時，陳水扁的競選總部設在麻豆鎮的岳家，也就是吳淑珍的父親吳崑池醫生的家中。

在投票前幾天，吳淑珍的母親吳王霞女士，在家中就接獲一封署名為「台南縣民」的恐嚇信，信中寫著，「陳水扁少年得志，當心家庭殘缺，喪妻之痛．．．．。」等恐嚇字眼。當時大家都不以為意，認定只是有人惡作劇，並不把這封信當作一回事，自然也沒有特別加強防範。而且，他們作夢也沒想到，加害的對象竟然是吳淑珍。

這場選舉，從一開始就充斥著暴力的陰影。在陳水扁自辦政見會的最後一天，曾因為喝了加「加料」的水而上吐下瀉，腹瀉不止；在吳淑珍出車禍的當天晚間，競選總部甚至還接到匿名電話說：「看你以後還敢不敢參選！」
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，p.6。

當天，吳淑珍穿著一身紅衣服，戴著太陽眼鏡，就在兩人聊得正起勁的時候，突然聽到一陣急促的引擎聲，一輛拼裝車正急速朝她們駛來。陳俊英心裡正在納悶，「這明明是一條死巷子，前面根本沒有路出去，這台車開這麼快幹什麼？」

陳俊英正想大叫，提醒小姑注意，但已經來不及了。所幸吳淑珍也聽到車子開過來的聲音，往旁邊跌了過去，並沒有被撞到。陳俊英正想趕過去扶小姑起來，沒想到那台車馬上緊急煞車，並且立刻倒車，又往小姑的方向開過來。陳俊英下意識地向旁邊跳開，這一次吳淑珍就沒有這麼幸運了，黑色的車輪無情地輾過她的紅色衣服，陳俊英在一旁，彷彿聽到骨骼碎裂聲，整個人都嚇傻了。

拼裝車好像一隻貪婪的怪獸，司機熟練地再次踩煞車、入檔，加油，再一次將上千公斤的重量壓在吳淑珍瘦小的身軀上。司機張榮財當場被工作人員逮捕飽以老拳。

然而，這一切已經於事無補。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，pp.7-8。

張榮財所駕駛的拼裝車，壓過吳淑珍的頸椎與胸椎，是造成她受傷後不感到疼痛的主要原因。當時的她並沒有大量出血，外表根本看不出受重傷的樣子，內出血卻非常嚴重。不過，在場完全沒有人體察出事情的嚴重性。吳淑珍說，當時如果知道，就直接送台大醫院了，也不用先到台中榮總開一次刀，情況可能會好一點。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，p.9。

吳淑珍車禍的消息見報後，當時的台大醫院外科副主任陳楷模立刻找來相關科別醫生，組成一個醫療小組，而且主動幫吳淑珍留了一間病房，他心裡想，吳淑珍一定會送到台大來。

果然，台中榮總的手術並不成功，吳淑珍又去台大動了另一次手術。忍受兩次椎心刺骨的疼痛，她從頭到尾沒有掉過一滴眼淚。

「那時候我覺得自己一定會死，沒想到還可以活著看到小孩長大。兒女是我最大的精神支柱，我承認，我愛我的兒女，比愛陳水扁多一點。」吳淑珍道出支持她活下去的原動力。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，p.11。

車禍發生之後，台南地檢署只用了3天的時間，就將本案偵結，這種效率令身為律師的阿扁相當詫異。地檢署將張榮財移送台南地方法院審理，地院竟以嫌犯「有逃亡之虞」為理由，不淮交保，繼續收押張榮財。

張榮財所涉及的罪名只是「過失傷人」而已，並未觸犯本刑7年以上有期徒刑的法律，依法並不需要收押，但地院卻不淮交保，這種異乎尋常的作法，更增加陳水扁心中的疑竇。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，p.13。

衡量當年的政治情況，陳水扁即使身為律師，只要張榮財不說，他也沒有能力追查出事情的真相。

後來，張榮財表示，願意賠償50萬元，阿扁並未接受，反而將整個案子撤銷。夫妻兩人共同的想法是，冤冤相報何時了，即使把張榮財打死了又如何呢？只希望他自己有一天良心發現，說出幕後的真相，讓這件十多年歷史的無頭公案能夠有真相大白的一天。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，p.14。

她對政治的敏銳觀察，絶不輸任何一位在政壇打滾多年的政治人物。與生俱來的親和力，不必有太多的政治語言、身段，自然可以吸引路人佇足旁觀。率真的性格，一針見血的言論，足以戳破習慣偽裝的政客面具。強烈的正義感、是非觀念，絶不容許有任何灰色地帶。

這就是吳淑珍，一個將陳水扁推上政治舞台，卻又抱怨老公經常不在家的家庭主婦。她就像每天出現在你我身邊的鄰家媽媽，一切都顯得那麼自然、率真。
鍾年晃，2000，“少女吳淑珍＂，《走出金枝玉葉－阿扁嫂的故事》，TVBS周刊，台北，p.15。

（未完待續，撰於2010/02/19）

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traitor as this man-Su

Taipei Times - archives

http://help.funp.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/funp/tools/tools_postbtn_script.png?cache=cacheSo “meritorious” was Su’s service to this nation that he was part of the very same KMT-led legislature that, during eight “sick” — so Su claims — years of Democratic Progressive Party rule under then-­president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), blocked hundreds of resolutions and brought national development to a standstill. So “meritorious” was legislator Su that he made unsubstantiated claims that the Chen administration was seeking to develop nuclear weapons. If lies and incompetence are signs of merit, then Su truly deserved Ma’s medal.

traitor to Taiwan

Taipei Times - archives

http://help.funp.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/funp/tools/tools_postbtn_script.png?cache=cacheHu was attending a forum at National Chung Hsing University on the merger of Taichung City and County and development of the new city — Greater Taichung — in relation to a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China.

As Hu wrapped up his speech and was preparing to leave, two students shouted “traitor to Taiwan” (賣台奸) at Hu.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

http://help.funp.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/funp/tools/tools_postbtn_script.png?cache=cacheTSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) told a press conference that the party would arrange 24 locations nationwide to collect signatures for the petition. He called on the public to stand up and express their opinions on this important issue.

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

http://help.funp.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/funp/tools/tools_postbtn_script.png?cache=cacheThe missiles could pose a threat to US forces in Japan, Guam and other Pacific areas that are to be redeployed in time of emergency on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap said. The report, however, didn’t provide further details such as how many missiles the new division possesses and where they are positioned.

Los Angeles vigil for Taiwan independence creates stir outside federal building

The people and banners have doubled since the weekly vigils outside the Los Angeles federal building began earlier this year. Talking to pedestrians, hand-billing stopped motorists, waving signs and shouting, two dozen loyal Taiwan supporters gather in any kind of weather to take their message to the street.

The flags and signs tell passers-by that Taiwan remains a United States responsibility until a freely chosen Taiwanese civil government can be established on the island. Presently, Taiwan is controlled by the Republic of China in-exile, landed on the island by U.S. military forces at the end of World War II.

The Los Angeles petitioners argue that the San Francisco Peace Treaty, where Japan gave up Taiwan, left the United States in charge of Taiwan's fate instead of the Republic of China, which was not a signatory to the treaty.

The Cold War and Communist revolution in China followed by the Korean War and then the Vietnam War kept Taiwan's legal status, a "strategic ambiguity", in limbo to the present time.

Last year the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals called the people of Taiwan "stateless" and caught in "political purgatory" urging President Barack Obama to act "expeditiously" to resolve the status. The United States does not recognize Taiwan, Taiwan is barred from the United Nations and even kept out of the World Health Organization.

Because the Republic of China is an exiled government, forced from China in 1949 during the Communist revolution and imposed on the people of Taiwan, the islanders have never had a chance to decide their own form of government.

Since President Obama has not acted on the federal appellate court's request, the vigil petitioners show up each week at the Los Angeles federal building to inform the public about Taiwan.

One of the newest petitioners is the oldest, at 97 years-old. The other demonstrators lovingly call her Grandma while she does her part.

Bad weather does not stop the vigil as the petitioners don rain gear and keep talking and holding their signs. The vigil goes on.

Los Angeles vigil for Taiwan

Weekly petitioners supporting Taiwan independence seek a U.S. supervised referendum to decide the island's fate. Taiwan is currently controlled by the Republic of China in-exile.

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Taiwan or chinese Taipei

Taipei Times - archivesAmid complaints by Plurkers and concerns by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) following a tip-off from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), CNN on Sunday corrected its Web site after initially quoting the US National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center as calling Taiwan “Chinese Taipei” in its tsunami watch report.

Despite its initial inertia and lack of awareness, the ministry deserves praise for swiftly responding to Kuan’s alert and requesting that CNN make the correction on its Web site.

no punishment and judgement that is the show

Taipei Times - archives

http://help.funp.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/funp/tools/tools_postbtn_script.png?cache=cachePresident Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday apologized to victims of the 228 Massacre and their families at a national memorial service marking the 63rd anniversary of the event, saying he hoped the tragedy would become a driving force for the advancement of Taiwan.

228 massaccre

Taipei Times - archivesThe lawsuit called for the party to publish front-page apologies in all local Chinese-language newspapers and donate NT$2 billion to a 228 foundation

Taiwan defense

Taipei Times - archivesA report released yesterday by the US Defense Intelligence Agency that assesses the overall effectiveness of Taiwan’s air defenses has reinforced concerns about the state of Taiwan’s aging fighter squadrons.

gut of USA

Taipei Times - archives

US rejects Beijing’s demand to cancel Dalai Lama meeting AFP, WASHINGTON Sunday, Feb 14, 2010, Page 1 The US has escalated a mounting row on multiple fronts with China, refusing Beijing’s demand to cancel US President Barack Obama’s meeting this week with the Dalai Lama. The deepening public spat over Tibet, a row over US arms sales to Taiwan, China’s dispute with Google and trade and currency disagreements, come at a key diplomatic moment, as Obama seeks Chinese help to toughen sanctions on Iran. The White House announced on Thursday that Obama would hold his long-awaited meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House this week, drawing an angry reaction from China and a demand for the invitation to be rescinded. But Obama’s spokesman Robert Gibbs signaled the White House would defy China’s warning that the encounter would damage already strained Sino-US relations. “I do not know if their specific reaction was to cancel it,” Gibbs said. “If that was their specific reaction, the meeting will take place as planned next Thursday.” Obama avoided the Dalai Lama when he was in Washington last year, in an apparent bid to set relations with Beijing off on a good foot in the first year of a presidency which included several meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤). Obama, however, warned Chinese leaders on an inaugural visit to Beijing in November that he intended to meet the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) said earlier that Beijing firmly opposed “the Dalai Lama visiting the US and US leaders having contact with him.” “China urges the US ... to immediately call off the wrong decision of arranging for President Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama ... to avoid any more damage to Sino-US relations,” Ma said. Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama will take place in the White House Map Room and not, in an apparent effort to mollify China, in the Oval Office, where US presidents normally meet VIPs and visiting government chiefs. The International Campaign for Tibet said on Friday it welcomed the meeting. “We believe that President Obama understands what is at stake for the Tibetan people and has a role to play as the leader of a nation founded on universal principles of freedom and justice,” said Mary Beth Markey, the campaign’s vice president for international advocacy. This story has been viewed 395 times.

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Democratic liberty is fundamental

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Democratic liberty is fundamental

By Michael Danielsen

Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010, Page 8

As one of the signatories of the open letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) (“An open letter to Taiwan’s president,” Nov. 13, 2009, page 8), I would like to respond to the article by Government Information Office Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) (“Taiwan’s political liberties not eroded,” Jan. 26, page 8). I identify a sign of progress in the letter: He states that the government will give “due attention to possible flaws in our judicial system” and continued by stating that it will “keep pushing forward on these fronts.”

I look forward to actual steps that go beyond mere words. Civil liberties are fundamental to democratic nations because they protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens and put limits on governments.

Actions are warranted.

Freedom House’s ­downgrading of Taiwan’s ranking in terms of civil liberties from 1 to 2 this year signals that the nation is going in the wrong direction, and it is worrisome. I hope Su’s mentioning only of the positive developments in Taiwan’s legal system over the last two decades and avoidance of further comment on what has happened over the last two years — according to Freedom House — is not a sign of self-deception or an argument for avoiding concrete action.

In its report, Freedom House refers to violations of the rights of defendants in criminal cases and other new restrictions on freedom of expression and news freedom. In addition, Jerome Cohen and Chen Yu-jie (陳玉潔) stated in the South China ­Morning Post on Jan. 20 that now “it [the government] is trying to introduce legislation to punish ‘obstructions of justice’ that will inevitably restrict defense lawyers’ activities.”

Thus, using history over the last two decades to showcase Taiwan’s democratic development is deceptive.

Su seems to have a different understanding of democratic involvement than others. Based on his words, cross-strait relations are only important to the legislature if they are related to law, and the public should only have involvement between elections via the media. However, the agreements involving China and Taiwan deal with the key issue of Taiwan’s future and its existence as a free and democratic nation, and for that reason the agreements are always important to the legislature and the public because of tensions with China and that country’s obvious threats to Taiwan.

During negotiation of agreements that fundamentally affect cross-strait relations, the legislature should be involved directly though a bipartisan committee instead of, as appears to be the case, acting as a rubberstamp parliament that is informed of, but not involved in, the decision-making process.

Taiwan has much to gain through the increased involvement of all parties, including civil society, in cross-strait negotiations. Such a dialogue is essential if there is to be a broad consensus in Taiwan regarding relations with China.



Michael Danielsen is chairman of Taiwan Corner.
This story has been viewed 196 times.

李慶安淚灑記者會說

李慶安與七根竹筍 ◎ 謝又新
李慶安淚灑記者會說：「我絕對不是詐欺犯！」希望司法還她清白。
我 是大安區選民，我要說的是：李市議員、李委員，妳騙了我們十多年，誰還我們公道？打從一開始妳就錯了！竟然還好意思做賊喊抓賊！一點都比不上台東縣議員饒 慶鈴！饒慶鈴也被同黨爆有美國籍，饒慶寧馬上拿出ＡＩＴ文件自清，所有誣陷她的人全雞嘴變鴨嘴。唯獨，就是妳和馬總統，始終提不出證明，洗刷自己清白。
如今，是法院還人民公道！但是，我要說還是判太輕！妳知不知道一個小老百姓偷挖了七根竹筍要關七個月？妳知不知道台東柑仔店老婦，在不知情下買了五瓶假酒販賣，被罰五萬元？誰比較冤呢？請李慶安妳別得了便宜還賣乖！
正本清源，立法院下會期應盡速通過沒有爭議「國籍法」草案！ （作者為大安區龍淵里居民）

this kind of China

Taipei Times - archives

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Beijing warns Obama on Dalai Lama meeting

AFP, BEIJING
Wednesday, Feb 03, 2010, Page 1

Beijing yesterday warned US President Barack Obama against meeting the Dalai Lama, saying it would “seriously undermine” Sino-US ties — the latest salvo in an escalating row between the two powers.

Beijing also said no progress was made in the latest round of talks between Chinese officials and envoys of the spiritual leader, saying the two sides remain “sharply divided” on the future of the Himalayan region.

The comments came after the first negotiations between the two sides in more than a year, which wrapped up at the weekend. The envoys of the Dalai Lama returned to their exile base in India on Monday.

The Dalai Lama, whom China accuses of seeking independence for his homeland, is scheduled in the US this month for a visit that includes a stop in Washington, but a meeting with Obama has not been announced.

Such a meeting would “seriously undermine the political foundation of Sino-US relations,” Zhu Weiqun (朱維群), executive vice minister of the Chinese Communist Party body that handles contact with the Dalai Lama, told a news conference.

“If the US leader chooses to meet with the Dalai Lama at this time, it will certainly threaten trust and cooperation between China and the US,” Zhu said.

“We oppose any attempt by foreign forces to interfere in China’s internal affairs using the Dalai Lama as an excuse,” he said.
This story has been viewed 256 times.

Beijing looms large in US policy

Taipei Times - archives

Beijing looms large in US policy

By Sushil Seth

Monday, Feb 01, 2010, Page 8

‘China appears to believe that the time has come to assert its power as the Middle Kingdom.’

China is looming large in the reformulation of the US’ policy toward the Asia-Pacific region. Speaking at the East-West Center in Hawaii, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US wanted active engagement with Asia.

It would also like to be actively involved in building up Asia’s security and economic structures and would like collaborative action on issues like nuclear proliferation, climate change and food security.

At the same time, Clinton emphasized the significance of regional forums in these matters.

Without mentioning China, she said that no country, including the US, should try to dominate regional institutions — but she also emphasized the beneficial role of US engagement in the region.

In other words, the US is back in Asia to re-engage with the region. What exactly led the US secretary of state to reassert US engagement with Asia?

First, under the administration of former US president George W. Bush, the preoccupation with Iraq, Afghanistan and the “war on terror” led to slackening interest in Asia.

The administration of US President Barack Obama is keen to dispel that view, which has gained increasing currency.

Second, the Bush presidency was more given to unilateral initiatives than to multilateral forums like ASEAN, APEC, the East Asia Summit or the UN.

China, on the other hand, had reversed its aversion to regional forums, having earlier feared their domination by the US.

With their new economic and political clout, they found these forums very useful for expanding their regional role.

In other words, the US pre-occupation with Iraq and Afghanistan and indifference to the potential of Asian regional cooperation proved a blessing for Beijing.

In the process, China was able promote and expand its role as a “benign” power supportive of regional institutions.

For instance, Beijing has been able to cobble together a free-trade agreement with the members of ASEAN.

It is timely for the US to be showing new interest in engaging with Asia. Until now, the Obama administration has seemed to focus on forging a new regional and global partnership with China.

The underlying assumption was that China’s partnership was necessary to resolve tricky issues like nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran, climate change, the global financial crisis and the undervalued Chinese currency.

But there apparently has been a growing sense of frustration with China’s cavalier and arrogant response, climaxing at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.

The US feels that China sabotaged the conference and humiliated Obama.

And then there’s the matter of Google. So far, Internet giants like Google, Yahoo and others have been toeing Beijing’s line by censoring their content as required by the Chinese authorities.

But when Chinese hackers started attacking the Gmail accounts of human rights activists and stealing source codes and data from Google (as well as 33 other high-tech, industrial and chemical companies), Google blew the whistle.

Google legal officer David Drummond said on the company’s blog: “We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger debate about freedom of speech.”

He added that it had “led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China.”

Google has thus put this issue in a larger context of freedom of speech and human rights — and it has the support of the Obama administration.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said: “We support Google’s action. Our concern is with actions that threaten the universal rights of a free Internet.”

China obviously takes a different view. According to the State Council Information Office, “Our country is at a crucial stage of reform and development and this is a period of marked social conflicts.”

As a result, “Properly guided internet opinion is a major measure for protecting Internet information security,” it says.

This is an interesting admission of the acute social conflict in China.

Despite Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) “harmonious society” slogan, China is going through a social crisis.

What this means is that regardless of all the hype about China’s uninterrupted and on-going rise, its future is subject to the vagaries of how this crisis is managed and resolved.

Considering that China is a top-heavy, one-party state, it lacks the political shock absorbers and the process of political mediation as exercised through popular elections as well as alternative political structures and constitutional forums.

No wonder the Chinese Communist Party sees the Internet as a serious threat to its rule and will go to any length to disrupt and control it.

But the Internet will always remain a challenge because of the multiple ways in which determined users can circumvent government censorship of its content.

Google’s threat to pack up its bags and abandon the Chinese market has created a serious strain in US-China relations.

It has come on top of persistent attempts by Chinese hackers to get into the Pentagon and other US agencies in an ongoing cyber warfare of sorts, with serious implications.

It has led the US and some other Western countries to beef up their security systems against potential intrusions. Australia is the latest country to set up a separate agency to deal with this risk.

The effects of Chinese hacking is widespread. Some reports say the FBI has estimated that as many as 180,000 Chinese are engaged in hacking and that they attacked the Pentagon’s computer systems 90,000 times last year alone.

The US is the most prized target of Chinese hackers.

China’s cyber army (although Beijing denies any official link) is part of a wider strategy to wear down the US at a time when it is overstretched militarily, financially and, to some degree, psychologically.

Having followed late leader Deng Xiaoping’s (鄧小平) advice to bide its time and build strength, China appears to believe that the time has come to assert its power as the Middle Kingdom.

And it is in Asia that it is building up its military power to challenge the US over the next decade or so.

It is developing weapons systems to deny the US access to some of the waterways in Asia, like the South China Sea, where there have already been some naval incidents between China and the US.

China is developing a set of weapons not only to deter the US but, if necessary, to take it on. These include submarines, a new generation of combat aircraft, cruise missiles and even ballistic missiles that could target US aircraft carriers.

It is about time the US engages actively with Asia.



Sushil Seth is a writer based in Australia.

Dissidents warn ‘Beijing Model’ could harm Taiwan

Taipei Times - archives

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Dissidents warn ‘Beijing Model’ could harm Taiwan

BY RICH CHANG AND SU YUNG-YAO

Sunday, Jan 31, 2010, Page 3

Chinese dissidents yesterday expressed concern that a “Beijing Model” is being duplicated in Taiwan in which economic advance is being promoted at all costs.

“There is this new term, the ‘China model’ or ‘Beijing model,’ which is to promote economics regardless of the cost, and such a view is gradually being voiced in Taiwan,” Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) told a forum in Taipei hosted by the Taiwan Society yesterday.

Among the “costs” are a growing gap between rich and poor, pollution and “even crackdowns on people with military force” like the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Wang expressed concern that Taiwan’s democracy and human rights might be threatened by an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).

Chinese-democracy-activist turned-economist Chen Pokong (陳破空) told the forum that China entered the WTO in 2005 with US support. Before this, the US levied an average 42 percent tariff on Chinese goods, but after the US cut tariffs to 2.5 percent. Since then cheap Chinse products have been dumped on the US market causing an annual US$200 billion trade deficit.

Chen warned Taiwan of a similar situation after the signing of an ECFA.

“Needless to say there is political purpose behind the economic pact, which is to use the economy to trap Taiwan before a political annexation,” he said.

Taiwan Society secretary-general Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) told Taiwanese to stay vigilant for a possible regression of democracy as “democracy and human rights are usually sought with loud bangs, but often ebb away silently.”

Contemporary Monthly magazine editor-in-chief Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒) was more optimistic.

Chin said although President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is China-friendly, several surveys showed most of the public regard themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese, and support Taiwanese independence. The numbers are higher than during the former Democratic Progressive Party government, he said.

In his weekly online journal posted yesterday, Ma said an ECFA “will help Taiwan businesses become stronger to compete globally.”

Ma said signing an ECFA would be like putting on spikes allowing Taiwan to run like the wind amid fierce competition in the world market.

Critics warn the agreement would jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty, making it economically dependent on China and leading to an influx of Chinese capital and goods.

Additional reporting by CNA
This story has been viewed 309 times.

We are a-bian casters3

Large aftershock terrifies Haitians

Taipei Times - archives

Large aftershock terrifies Haitians

LIMITED GOOD NEWS: A 69-year-old woman was among four people found alive in Port-au-Prince ruins by rescuers on Tuesday

AP , PORT-AU-PRINCE
Thursday, Jan 21, 2010, Page 1

Pierre Louis Ronny is carried by Russian rescuers after being found under the Teleco Haitian telecom building in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. One of Ronny’s hands had been caught between cement blocks and he was discovered by looters combing the building for goods. PHOTO: REUTERS

A powerful new earthquake struck Haiti yesterday, shaking buildings and sending screaming people running into the streets only eight days after the country’s capital was devastated by an apocalyptic quake.

The magnitude-6.1 temblor was the largest aftershock yet to the Jan. 12 quake. It was not immediately clear if it caused additional injuries or damage to weakened buildings.

Wails of terror rose from frightened survivors as the earth shuddered at 6:03am. The US Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 56km northwest of Port-au-Prince and was 22km below the surface.

Last week’s 7.0 quake killed an estimated 200,000 people, left 250,000 injured and made 1.5 million homeless, the EU Commission said.

A massive international aid effort has been struggling with logistical problems, and many Haitians are still desperate for food and water.

Still, search-and-rescue teams have emerged from the ruins with some improbable success stories — including the rescue of a 69-year-old Roman Catholic who said she prayed constantly during her week under the rubble.

Ena Zizi had been at a church meeting at the residence of Haiti’s Roman Catholic archbishop when the Jan. 12 quake struck, trapping her in debris. She was rescued by a Mexican disaster team on Tuesday.

Zizi said after the quake, she spoke back and forth with a vicar who was also trapped. But he fell silent after a few days, and she spent the rest of the time praying and waiting.

“I talked only to my boss, God,” she said. “I didn’t need any more humans.”

Doctors who examined Zizi on Tuesday said she was dehydrated and had a dislocated hip and a broken leg.

Elsewhere in the capital, two women were pulled from a destroyed university building. And near midnight on Tuesday, a smiling and singing 26-year-old Lozama Hotteline was carried to safety from a collapsed store in the Petionville neighborhood by the French aid group Rescuers Without Borders.

Crews at the cathedral recovered the body of the archbishop, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, who was killed in the Jan. 12 quake.

Authorities said close to 100 people had been pulled from wrecked buildings by international search-and-rescue teams. Efforts continued, with dozens of teams hunting through Port-au-Prince’s crumbled homes and buildings for signs of life.

But the good news was overshadowed by the frustrating fact that the world still can’t get enough food and water to the hungry and thirsty.

“We need so much. Food, clothes, we need everything. I don’t know whose responsibility it is, but they need to give us something soon,” said Sophia Eltime, a 29-year-old mother of two who has been living under a sheet with seven members of her extended family.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said more than 250,000 ready-to-eat food rations had been distributed in Haiti by Tuesday, reaching only a fraction of the 3 million people thought to be in desperate need.

The WFP said it needs to deliver 100 million ready-to-eat rations in the next 30 days, but it only had 16 million meals in the pipeline.

So far, international relief efforts have been unorganized, disjointed and insufficient to satisfy the great need. Doctors Without Borders says a plane carrying urgently needed surgical equipment and drugs has been turned away five times, even though the agency received advance authorization to land.

A statement from Partners in Health, co-founded by the deputy UN envoy to Haiti, Paul Farmer, said the group’s medical director estimated 20,000 people are dying each day who could be saved by surgery.

The reasons are varied: Both national and international authorities suffered great losses in the quake, taking out many of the leaders best suited to organize a response.

A woefully inadequate infrastructure and a near-complete failure in telephone and Internet communications have also complicated efforts to reach millions of people forced from their homes, while fears of looting and violence have kept aid groups and governments from moving as quickly as they would like.

Google can do the right thing in China

Taipei Times - archives

EDITORIAL : Google can do the right thing in China

Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010, Page 8

Google’s announcement that it will stop restricting search results on its Chinese platform — a condition set when the Internet giant entered the Chinese market in 2006 — and the threat that it could pull out of China altogether if Beijing continues to launch cyber attacks for gathering information on human rights activists is a praiseworthy development. It shows that even large corporations that stand to make a fortune from the gigantic Chinese Internet market can abide by their principles when the state overreaches.

The decision may also have been self-interested, as the conditions imposed on Google for entry into China had tarnished its reputation, something that was put in sharp relief when Yahoo pulled out of China after data it gave the Chinese authorities resulted in the arrest of journalists. (Yahoo sold its China business to Alibaba Group [阿里巴巴] in 2005, while acquiring a 39 percent stake in Alibaba.)

Some commentators, including Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World, have argued that Google’s battle with Beijing demonstrates that China has forever transformed the world and that, consequently, Google has already lost the fight.

“The Google model of a free and open Internet, an exemplar of the American idea of the future, cannot and will not prevail,” Jacques wrote in Newsweek last week. “China’s Internet will continue to be policed and controlled, information filtered, sites prohibited, noncompliant search engines excluded, and sensitive search words disallowed. And where China goes, others … will follow.”

This view is flawed because there is nothing teleological about authoritarianism, just as there is nothing teleological about democracy. Had the Internet existed when the Soviet Union was at its apex, would Jacques have made the same prediction, drawing on Russia’s centuries-old history of strong, centralized rule? Back then, did thinkers in the West argue that Moscow would forever alter the way we share information because the Soviet Union was censoring the media and arresting dissidents? Did we abandon dissident writers like Vaclav Havel and Czeslaw Milosz? Of course not.

In time, the Soviet Union, rife with contradictions and ossified by lack of freedoms, collapsed, and people like Havel were hailed as heroes.

China’s economy may be almost twice the size of the Soviet Union’s at its demise, and its population about six times as large, but this doesn’t mean the world will be more willing to accommodate Chinese authoritarianism than it did during the Cold War.

In fact, thanks to the ubiquity of electronic media and global travel, people today are more aware of what’s going on abroad, and are better equipped to access that information, than at any time. Even Chinese, who live under a regime seeking to control information, have a better chance of learning about the world than Czechs, Poles and Russians did under Soviet rule. And the thirst for that knowledge is equally strong. There is nothing in the Chinese character that makes them less inclined to seek the truth.

As China rises and its leadership shows no sign of liberalizing, the last thing we want to embrace is defeatism, believing that we can’t do anything about the impact this will have on our world. More than ever, people are starting to realize that China’s philosophy on freedom of expression is threatening our way of life. Ask Australians during the Melbourne International Film Festival, or Taiwanese when newspaper editors are fired as a result of pressure from Beijing.

Google’s decision is not capitulation. It is taking a stand for the liberties that the great majority of human beings cherish and aspire to. Let’s hope others follow Google’s lead.
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US plans formal protest to China over Google attack

Taipei Times - archives

US plans formal protest to China over Google attack

BLOOMBERG
Sunday, Jan 17, 2010, Page 1

The US will issue a formal protest to the Chinese government demanding an explanation for the cyber attack on Google Inc that the company says originated from China.

“We will be issuing a formal demarche in Beijing,” likely early this week, to express US unease about the incident, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in Washington on Friday.

A demarche is a diplomatic protest.

Google said on Monday it would stop censoring results on its search engine in China, as required by that country’s government, because of “highly sophisticated” attacks on its Web site and the e-mail accounts of Chinese rights activists.

The US decision to lodge a formal diplomatic protest underscores the seriousness of the issue, analysts said yesterday.

Google briefed the Obama administration before it took action. Representatives of the company spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the matter last week and had discussions with Obama’s national security advisers, administration officials said.

Google didn’t seek US government help and administration officials didn’t encourage or argue against proceeding, aides said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Alec Ross, Clinton’s senior adviser for innovation, said on administration of US President Barack Obama views the allegations of cyber attacks as more than a commercial dispute.

“I don’t think that we’re looking at these issues through the prism of American business interests,” he said “The United States has frequently made clear to the Chinese our views on the importance of unrestricted Internet use as well as cyber security, and we look to the Chinese government for an explanation.”

not so good -- aged life

Taipei Times - archives

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FEATURE : Graying China: most are getting old before getting rich

SHORTAGE: The tens of millions of one-child homes, as well as worker and student migration to urban areas, have destroyed the traditional nuclear family model

AFP , BEIJING
Thursday, Jan 14, 2010, Page 5

An elderly woman eats lunch at a nursing house in Beijing on Friday. PHOTO: AFP

At a nursing home in the suburbs of Beijing, 86-year-old Ma Shufan, still sprightly despite her advanced age, is thrilled to have friends. At her son’s home, she likely would spend her days alone.

The best part? Having mahjong partners.

“This is much better than being with my children. They have to go to work, and no one has the time to talk with me. My son did not even have a room for me,” said the former school teacher.

With more than 160 million people over the age of 60 and its ageing rate gaining pace, China is facing a curious problem: it is graying while still in development — a challenge other economies have only had to face at a more advanced stage.

The speed at which the number of elderly in China is increasing has alarmed both the government and demographers about the future, with the nation’s healthcare system already straining and two-thirds of rural workers without pensions.

“Population ageing is going to be a big social problem in China,” said Wang Xiaoyan, the founder of Community Alliance, one of the few non-governmental organizations in China that addresses the needs of senior citizens.

The first generation of parents affected by China’s population control policy put in place in 1979 — which the government says has averted 400 million births — is now hitting age 60.

The tens of millions of one-child homes, coupled with mass migration of students and workers to urban areas, has destroyed the traditional nuclear family model.

Instead, ordinary Chinese are coping with a 4-2-1 inverted pyramid — four grandparents and two parents, all the responsibility of an only child.

As a result, half of China’s over-60s — 80 million people, or roughly the population of Germany — live in “empty nests” without their children, who are unable to assume responsibility for their ageing parents.

“This is why we have problems now,” said Wu Cangping, a 88-year-old demographer who still teaches at Renmin University.

“Children do not have enough money to take care of their parents. We’re getting old before we are getting rich!” Wu said.

The thorny problem of a graying population has not escaped notice in the corridors of power in Beijing.

Authorities have put in place a system effective this year that will give pensions to 10 percent of rural workers. In recent years, they have also been raising healthcare allotments for the elderly.

The government wants to allow 90 percent of older people to receive family care with welfare assistance, 6 percent to receive state-backed community care services and the other 4 percent to move to nursing facilities.

But the country’s 40,000 retirement homes only have 2.5 million beds — enough for barely more than a quarter of the 8 million it needs.

“Today, we need 5.5 million more beds to fulfill demand,” Wang said.

At the Ren Ai home where Ma lives, construction work is under way. Soon, 400 more beds will be available, a major jump from the 100 on offer, director Wang Liwen said.

“There are not enough ­nursing homes,” said Wang, who has a backlog of between 200 and 300 admission applications.

The residents of Ren Ai, most of them former workers and farmers with tiny pensions, pay between 1,350 yuan and 1,550 yuan (US$200 to US$225) a month to live in the home, says the parka-clad Wang in her chilly office.

In the older parts of the home, walls are crumbling and carpets are faded.

She offers a tour of the new, windowless 215m² rooms— to be shared by up to three residents.

“If their pension is not high enough, or if they don’t have one at all, the children pay. But some older people have no children and no money, and we take care of them too,” he said.

台灣印象2010救扁遭判刑

台灣印象2010

20100112自由時報　　　救扁遭判刑 蔡啟芳：言論自由回頭

20100112自由時報　　　 〔記者蔡宗勳／嘉義報導〕前立委蔡啟芳發表「前進北所、搶救阿扁」，結果上個禮拜五被判刑三個月，蔡啟芳十一日痛訴司法鉗制言論自由，讓台灣的言論自由走回頭路成為一場夢。 蔡啟芳指出，言論自由開放是台灣能從威權走向民主最好的象徵！從老蔣處處禁止人民發聲、小蔣唯唯諾諾遵從，到李登輝逐步開放，進而阿扁的歡迎民眾來嗆聲，這就是人民作主，有權發表言論、批評時政、檢討政策是否恰當。 蔡啟芳表示，阿扁執政年代那個名嘴沒有血淋淋痛罵阿扁、恐嚇阿扁？那個電視台沒大肆對時政發表過當言論？試問，有那個名嘴受罰？有那個電視台面臨關台命運？這就是民主可貴之處。 蔡啟芳舉例說，李登輝時代，愛國同心會長周慶峻率眾高喊「槍斃李登輝」，獲不起訴處分；陳水扁主政時，更是百花齊放，先有政戰學校校友吳覺民喊出「全民刺 扁」、陸軍儀隊屈肇康在網路上刊登「外省幫的隨我去血洗總統府」、自稱「光明殺手」戴平山發表「我要刺殺共狗陳水扁」言論，結果檢方也都處以不起訴。 蔡啟芳強調，馬政權為掩蓋施政無能，各項鉗制人民自由的作為紛紛出籠，從陳雲林來台，馬英九竟為國民黨世仇共產黨開道，極盡巴結之能事來限制人民表達「言論」、「行動」的自由，因而這次蔡啟芳搶救阿扁的言論受到三個月的有罪判決也就不足為奇了。 最後蔡啟芳自嘲說，看來台灣司法界捍衛「刺殺陳水扁」的言論自由，但禁制「救阿扁」的言論自由。