Grand delusions


"Ma Ying-jeou course on political terminology"
An editorial cartoon from the April 16, 2004 edition of the Taipei Times
Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in his Lunar New Year's Eve speech yesterday that "[Taiwan's] international profile had been raised to a higher level and the public again had confidence in the judiciary." (See a Mandarin report here.)

I call horseshit.

Let's clear the air of this stink, shall we?
As for the part about the [Taiwanese] public's "confidence in the judiciary," on January 8, 2009 (less than three weeks ago), the Taiwan News reported that:

According to recent surveys conducted by Academia Sinica and the Web site Yahoo! Kimo, over 50 percent of the people do not believe in Taiwan's judicial system and over 75 percent have no confidence that the Judicial Yuan will undertake judicial reform [...]

That would mean that Ma is not telling the truth. (You decide if it's on purpose.)

As for "Taiwan's international profile," take a look at these indicators:

* November 6, 2008: Scholars and writers from around the world publish an "Open letter on erosion of justice in Taiwan."

* The same letter as an online petition has been signed by over 2,000 people so far.

* November 25, 2008: Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) calls the open letter "inaccurate."

* December 2, 2008: "Eroding justice: Open letter No. 2" counters Wang Ching-feng's claims.

* January 8, 2009: Over a month later, Wang Ching-feng comes up with "clarif[ications]" regarding the open-letter writers' so-called "misunderstandings."

* January 21, 2009: "Eroding justice: Open letter No. 3" is addressed to President Ma Ying-jeou.

* January 24, 2009: Two more "US-based Taiwan experts add [their] names to open letter [No. 3]."

* January 25, 2009: President Ma tells us that the situation is the exact opposite of what the information above tells us it is.

Nope. All of this evidence -- plus the notice taken by Amnesty International, Freedom House, the International Federation for Human Rights, and Reporters Without Borders -- points to a lowering of Taiwan's international profile, and it's precisely because of the behavior of Ma's government.

The Truth of Ministries
Can you say "Orwellian"? I knew that you could.

Caving in to pressure from China is not "peace," freedom is not slavery, and ignorance is not strength.

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Not what the news tells you they are: Taiwan, 台灣, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, China, 中國

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 馬英九

Once more with feeling

Here's an oldie-but-goodie that's worth repeating:

It doesn't just belong to the Chinese

Nor is it just "politically correct." Read about it in English and/or Chinese.

Happy Lunar New Year! 萬事如意! [=van.su_ru.yi! / wàn shì rú yì!]

UPDATE:
Being in a bit of a rush to begin my vacation, I missed these links (all are presented in both English and Mandarin):
* How the people of Vietnam celebrate Lunar New Year
* How the people of South Korea celebrate Lunar New Year
* How the people of Singapore celebrate Lunar New Year
* How the people of Malaysia celebrate Lunar New Year

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Terrestrial objects: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Lunar New Year, 農曆新年

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Lunar New Year, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 農曆新年

Did anybody else notice?

At approximately 5:00 PM today on FTV (民視新聞), a reporter who was telling viewers about what former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was eating today (Is this "news"?) was wearing a cap bearing the logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Can you say "WTF?!"?

What came to mind right away was the September 16, 2006 incident in which an FTV cameraman got into a scuffle with the crowd at a rally to support Chen Shui-bian. The reason for the scuffle was that the cameraman had a "Depose [Chen]" (倒扁) sticker on his camera and was wearing a red jacket (the color worn by the anti-Chen demonstrators [紅衫軍] led by Shih Ming-teh [施明德]).

Are you paying attention?

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Flashing lights: Taiwan, 台灣, media, 媒體, FTV, 民視新聞, redshirts, 紅衫軍

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: FTV, media, redshirts, Taiwan, 台灣, 媒體, 民視新聞, 紅衫軍

Hu's targeting whom?

Today's Taipei Times tells us about China's latest insane statement:

Hours before Barack Obama's inauguration as president, China called for stronger military ties with the US and said the key threats facing its national security were Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Ministry of Defense Spokesman Colonel Hu Changming (胡昌明) said there were "difficulties" in military relations between the two countries and expressed hope the situation would improve.

"In this new period we hope that both China and the US could make joint efforts to create favorable conditions and improve and promote military-to-military relations," Hu told reporters.

Hu was responding to a question on planned US arms sales to Taiwan that resulted in China postponing a series of high-level military exchanges with the US last year.

First of all, Taiwan only purchases defensive weapons from the US. Secondly, with "China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou" (馬英九) in office, the US is less likely to sell Taiwan anything, since it might fall into the PRC's hands. Thirdly, despite China's recent mention of possibly removing some of the missiles it has targeting Taiwan, around 1,400 of those missiles still threaten us here.

The fact of the matter is that one of the greatest threats to the rest of the world is China.


If there were 1,400 missiles in early 2008,
how many do you think there are now?
(Click to enlarge)

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Anti-matter(s): Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Ma Ying-jeou, 馬英九, missiles, 飛彈, Barack Obama, 巴拉克·歐巴馬

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Barack Obama, China, Ma Ying-jeou, missiles, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 巴拉克·歐巴馬, 飛彈, 馬英九

Chen vs. Chen

In the "final ruling" of a slander case filed by Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) against Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) because the latter said regarding the March 19, 2004 shooting of the former that "the shooting case must have been staged," Chen Chao-min was found "not guilty."

High court spokesman Wen Yao-yuan (溫耀源) said that it didn't amount to slander because Chen Chao-min's statement was in line with the findings of the [unconstitutional] "319 Truth Commission" (319 槍擊事件真相調查特別委員會) [MORE: 1, 2, 3] (led by now-Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng [王清峰] -- who once told a reporter that the commission didn't have the money to come up with any evidence [!]).

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) appointees once again make groundless allegations with impunity, but Wang Ching-feng pretends that the KMT can't control the courts. She takes the public for fools. Personally, I hope that the Taiwanese never forget what former president of the Executive Yuan, Hsu Shui-teh (KMT), once said: "The courts belong to us." ("法院是我們家[國民黨]開的.")

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Exhibits for the defense: Taiwan, 台灣, Chen Shui-bian, 陳水扁, 319 Truth Commission, 319 槍擊事件真相調查特別委員會, Chen Chao-min, 陳肇敏, judiciary, 司法

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: 319 Truth Commission, 319 槍擊事件真相調查特別委員會, Chen Chao-min, Chen Shui-bian, judiciary, Taiwan, 台灣, 司法, 陳水扁, 陳肇敏

It is what it is, no matter what the Chinese say


Why is it so hard to call Taiwan "Taiwan"?
(Click to enlarge)
Today's Taipei Times reports on a resolution in the US Congress:

A resolution has been introduced into the US' 111th Congress calling for president-elect Barack Obama to establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan. It also calls for an end to the US' "one China" policy and support for Taiwan's full membership in international organizations.

While the resolution, which was written by long-time Taiwan supporter Congressman John Linder, a Republican from Georgia, has no realistic chance of changing US policies, it is important in that it keeps the issue alive and in the minds of the US' top politicians.

[...]

The new resolution asks Obama to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country separate from China.

It also says the president-elect should aggressively support Taiwan's full participation at the UN and all other international organizations of which the US is a member.

[...]

A source close Obama's foreign policy advisers told the Taipei Times: "Taiwan continues to enjoy many warm feelings in the US Congress. We are sensitive to the issue."

However small its chance of passing might be, it is a righteous request (which should be a demand) that needs to be repeated more often, more loudly, and more effectively.

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Flags of inconvenience: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, sovereignty, 主權, US Congress, 美國國會, Barack Obama, 巴拉克·歐巴馬

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: Barack Obama, China, sovereignty, Taiwan, US Congress, 中國, 主權, 台灣, 巴拉克·歐巴馬, 美國國會

Shorter Hu[shuo]

On New Year's Eve, Chinese authoritarian Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) basically told the DPP:

If you just commit suicide, I'll stop threatening to kill you.

Go read about the DPP's perfectly reasonable reaction, which is sure to be painted by Chinese media as "ungrateful" at the very least but more likely as "provocative."

Oh, and remember that 「胡說」 means both "Hu [Jintao] says" and "bullshit."

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Cliffhangers' Notes: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, Hu Jintao, 胡錦濤

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Hu Jintao, Taiwan, 中國, 台灣, 胡錦濤