228 massaccre

Taipei Times - archivesFollowing the end of World War II, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government sent Chen Yi (陳儀) to head its occupation of Taiwan. Chen, his underlings and the armed forces under his command plundered Taiwan at will, with no notion of the rule of law.

Then came the Jiangsu-­Zhejiang banking and commercial conglomerate (江浙集團), which unscrupulously took essential goods from Taiwan for sale in Shanghai and Hong Kong. This resulted in shortages of the goods needed for everyday life in Taiwan, and in unprecedented poverty and hardship.

What the Taiwanese could never have expected, however, was that the KMT government in Nanjing would dispatch troops from China to Taiwan to end protests with a massacre, indiscriminately killing many innocent victims from among the nation’s prominent citizens and stifling demands for the rule of law.

The KMT imposed a “White Terror” on Taiwan during 38 years of martial law. Nevertheless, throughout this time countless people struggled bravely for democracy and freedom. Under the presidencies of Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Taiwan’s people at last enjoyed a taste of the rights they craved.

care about Taiwan

Taipei Times - archivesA new study published this week by Foreign Policy magazine concludes that Taiwan remains the one place in the world where China and the US “could conceivably come into direct conflict.”

Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives

Taiwan cannot just rely on the US By Paul Lin 林保華 Wednesday, Feb 10, 2010, Page 8 The Sino-US relationship has undergone a change recently. Although US President Barack Obama adopted a low-key approach during his visit to China last November, he was humiliated by Beijing at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. This has forced Washington to take a tougher stance, and it has used the spat between Google and China as a point of departure. Both President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) transit stopovers in the US on his way to and from Latin America and the US announcement of the arms sales package to Taiwan involve what Beijing calls its core interests, and as a result, tension between China and the US has intensified. It is obvious that the main reason the US gave Ma such a warm reception this time was Washington’s concern that his incompetence and isolation would accelerate his surrendering to China. Washington wanted to show its support for Ma. If China did not protest, the same kind of reception would probably be given to other presidents from Taiwan in the future. If it did protest, then the Taiwanese would understand that China would be unlikely to respect Taiwan regardless of how Ma played up to Beijing. As for the US arms sales package, Washington is simply granting a request submitted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) during its years in power — a package that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), as the then-opposition, vetoed. However, the arms deal is a watered down version that the US discussed first with Beijing, a move that diminishes the Taiwan Relations Act. Sadly, Ma appears so pleased with himself that it is no wonder DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is frustrated by his shallowness. Although the US is making concessions to leave some leeway for Sino-US relations, Beijing’s series of reactions and retaliatory measures do not leave much room for maneuver. The sign that there may be some leeway is the fact that the top leadership has maintained its silence. The Chinese retaliation has taken four forms: First, planned visits by military officials between China and the US have been suspended. Second, other Sino-US military exchanges have been postponed. Third, the next round of annual defense consultations at the deputy minister level on strategic security, multilateral arms control and non-proliferation have been postponed. Fourth, US companies participating in the arms sale to Taiwan face sanctions. The first two measures are relatively insignificant. In light of Beijing’s hostility to the US, as well as the US’ military advantage, China would benefit more from such visits and exchanges. The third measure means an end to China’s cooperation with the US on the issue of North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear weapons development and terrorism. But Beijing is already supporting these two countries, so Washington should not have high expectations. Perhaps it is a good thing that Beijing shows its true colors. As to the fourth point, China purchases certain military products from US companies because it cannot produce them itself. It would be good for both national security and world peace if the US stops selling these items to Beijing. Ideally, other Western nations should not sell such products to China either. Unfortunately, profit concerns make that difficult for US and other Western enterprises. Will China retaliate economically? Chaos would ensue if it lost the US market. For the Sino-US confrontation, whoever backs off first will be considered a “paper tiger.” The US usually does not pursue defeated enemies, but give China an inch, and its rogue nature ensures that it will take a foot. This has been evident in the development of Sino-US relations over half a century. As Washington constantly backs down, Beijing has elevated the Taiwan issue to a core interest in recent years, and this can come to affect other US spheres of influence in the future. Why doesn’t the US claim its founding ideals — freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law — as its core interests? The US used to offer protection to the KMT dictatorship in decades past, but today, Taiwan has transformed into a democracy. What kind of country would the US be if it sold out Taiwan to China now? Chinese Rear Admiral Yang Yi (楊毅) said in an interview with China News Service on Jan. 6 that it was time for China to lay down the rules for the US. Yang also recently criticized Ma. By allowing a low-level official like Yang to insult Ma, Beijing is behaving like a bully. Does Ma still believe that “blood is thicker than water”? Nevertheless, Taiwan should not pin all its hopes on the US. To build a complete independent state, we have to rely on ourselves. In the face of authoritarian China, we must all be determined to risk our lives. To achieve this, we must consolidate domestic unity, including both the pan-green camp and the mid and lower levels of the pan-blue camp. Otherwise, there will be no hope for Taiwan. Paul Lin is a political commentator. TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG This story has been viewed 429 times.

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pelitical persecution by China ma

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Taiwan High Court extends detention period for Chen

By Rich Chang
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010, Page 3

The Taiwan High Court yesterday extended former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) detention by another two months from Feb. 24.

High Court judges wrote in their ruling that Chen needed to be detained to ensure a smooth litigation process because he stands accused of serious crimes and there are still dozens of witnesses and defendants who have yet to testify in court.

VALID REASONS

The reasons for Chen’s detention, including the risk that he could abscond and fears that he would collude with witnesses, remained valid, the ruling said.

For Chen, the extension of his detention ruling means he will spend the Lunar New Year holiday in detention.

The former president has been held at Taipei Detention Center since Dec. 30, 2008.

Both Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 11 last year by the Taipei District Court and fined NT$200 million (US$6.13 million) and NT$300 million respectively on several counts of corruption, including embezzling money from a discretionary state affairs fund and taking bribes from local businessmen.

Chen appealed the ruling to the High Court.

THIRD EXTENSION

This is the third time the High Court has extended Chen’s detention. The first was from Oct. 24. to Dec. 24 last year, and the second was from Dec. 24 to Feb. 24.

The Democratic Progressive Party said in a statement the party regretted the extension of Chen’s detention ruling.

“Since Chen was found guilty in the first ruling, all investigations have finished and Chen should be released so that he can better prepare his defense. The party insists Chen be allowed to exercise his full judicial rights,” the statement said.

Taiwan needs more weapons

Taipei Times - archives

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Taiwan needs more weapons: defense chief

STAFF WRITER, WITH AFP
Monday, Feb 08, 2010, Page 3

Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) said he would seek more weapons from the US to give Taiwan greater confidence in pushing for rapprochement with China.

The remarks came as Beijing and Washington are locked in an escalating row over a large US arms sale to Taiwan.

China has responded furiously with a raft of reprisals, saying it would suspend military and security contacts with Washington and impose sanctions on US firms involved in the US$6.4 billion arms package.

But Kao defended the arms sale on Saturday, saying the ­package would help stabilize the Taiwan Strait.

“The US has kept providing Taiwan with defensive weapons according to the Taiwan Relations Act, enabling Taiwan to be more confident in pressing for reconciliation with the Chinese mainland,” the Military News Agency quoted him as saying.

Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔箎) said US arms sales to Taiwan violated international relations standards and would provoke a reaction from Beijing.

In response, Premier Wu ­Den-yih (吳敦義) ­said Beijing’s missile buildup had prompted Taiwan to seek more defensive weapons.

“It’s just like two people trying for reconciliation. If one of them sticks a gun in his waist, it would be weird, don’t you think?” Wu said in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix satellite TV on Saturday.


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自由電子報 - 台灣地位問題的政治面

自由電子報 - 台灣地位問題的政治面總之，台灣人的聲音不能像戒嚴時期一樣，只有個別地出現在美國國會的聽證會、街頭抗議或泰源綠島監獄，台灣 政府的聲音必須就是台灣人的聲音！我們需要一個真心認同台灣的總統、指揮認同台灣的軍隊、在國際上維護台灣的主體利益，歷史走到今天，如果不能認清這個目 標，所謂街頭路線、議會路線或體制內、體制外，都會成為戲論。

自由電子報 - 邪惡魔術師

自由電子報 - 邪惡魔術師江部長上台後的表現，讓很多學者、昔日同僚看了傻眼，他的學生們更是瞠目結舌！怎麼昔日學術上與課堂上的那 一套全被他拋諸腦後，快速的換了屁股就換了腦袋。包括之前地制法的違憲、蠻幹，日前又提出「不在籍投票」（還賣弄名詞的刻意包裝成「移轉投票」），更猴急 到年底五都選舉就要適用！難怪輿論以「邀請暴動」形容其嚴重性！

Reducing Taiwan to a local ‘area’

Taipei Times - archives

THE LIBERTY TIMES EDITORIAL: Reducing Taiwan to a local ‘area’

Thursday, Feb 04, 2010, Page 8

‘The Ma administration wants to demote Taiwan to an ‘area’ so that it can use the same model to sign an ECFA between the local Taiwanese government and the central Chinese government.’

Last week, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in his capacity as the president of the Republic of China (ROC), traveled to Honduras — stopping on the way in the US — to attend the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. At the same time, however, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) were holding talks on signing an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) that defines Taiwan merely as an “area.”

This meant that while Ma was traveling abroad as the president of the ROC, he was in fact the head of the “Taiwan area.” The Ma administration only plays up the name “ROC” for the benefit of the domestic audience; when faced with China, it is willing to belittle Taiwan. This two-faced approach may help the Ma administration deceive itself, but it has ceased to deceive the Taiwanese.

Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) recently said that when the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) was promulgated in 1992, the two areas were defined as the “Taiwan area” and the “mainland area” — meaning this is a legally regulated definition and not just something concocted by the Ma administration.

Liu added that this act is what that makes an ECFA with China possible. Liu thus proved that he has a good understanding of what his superiors are thinking.

The Ma administration’s definition of Taiwan as the “Taiwan area” pleased Beijing greatly, and the news received widespread praise in official Chinese media.

The Ma government may think it is being clever for finding a legal basis to support Taiwan’s demotion into a region, but all it has done is to let the public see the deception the administration is employing to “regionalize” Taiwan.

Let’s take a look back at 1992. The conservative forces in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) were in power, the presidency had yet to be directly elected by the people and Taiwanese did not run their own country.

This is the backdrop to the promulgation of the Act Governing Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, so it is both ridiculous and an act of desperation on the part of the Ma administration to use this Act to legitimize what it sees as the basis for turning Taiwan into an “area.”

Taiwan has held direct presidential elections since 1996 and abolished the concept of a “Taiwan Province.” These democratic reforms have all but dispelled the empty illusions about the Constitution and undermined the Act.

Since the promulgation of the Act, Taiwan has evolved into a nation, with sovereignty resting in its 23 million people. In 1999, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) declared that “special state-to-state relations” exist between Taiwan and China. In 2000, then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) took things a step further by declaring that Taiwan and China were “one country on each side [of the Taiwan Strait].” Taiwan’s national status is clear, politically legitimate and desired by most Taiwanese.

Unfortunately, since his election as president in 2008, Ma has sought to eradicate Taiwan’s democratic reforms and steps to become a normal country, while ignoring mainstream public opinion and dashing toward eventual unification. Driven by his “greater China” ideology, Ma has reduced Taiwan to an “area,” while fantasizing about China as the “mainland area.”

China appreciates Ma’s efforts to relegate Taiwan’s status to that of an area because that automatically negates Taiwan’s sovereignty as a nation. However, the Chinese Communist Party politely rejected Ma’s definition of China as the “mainland area,” insisting that it is the only legitimate government of China.

In other words, while Ma is happy to demote himself to the position of regional head of Taiwan, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) is not willing to follow suit.

The government’s fawning over China and belittlement of Taiwan facilitate ECFA talks. The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the Chinese government is an agreement between a regional government and the central government under the “one country, two systems” model.

The Ma administration wants to demote Taiwan to an “area” so that it can use the same model to sign an ECFA between the local Taiwanese government and the central Chinese government.

Ma’s comment that the ECFA does not involve sovereignty is a load of nonsense. Faced with public doubts about signing an ECFA, the Ma government could only quote the Act to deceive the public. The government clearly thinks the public is a bunch of idiots.

The two China parties, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party, are trying to use economic agreements to pull the wool over the public’s eyes and stealthily turn Taiwan into a part of China.

The public cannot afford to wait helplessly for the worst and must not place any hope in the “peace dividends” that are supposed to result from cross-strait detente. They can no longer trust Ma’s promise that Taiwan’s future will be decided by its 23 million citizens — free of Chinese interference.

Since assuming office, Ma has joined hands with Beijing to demote Taiwan to a Chinese region. An ECFA will further tie up Taiwan’s economy with the Chinese common market and allow Taiwanese sovereignty to disappear into his vision of “one China.”

Taiwan, a democracy, cannot stand by and watch Ma do as he pleases. We, the masters of the nation, demand that the ECFA, which places Taiwan’s sovereignty at risk, be decided in a referendum. The voice of the people is what should count.

TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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Taipei Times - archives

China intensified clampdown on the media, report says

AFP, HONG KONG
Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010, Page 1

China intensified its clampdown on local and foreign media last year, with reporters facing violence, censorship and arbitrary detention, a report by an international press watchdog said.

Beijing also closed down social networking sites and moved to restrict online news under numerous regulations introduced last year by local censors to control what the media says, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said.

“Banned topics range from events associated with social unrest and public protests against authorities to reports of photos of an actress topless on a Caribbean beach,” the Brussels-based group said.

Signs that China was loosening controls on the media in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics had faded by early last year, according to the report titled China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009 released in Hong Kong on Sunday.

“Authorities sought to re-exert control on the media and information, focusing in particular on the rising power of the Internet as a means for social expression and organizing,” the IFJ said.

The report was issued against the backdrop of a row over US Internet giant Google, which has said it would no longer bow to Chinese censorship and threatened to halt its operations in China in protest over cyber attacks.

“We ... call on the international community to take a principled stand to oppose all forms of restrictions on the rights of journalists to do their work in China,” IFJ general secretary Aiden White said.

These include a “steady stream of official bans, as well as new rules in 2009 which make it virtually impossible for local journalists who work in traditional or online media to receive the accreditation they need in order to conduct their profession,” he said.

The report highlighted a catalogue of restrictions that impeded the work of the media in the world’s most populous nation. They included banning journalists from going to Sichuan Province to report on the massive 2008 earthquake and telling the media to only use Xinhua news agency reports on the tainted milk scandal and US President Barack Obama’s first official visit to China in November.

China also banned reporting on photos of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) topless on a Caribbean beach and prohibited entertainment programs from covering celebrity love affairs or scandals, it said.

In the lead-up to National Day on Oct. 1, more than 10 orders were issued to prohibit the media from reporting at Tiananmen Square and other public venues, the report said.

Incidents of violence against foreign media declined last year, which the IFJ attributed to their reduced presence in China after the Olympics.

“Even so, foreign journalists still encountered many obstacles and difficulties through 2009, including acts of violence, destruction of work materials and equipment, prevention of access to public spaces,surveillance and reprimands,” the report said.

Authorities targeted journalists’ sources, assistants and drivers “to obstruct foreign media reporting on events in China.”

Local journalists were forced into self-censorship over concerns they might lose their accreditation, the report said, adding that the “biggest taboo” for Chinese media was the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
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