2010 - 4rd Quarter Writings

Lee Teng-hui: One More Reason Why Ma is Called Ma Ying-joke

Monday December 27

Lee Teng-hui added his voice to the many and growing consensus of why Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou is called Ma Ying-joke. Ma continues to live in his fantasy lah-lah land and yet none of the sycophants surrounding him has the courage to tell the emperor that he has no clothes and/or tell the horse that his face is too long. The recent issue again is Ma's fantasy on the bogus Consensus of 1992. ...

Taiwan and the USA: from love to "no position," the vagary of vagaries

Monday December 27

This continues the post of December 5th (scroll back to see it) when AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt spoke to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan. Burghardt praised Taiwan as the 9th largest trading partner of the USA with a 2-way volume of 46 billion US$. Unsaid was how the USA has helped Taiwan (the Republic of China) militarily in a wide variety of ways for over a half a century. And yet by the end of his speech, after stating proudly that Taiwan should have confidence in its role in the world, Burghardt said that the official position of the USA on Taiwan was "no position." Say what??? ...

Taiwan as the World Turns, Ma Ying-jeou Shuns Responsibility to Nation

Thursday December 23

It was another strange week in Taiwan. Chen Yunlin, the "Class C" (some even call him a Class Q) politician from China was here and the Ma government's growing desperation to have something to show after two and a half years was evident. Ma's people continued to fawn over Chen like he was a head of state. For Chen, coming to Taiwan has certainly saved Chen's lackluster career; the man who looks like an old greased-up Brill Creme ad was all smiles in appreciation. ...

Ma Ying-jeou Throws Chou Hsi-Wei a Bone.

Sunday December 19

The Phony Pony was once again in his element of waxing eloquent on trivia, non-sequiturs and BS. As loyal KMT puppy, Chou Hsi-wei, was set to leave his post as County Commissioner, Ma was there to throw him a bone by praising him for his alleged job well done, vision etc. etc. For those who know the incompetent Chou, it was all veneer and the questions that could be directed at Ma were some that even an elementary child would ask. ...

The USA, China, and North Korea, Tales of the Weird

Friday December 17

As the world turns in Asia, we once again find China invoking Tales of the Weird to defend its actions. Examine the recent past. North Korea has sunk a South Korean ship killing near half of its crew. Then North Korea shelled a South Korean island, again killing South Koreans. North Korea continues to build up its nuclear program, indicating that as a rogue state it wants more dangerous capabilities. North Korea is propped up and supported by China, so what does China do? China has the gall to suggest that the US help in defusing the situation that China helped create. ...

The US State Department, its Dupes, and the Chinese Gorilla

Sunday December 12

China is not a panda, despite the claims of the wannabe panda-hugger historians and advisors to the United States State Department. China is in reality a growing 800 lb. gorilla, bullying and buying its way through Asia and the world; in the process it tries to recapture the glory of past myths perpetuated by court historians. Ironically, in the gorilla's way is Taiwan, a nation that fought off a similar paternalistic autocratic gorilla to achieve its own democracy. It is Taiwan that exposes the hegemonic 800 lb. gorilla on the other side of the Taiwan Strait for what it is and it is Taiwan that can help deconstruct the gorilla. ...

The "Duh" Awakening of the US State Department on China and Taiwan

Saturday December 11

Those of us who watch Taiwan-US-China Relations closely are mildly amused at what we call the slow "Duh" awakening of the US State Department. What is the Duh awakening? The Duh awakening is observed in the past ten years of the US dealing with China with a misguided policy formulated on wishful thinking and fantasies instead of experience; US policy is influenced by panda-hugger opportunists who search for a gravy train in the lucrative markets of China. ...

Why Taiwanese Continue to Call Ma Ying-jeou the Phony Pony

Saturday December 11

Finally, finally, finally, after being sure that that was the way the wind was blowing, Ma Ying-jeou took the occasion of his speaking at the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award Ceremony to urge China to release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. Way back when Liu had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the most that Ma could muster was a mild statement of protest over Liu's incarceration. Now being convinced that the majority of nations wanted Liu's release, Ma had no choice but to join the chorus, very late indeed. ...

The KMT Blames the DPP for the KMT's Gangster Connections and Corruption: Go Figure???

Thursday December 09

Despite hundreds of witnesses, lie-detector tests, confessions and videos of the crime scene, the police seem no closer to solving the shooting of Sean Lien in the face and the killing of an innocent bystander at the KMT rally. Is it police incompetence or does the KMT government of Ma Ying-jeou not want the truth to come out? ...

AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt: Short Memories and Surprises Few People Talk About

Sunday December 05

AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt spoke at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Taipei, Taiwan recently. One point he brought up concerning the dealings between the USA and Taiwan was the fact that the US does not like surprises. No doubt, Burghardt was referencing the complaint that the US State Department often issued about some of the actions of Chen Shui-bian when he was president of Taiwan. This is a complaint that the Ma administration tried to exploit saying it would be more "open" in its dealings with all. ...

Taiwan and the Murder that Almost Never Really Happened.

Saturday December 04

A man was murdered in front of thousands of spectators at a KMT rally on election eve in Taiwan and yet it is treated as if it never happened. The death of the man has been barely acknowledged by the media and others. Who was he? How did he come in the line of fire? Why was he there? Numerous questions could be asked about 29-year-old Huang Yun-sheng, but no one even bothers to ask. ...

US Navy War College Professor Joins List of China Apologists, Why?

Thursday December 02

Anyone who deals with Chinese will sooner or later hear them mournfully bemoan their "Century of Humiliation" and the "Unequal Treaties of the Opium War." These are historical events long past; they date back more than a century ago. Yet you never hear Chinese complain about more current things that were more destructive and outweigh those events. Take for example the shame of how some 30 million Chinese died under Mao's failed programs or the humiliation of how the harmony of their society was ripped apart by the Cultural Revolution. You also don't hear serious concern over the SARS cover-up that endangered the world or any shame over things like the recent 100,000 plus Chinese that caught AIDS because government programs allowed multiple uses of needles. Why? ...

Taiwan Post Election Comments

Monday November 29

The elections are past; the pundits are trying to find an appropriate spin for each side. On the one hand, the status quo remained with the blue party holding three mayor-ships and the green two. But the overall popular vote revealed a large increase for the green camp. The cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan showed a strong increase in DPP suppoort; it resembled a tide rolling northward from the south where the people have a greater sense of what it means to be Taiwanese. It reached Taichung where the people finally seem to realize that you need more than jokes to rule a city and root out corruption. ...

Gangland-style Hit at KMT Election Rally Raises Questions

Saturday November 27

Lien Chan's son, Sean, was shot at near point blank range while campaigning for a KMT candidate in Sinbei City raising many questions. Was Lien Chan's son the intended victim? The captured shooter expressed that he had mistaken Sean for the candidate. At last report he said there were differences between him and the candidate's father, which one would presume were monetary. ...

Getting Rid of the Hypocritical KMT Carpetbaggers Once and for All!

Thursday November 25

A new broom sweeps clean; that is certainly what Taiwan needs in the coming elections in order to get rid of the privileged KMT carpetbaggers once and for all. Taiwan needs change, change that is pro-Taiwan and not pro-China as the continued insulting efforts of Ma Ying-jeou have been. In the past two and a half years under the failed 6-3-3 promises of Ma, Taiwan has seen continued humiliation and failed promises from the man who has no concept of what Taiwanese identity is about. Neither does his premier, nor do all the KMT candidates up for mayors of the five major municipalities. They all must go. ...

Ma's Pro-China Policy Turning Into Shambles: But He Says It is Working; Will Voters Believe Him?

Tuesday November 23

After a slap in Taiwan's face at the Tokyo Film Festival, and another slap with the Chinese Set-up to keep Yang Shu-chun from facing off against China's gold medalist hope, Ma Ying-joke still wants Taiwanese to trust his kow-towing to China is helping not harming Taiwan. Now comes new news that must be making his staff run like chickens with their heads cut off. El Salvador appears to be on the verge of switching its recognition from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. ...

Some Hard Questions About Jason Hu and the KMT Past: Taiwan Wake Up I

Monday November 22

Taichung is the third largest city in Taiwan. Why then does its Mayor Jason Hu rank 18th in performance in a list of the nation's top 21 mayors and commissioners? The answer is not only simple and obvious, it is sad as well. Like many in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Hu earned his reputation when the KMT had a one-party state and they could not only bury the corpses and control the media but they could also squelch any dissenting voices or questions. Does anyone remember Vincent Siew? He's still the current Vice President, and he was allegedly the brilliant economist of the KMT one-party state. Has he solved the problems and mystery of 6-3-3 promises? Unfortunately in a democracy it's a whole new ball game and what is hidden is revealed. So too with Jason Hu. ...

The KMT Tries a New Way to Buy Votes and Hsu Hsin-Liang Still Looks for a Parade

Sunday November 21

The KMT has a long history of links to organized crime going back to its early days in Shanghai and continuing through examples of Jason Hu's police force spending their off hours (we hope they were off duty) at the offices of "alleged" and subsequently assassinated gangsters' offices. And of course many of their candidates have been convicted regularly of vote buying. But now they are trying a new way to use their state asset dollars to stay in power. ...

Ang Lee Chooses Taiwan as Location for Upcoming Film, "Life of Pi"

Sunday November 21

Ang Lee honored his home country, Taiwan, by choosing it as a location for the upcoming film, the "Life of Pi," that he will be directing. Lee has always made the distinctive point that he is Taiwanese and not Chinese and so endeared himself to the people of this nation. ...

Ma the Mouse and the International Press Conference that Wasn't International.

Friday November 19

Just when you think that the hypocrisy and two-faced posing of Ma Ying-joke could not get any worse, Ma comes up with something that does so. In the aftermath of the brouhaha of the Taekwando Set-up to disqualify Taiwan's top female expert in China, and after he saw that it was election time and the public were upset, Ma decided he better make a show of protesting against his "brothers" in China. He called an international press conference, or pretended to call one. ...

The Hypocritical KMT Are Starting to Grasp at Straws, But Then It is Election Time.

Friday November 19

This Sunday, the hypocritical KMT still have not returned the stolen state assets of Taiwan; those are the assets that made the KMT what some estimate as the richest political party in the world. Not to worry, the KMT who count on Taiwanese having poor memories, have decided to call an anti-corruption march to gain votes for their Taipei mayoral candidate Hau Lung-bin. Yes that is the same Hau whose Deputy Secretary took the fall for him in the recent cost-inflation, and cost overrun scandals in the Taipei Floral Show and the Xinyi Overpass Rip-off. ...

China Gives Taiwan Another Slap in the Face: Ma Ying-jeou Waits to See What Way the Wind is Blowing.

Thursday November 18

Taiwanese Taekwondo champion, Yang Shu-chun was disqualified by judges in China in a controversial call over the type of socks she was wearing in what appears to have been a set-up to get her out of the competition. ...

Exploring All of One's Roots: Taiwan and its Lapita Heritage

Sunday November 14

Taiwanese will often wonder how and why after nearly a half a century of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) indoctrination and brainwashing, they still think differently, act differently and even have different sets of values than the post World War II carpetbaggers that fled to Taiwan from China (1945 to 1949). They may further wonder why they find their thinking is even more than miles apart from that of a different brainwashed set, the sheep on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. Those sheep are no closer to a democracy than they were 100 years ago when Sun Yat-sen proposed a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Why is this so? Why did democracy take root in Taiwan and not China? Surprisingly, the answer can be found in Taiwan's history and one word, Lapita. ...

TV Talk Show Host Cheng Hung-yi Tells it Like it Is in Taiwan

Wednesday November 10

Taiwanese, are you tired of listening to the deception and double talk of the phony pony? Are you tired of Ma Ying-joke playing by double standards? Are you tired of the hypocrisy of the KMT as they take a holier than thou attitude after they have consistently ripped the country off for half a century and their mayoral candidates continue to do so? TV Talk Show Host, Cheng Hung-yi finally told it like it is recently while speaking at a private rally last week. ...

India Should Have a Permanent Seat on the UN Security Council

Tuesday November 09

Should India have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council? You bet. India unlike China is a responsible player in world politics. India is not a hegemonic threat to Asian security; China is. India has a growing population that will eventually surpass that of China. India is a democracy. What more need be said. Asia needs more constructive membership in the UN Security Council than the hegemonic bully that China is becoming. This is something that the world should support. ...

Taiwan as the World Continues to Turn: Taichung Mayor Jason Hu Delights in Being King of Sleaze?

Wednesday November 03

Taichung Mayor Jason Hu must be longing for the good old Carpetbagger, One-party State days of Chiang Kai-shek when Bo Yang could be given nine years for somewhat satirical Popeye cartoons he published. At issue is a recent campaign video Jason Hu's group put out about some twin sisters strutting their stuff and saying they were "Hu's girls." ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: Ma Gives Hau a Left-Handed Compliment

Wednesday November 03

Ma Ying-jeou gave Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin a left-handed compliment as Hau was running for re-election amidst the growing scandals of corruption and cost-overruns at the Taipei International Flora Expo and the Xinsheng Overpass project. Not seeming to be conscious of the numerous boondoggles and failed projects of his administration, Ma said that "Hau was as good a mayor as he (Ma) was." ...

China Slaps Taiwan in the Face: Ma Ying-jeou says Relations are at Their Best

Saturday October 31

Taiwan's sometime president, Ma Ying-jeou, continues to live in his alternate universe and has added a new name to the long list describing him. Included in that list are Ma Ying-joke, Ma Ying-jerk, the Phony Pony, Ma Teng (Ma the Toilet)etc. The new name for Ma is the Taiwan Ah-Q. ...

Another KMT Carpetbagger Symbol Bites the Dust in Taipei

Saturday October 30

The Taipei District Court recently found three DPP Taipei City Councilors (Liu Yao-ren, Chuang Ruei-hsiung and Huang Hsiang-chun) not guilty of defacing and/or destroying a historical Taiwan monument, after The trio had last year climbed up on the Jingfu Gate and white-washed the recently repainted KMT party emblem. ...

Taiwan, as the World Turns; of Course, the Secretary Did It--Again

Saturday October 28

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin is stealing a page from Ma Ying-jeou. Folks in Taiwan will remember how in the past when then Ma was Mayor of Taipei and he was accused of having an extra half a million corrupt dollars in his bank account, Ma gracefully dodged the bullet by saying his secretary put it into his account without Ma's knowledge. ...

Taiwan as the World Turns: Taichung Mayor Jason Hu Turns to Mah-jong

Saturday October 25

Just 3 months after Taichung police ducked for cover as an alleged gangster chief was gunned down in his office, Mayor Jason Hu announced that the crime rate is down. Wow! so quick. What was his solution especially after Taichung Police Commissioner Hu Mu-yuan resigned because of the high crime rate? ...

Bandits and Thieves and Why Ma Ying-jeou Never Passed the Bar Exam?

Saturday October 11

The foreign media which seldom does its homework about matters Taiwan often describes Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou as the Harvard educated lawyer. However, though Ma did attend Harvard Law School, and did graduate from that school with an S.J.D., the fact remains that Ma never did pass the bar exam in the USA where he worked for law firms. (Would that be a reason why he returned to Taiwan?) But then, Ma also did not pass the more difficult bar exam in Taiwan where as a darling of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) he would have had a somewhat more favored status. ...

Taiwan Students to the PRC, "Not in Our House"

Saturday October 09

Kudos to the students of Taiwan's Kainan University who refused to be bullied or intimidated by representatives of the People's Republic of China (PRC)when they insisted that the students not display the national flag at a recent basketball game in Taoyuan. It is refreshing to see that while the government of Ma Ying-joke trips and falls over itself in its attempts to kow-tow to the PRC, the students will stand up for Taiwan. ...

Monkey Chasers Wanted: Must be 45 or Older

Saturday October 09

Every so often something strange and amusing comes up in the papers. Last week there was the announcement by the Kaohsiung City Government that it was looking for some good money-chasers. Unusual to be sure, but in a tight job market who would not at least give it a second look. ...

David Wu, US Congressman from Oregon Sucks up to China

Saturday October 02

You can tell a Congressman's re-election campaign is in deep trouble when he has to openly suck up to China. On September 28, David Wu, Congressman from Oregon waded into a deep morass that he did not need to, unless he was desperate. But that appears to be the situation. Wu called a Press Conference on Sept. 28 to say contrary to US Policy, that the Diaoyutai Islands belong to China. ...