2011 - 2nd Quarter
Ma Ying-jeou's "Do Nothing" Promises Deceive Taiwan
A recently released WikiLeaks cable revealed yet another set of Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou's strange and vacuous negative promises that in effect define him as a "do-nothing president," that is, a president who attempts to be a good little boy that will sit in the corner vis-a-vis the US-China-Taiwan triangular relationship and not rock the boat or try to offend ...
The 1992 Consensus, a Fabricated Continuation of China's Civil War
China's Civil War ended in 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and drove them into exile. Call them Diaspora, a rump government or a government in exile, the KMT came and set up a one-party state on Taiwan (then vacated by Japan); there they licked their wounds vowing that they would return and ...
Taiwan's Judicial Reform, the First Step
Taiwan still carries a lot of baggage from its past one-party state days under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). One particularly large piece of that baggage has been the nation's need for judicial reform. This need had been long evident but it could only begin to be met after Martial Law was lifted in 1987. Nonetheless, efforts to address it ...
Ma's Chinese Tourists, Just What Are They Here For?
Before the Pearl Harbor attack, part of Japan's plan was to send tourists to Hawaii to map out where the battleship berths were, where the airfields were etc. etc. and know the whole military layout. From this and other means they were able to build a mock copy of Pearl Harbor and so plan how to attack and do the ...
Anomalies of China? They Keep Mounting.
Tibet has been "liberated" by China for over half a century right? Why then with this grand liberation does China have to close the borders of Tibet to foreigners once again? Such are the anomalies of China or are they? ...
Taiwan's Tao Prepare to Hail Part of Taiwan's Past
Taiwan is an island nation with a rich, past that most are not that aware of. For example, current research is pointing more and more to how linguistically and by DNA Taiwan is the origin of the vast Austronesian Empire that extends from Madagascar to Easter Island. Similarly, Taiwan is seen as the origin of the Lapita Culture that extends ...
Taiwan's Past Corruption under the KMT was Big Time Corruption
Well it seems that if Taiwan's military under Ma Ying-jeou are not running off to China to be buddy-buddy with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), then their past big time corruption under the KMT is coming back to haunt them. ...
More Questions on Just How is Ma Ying-jeou's China Policy Working?
Forget for the moment how Ma keeps telling us that his rapprochement with China is working because Taiwan was admitted as an observer into WHA, but we find out later that WHO had already sent out a letter that Taiwan was to be treated as "a province of China." So how exactly is this working and how exactly is Ma ...
Tales of the Bandits Taiwan-style, the KMT and PFP
Chen Shui-bian sits in jail for supposedly misusing campaign funds and supposedly accepting bribes though it seems now that the Prosecutors brow-beat the witnesses to falsify testimony against him. (One has already admitted to that via his lawyers) Not to worry, on the KMT side of the aisle James Soong who was accused of making off with US$8 million dollars ...
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Verges on Being a "Useful Idiot"
What is it about the US Military that so many of them seem to be totally ignorant of US commitments and policies as well as of the history and nature of China. Last week it was Admiral Mullen, now the latest faux pas came from no other than their leader, the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Gates claimed knowledge ...
Chiayi Man Runs Marathons in Slippers: a Taiwan Miracle in Itself
There are times that one should look away from politics and the troubles of the world and examine the achievements of the human spirit. Such a case is Chen Ching-shun who hails from Chiayi County, Taiwan. Chen started running marathons when he was around 50 years old; now at age 53 he has run 42. That translates into 14 marathons ...
VP Vincent Siew Bows Out, Saving Face for Himself, the KMT and Ma
It has been an accepted fact in Taiwan for the past months that Vincent Siew would not be Ma Ying-jeou's Vice-Presidential running mate in the upcoming 2012 elections. In 2008, Siew had been brought onto Ma's ticket as added value; he helped Ma to keep ties with the old guard Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and he was to give the ...
What Made Nan Fang Shuo Change? Ma's Lack of Core Values?
There are many ways that Ma Ying-jeou and his leadership style have been characterized in the past. Ma has been called the "Phony Pony," "Ma Ying-joke," "The Chameleon on a Wind Sock" etc.; the list goes on and on. A recent interview with political commentator Nan Fang Shuo, published in Mandarin in the "Liberty Times," and then in English in ...
Chiu Yi, Some Pre-election Grandstanding or Will He Carry Through
Chiu Yi normally serves as the KMT attack dog, who because of his position in the Legislative Yuan (LY) has a certain immunity for the wild accusations and slurs that he often fills the air with. (Note also that he is not an elected member of the LY but has a party appointed legislator at large position). But Chiu Yi ...
Another Product of the US Naval War College or What?
Once again we find a US Military officer making a large gaffe in expressing his mis-speaking on how he looks forward to a "peaceful re-unification" of Taiwan and China and totally mis-interpreting the USA's "one China" policy. The case in point was Admiral Mullen USN speaking after the visit of Chinese military brass to the USA. ...
KMT Corruption Still Evident; How Deep are the Police Involved in it?
When will Taiwanese wake up to the numerous ways that the KMT corruption pervades the island? It has been months since the shooting of KMT Sean Lien, Lien Chan's son. The police have made no progress, or do they really want to? Are they afraid what Taiwanese will see as the ever present remains of KMT corruption? ...
Taiwan as the World Turns: Mid-may Mania
Two big items have been keeping the media busy in Taiwan this past week: in one, another KMT official exhibited the haughty, carpetbagger attitude that the KMT waishengren have for things Taiwanese. In the past people like Kuo Kuan-ying, then working for the Government Information Office (GIO) insulted Taiwanese by calling them rednecks who should be happy to learn from ...
How Long Must Taiwan Reap What Others Sow?
There are times in listening to world leaders that one wonders whether they are being simplistic, blind, naÏve, or even duplicitous in their assessment of the world and its economy. A case in point recently came when Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd visited Washington D.C. Rudd chatted with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then spoke at the Brookings ...
Ma Ying-jeou, the Puppet of Beijing
Once again, Taiwan has witnessed that the word of Ma Ying-joke is a hollow as an empty gourd. After years of Ma telling the Taiwanese that he is protecting its sovereignty, that he would not mention independence and that he would not move toward unification, reality exposes his deception. Ma touted that the observer status that he has gained Taiwan ...
Ma Continues the KMT Belittling of Taiwan's Aborigines
Ma Ying-jeou continued to express his Han chauvinistic prejudice in recent remarks to the aboriginal community. It was bad enough to hear his past telling the aborigines that they need to move into the city where they will receive a proper education on being civilized. Somehow he had implied that living in nature and on one's ancestral lands automatically made ...
Taichung, Jason 'Good-Time'Charlie' Hu Dodges One Impeachment Bullet So Far
Taichung, the city where you get the crap that you voted for has continued to have some bad days recently. It seems the chickens have finally started to come home to roost there as noted by recent events. All involved the KMT Mayor of eight years and voted in for another four years who just dodged an impeachment bullet. The ...
Taiwan, the Ma Government Wants the Media to Serve it
Taiwan has recently been facing media problems where the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is using its pan-blue media to run pro-KMT ad-verts as actual news stories. Other pan-blue media are publishing items straight from Xinhua News, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) news organ as if they are regular news. As Freedom House has noted, the press freedom in Taiwan has ...
Taiwan as the World Turns: KMT Legislator John Chiang Wants a Return to Cronyism
In recent developments in the KMT selection process for the legislature, John Chiang lost a close race to Lo Shu-lei. Though Chiang is the illegitimate son of Chiang Ching-kuo and is called "John the Illegitimate by some," he has still used family connections to keep him on the payroll. Now when the good old boy cronyism did not come trough ...
Is the Ma Government Blowing Smoke to Cover its Tracks? Part III
As was mentioned in the previous post, the TECO offices around the world were directed to contact signers of the Open Letter to Ma and both ask them if they really did sign it and that their name was not a forgery; further they were directed to invite them to come in and discuss why they felt that way about ...
Is the Ma Government Blowing Smoke to Cover its Tracks? Part II
On April 10 and 11, 2011, some 34 scholars and writers sent an open letter to Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou. (Reference it by scrolling down below to April 11 to see all the details.) Barely was the letter published, when minions of the Ma government responded in exactly the same way that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of China responds ...
Is the Ma Government Blowing Smoke to Cover its Tracks? What is it Hiding? Part 1
With less than a year to go before elections, the Ma government is claiming that there are some 36,000 missing documents that are unaccounted for between the Chen turnover of administration in 2008 and the present time 2011. They claim this is not political but their explanations are lame. Picture the following. ...
Taiwan: Lies, Lies, Who is Telling the Lies? China News Agency? Joe Hung?
A recent development in Taiwan is the report and/or accusation that Wang Dan the Chinese dissident received some US$400,000 in subsidies from former DPP president, Chen Shui-bian. The report was published without evidence by the China News Agency (CNA), an agency in Taiwan that has steadily been losing its credibility since pan-blue shill, Joe Hung was appointed as its head. ...
Taiwan, Isn't It Time to Rid Yourself of the KMT Carpetbaggers and Their One-Party State Jackals Once and For All?
Ah for the good old days of the KMT one-party state, where carpetbaggers could keep the best positions, land and state assets for themselves and if any dissenting or questioning voices were heard they could be jailed and sent to Green Island. Poor Bo Yang, he spent nine years on Green Island because he published a simple satirical cartoon questioning ...
The Ma Government Continues to Try to Return Taiwan to the One-party State Days of the KMT
In big and small ways, the government of Ma Ying-jeou is trying to squelch any and all opposite and critical thought. It seems they wish to return to their old one-party state days where they tried to control the thinking of the people. The latest development is in the simple matter of the tour guides at the Presidential Palace. ...
Scholars Once Again Question the Ma Government on its Anti-Democratic Abuse of Power
Most people in Taiwan have short memories. For example, the Control Yuan is Taiwan's watchdog agency. It is supposed to be free of political and party bias and influence. The members serve six year terms. They are appointed by the President and approved by the Legislative Yuan. Herein lies the conflict. From February 2005 the KMT controlled Legislative Yuan refused ...
Taiwan's "China Post", Newspaper, is it Turning Red?
Taiwan's China Post (CP) newspaper has long had the reputation of being a "Pan-blue rag" among many in the ex-pat community of Taiwan. The paper originated in the 1950s and somehow seemed to navigate through the long period of White Terror, Martial Law and one-party state rule of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)without ever offending the powers that be. While ...
Ma Wants to be Seen as Predident, but He Really Does Not Want to be Responsible for Anything.
Taiwan once again went through one of those questionable "Say what??" matters as regards its president. Ma Ying-jeou is the one who was "shocked" yes absolutely "shocked" when a half a million US$ got into his bank account. Of course it was his secretary's fault and Ma neither knew anything about it or even questioned it until it became public. ...
Hsu Hsin-liang, a Man for All Junkets
Whether one is blue or green, there is a moneyed side to Taiwan politics that few know about and maybe even fewer want to know about. As in other countries, within that moneyed side are the financers and contributors who look for and support marketers who will promote their vested interests. These contributors search out people who regardless of party, ...