Soong Mayling's home in spotlight

LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS: A group has demanded that authorities open the main room of Madame Chiang's official residence to the public

By Jewel Huang

STAFF REPORTER

"Tourists were disappointed not being able to see the room that Madame Chiang had lived in."－Lin Chi-sheng, chairman of the Association of Promoting Cultural Preservation

Demand to open the main room of Soong Mayling's official residence in Shihlin has intensified in the wake of the former first lady's death last month,

Members of the Association of Promoting Cultural Preservation gathered yesterday at the Shihlin Official Residence, the former home of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong, who is also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek, to ask Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou to open up the Chiangs' main room.

A small group of protesters waved placards and shouted slogans before fighting with police. The protesters were later expelled from the residence's grounds.

The association took their fight to the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs on Tuesday, displaying a petition bearing nearly 40,000 signatures on the square outside city hall.

Association chairman Lin Chi-sheng said that the association's voluntary tour guides of the official residence had received many complaints from visitors about the off-limits main room.

"Tourists were disappointed not being able to see the room that Madame Chiang had lived in," Lin said, adding that the room was not supposed to be regarded as a "forbidden place" because Martial Law had been lifted.

Ma yesterday promised to process the arrangements and procedures to open up the room as soon as possible.

But Ma said that three prerequisites needed to be settled before the public would be allowed in.

"The city government has to finish repair work on the official residence and make a complete inventory of the items of cultural significance in the room. Most importantly, we have to receive the renovation plan submitted by the Presidential Office, which is in charge of the maintenance of the mansion," Ma said.

Built in 1950, the two-story mansion in the Shihlin Official Residence was the second official residence for the Chiangs -- after they retreated to Taiwan from China in 1949 with the Chinese Nationalist Party's armed forces following their loss to the communists in the civil war.

The Chiangs lived there for 26 years before Chiang's death in 1975.

The Chiangs' residence, including the outer and middle gardens in front of the building but excluding the main room, was eventually unveiled to the public in 1996 when President Chen Shui-bian served as Taipei mayor.

On April 2000, the Cultural Affairs Bureau designated the mansion as the city's 93rd municipal heritage site.

According to Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Liao Hsien-hao, officials from the Presidential Office have contacted the bureau and said an announcement on the opening of the main room will be made in two weeks.

White Terror survivor finds peace in music, religion

By Chang Yun-Ping

STAFF REPORTER

"Our primary mission is to spread the love and grace of God to everyone. Secondary to that, we also want to see positive development for Taiwan."－Judy Linton

After 23 years living abroad following a murderous attack which bereaved her of her twin sisters and grandmother in one of the darkest times of Taiwan's White Terror period, Judy Linton recently released a self-composed music album as an ode to her family and religious beliefs. The album has helped her come to terms with her bitterness and to find the ability to forgive the unknown murderer.

It's been a long and difficult time since Feb. 28, 1980, the day when the 9-year old Linton, the eldest daughter of former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lin Yi-hsiung, was stabbed in her own house in an alley off Hsin-yi Road by a killer who had broken into the house. Her younger twin sisters and grandmother were stabbed to death.

The infamous incident came to be known as "the Lin Family Murder." The motives were believed to be political, as Linton's father, then a democratic movement leader, challenged the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) regime and had been jailed for his participation in the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident, a human rights rally.

Still recovering from her severe injuries, the young Linton left for the US in 1981 with her mother to escape persecution by the KMT.

She says her road to recovery was made easier by simply getting away from her motherland. Hatred and vengeance hardened the heart of the young Linton, who vowed to shed no more tears and wished that one day she could avenge her lost family members.

But Linton's life took an unexpected turn while she was in senior high school. She became involved with Christianity, and through reading the Bible gained the ability to find meaning in her life and unload the burden she had carried.

Linton believes God has worked on her bitter heart and allowed her to let go of the hatred and sorrow.

"My heart was softened through God's love," Linton said.

Although she still carries the scars on her body left by the stab wounds, Linton said she doesn't mind the marks anymore, as she has, with the passage of time, gained confidence through her religious beliefs and learned to forgive the attacker.

Linton, whose maiden name is Lin Huan-chun, studied classical piano from an early age and has competed with many top pianists in several American and International piano contests. She then diverted her interests into gospel music and started to integrate pop elements into her music compositions.

She entered Indiana University in 1990 and later earned a masters degree in teaching English as a second language from Columbia University's Teacher's College in 1995.

Her latest music album, You Are My Most Beloved, is an ode to her family and God with songs composed in pop style.

"I really want people to know what's happened to me since 23 years ago. This is the first time I moved back to Taiwan since I left when I was young. But most people ... still think of me as a little girl in their memory," Linton said, speaking of her reasons for releasing the album.

"A lot of things happened in 23 years and I am a different person. I sort of want to tell my stories through my songs. I do want to say, look, there are very wonderful things in my life and I hope you can remember these things and not just something terrible that happened 23 years ago and forever label me as some kind of victim," she said in a recent interview with the Taipei Times.

"It's actually a fact that I have experienced God's love. I met God and my biggest wish is that people will also experience God's love," Linton said.

The album contains 11 songs with lyrics and melodies that exude brisk, fresh and inspiring feelings.

Linton said she wanted the music to sound fresh so as to differentiate it from the local popular music, which all too often consists of sad love songs, with music videos showing people crying, people's faces looking angry, hopeless or depressed.

Five years ago she was married to Joel Linton, an American Presbyterian missionary. She is the mother of two children and is nine months pregnant with her third child.

Now devoting herself to doing missionary work with her husband in Taiwan, Judy Linton is part of the New Hope Christian Fellowship service.

Taiwan's Presbyterian Church is one of the most active organizations promoting Taiwanese independence, but Linton said this goal is secondary to her preaching service.

"Our primary mission is to spread the love and grace of God to everyone. Secondary to that, we also want to see positive development for Taiwan. We support Taiwan's independence because we speak for the truth," she said.

Linton said news of the many atrocities the KMT had inflicted on this country has not been widely disseminated abroad, and many foreigners are ignorant of the true colors of the authoritarian regime led by Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo.

"The KMT was very good at propaganda. Many Americans actually did not know what exactly happened to Taiwan and they thought Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang were some kind of great heroes. That's just not true," she said.

Asked whether she would one day get involved in politics like her father, Linton responded immediately, saying there is "zero" chance.

"Although what my father's been doing is a great and right thing to do, my major love is music and I'd love to continue it here in Taiwan," she said.

Blue camp trying to stifle talks on change

By Yu Mei-mei

The response from the pan-blue camp to President Chen Shui-bian's plan to write a new constitution has changed over the past few days from describing the proposal as "boring" to stoking fears of a war with China.

The the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance hopes to scare the public into believing that Chen wants to use the new constitution to change the country's name to "Republic of Taiwan."

By creating such fears, the pan-blue camp can stifle discussion about the necessity and legitimacy of a new constitution.

While this may be the most sensible tactic for the pan-blue camp to take ahead of next year's election, a new constitution is key to creating long-lasting peace and stability in Taiwan. The KMT-PFP alliance's argument -- that a new constitution would lead to Taiwanese independence and therefore the risk of war -- is full of coarse predictions and biased mistakes that need clearing up.

First, we shouldn't fight over words. Whether we are amending the Constitution or writing a new one, elements of the current Constitution will remain. Some countries have drawn up constitutions or achieved the same effect by amending the core articles of their original constitution, for example in the Netherlands and Finland. These countries maintained their original national titles after renewing their constitutions.

This shows us that the pan-blue camp's claim that drawing up a new constitution is tantamount to declaring independence or changing the national title is deliberately misleading. Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in its 1999 "Resolution on Taiwan's Future" confirms that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation, and that its name, according to the Constitution, is the Republic of China, there is no need to draw up a new constitution to declare independence for Taiwan.

Second, the question of whether peace in the Taiwan Strait will be maintained is not dependent on the good will of any one side, but rather on the international strategic situation, in particular US attitudes and China's real strength.

In fact, according to China's white paper on Taiwan policy published in 2000, the definition of Taiwanese independence doesn't end at "changing the national title" but includes "indefinitely postponing talks about peaceful unification."

Therefore, the blue camp's promotion of "one China" and the exclusion of the public's right to change the national flag or the national title via a referendum does nothing to protect Taiwan's sovereignty and leaves the country vulnerable to China's traps in the international arena.

If China continues to persist in its "one country, two systems" strategic goal, and Taiwan keeps blindly restricting itself, Taiwan will eventually be peacefully swallowed up by China.

Finally, a new constitution would lead to a deepening of democracy that can reform and protect Taiwan. Taiwan's Constitution is full of contradictions and compromises.

A new constitution could lay the foundations for a peaceful and stable constitutional system, improve the quality of democratic politics and national competitiveness, and allow Taiwan to join the ranks of normal, complete and mighty nations. This is the only undertaking that will protect the existence and development of Taiwan.

In the midst of intense campaigning, I'm not sure whether the pan-blue camp will agree that only those who fight for long-term goals instead of temporary gains will in the end be able to pass the test of history.

Yu Mei-mei is executive secretary of the DPP Strategy and Discussion Group.

Opposition must face up to reality

By the Liberty Times editorial

PFP Legislator Liu Yi-ju pointed out last week that it is very dangerous for the economic growth of our country to be over-dependent on the trade surplus with China. She further indicated that China faces the risks of the yuan's depreciation and a decline in economic growth. After China opens up its banking sector in 2006, the problems associated with excessive loan extensions will surely surface.

However, at the same time, Liu also criticized the government for lacking any policy in response and even being helpless in the face of such problems. The government's new cross-strait economic and trade policies should indeed be examined more closely in many respects. However, the pan-blue camp made even more serious mistakes in relevant policies, hindering the government's ability to adopt the correct measures.

To objectively come up with accurate policies, we must first understand the objective facts surrounding the issues. Some say that economic growth requires four things -- a trade surplus, private consumption, private investment and government expenditure -- yet the government puts the focus of its efforts to create economic growth into generating a surplus, which distorts the structure of the economy. Saying this does not reflect objective theory or reality.

Although the gross income or economic growth are often broken down into the above four categories, having a trade surplus is actually not an independent category at all. Rather, it equals exports minus imports, and imports on the other hand are dependent on domestic consumption, private investments, government expenditure and the amount and nature of exports.

Therefore, accusing the government of focusing too much on generating a trade surplus does not seem right. It is of course the right thing to do for the government to promote exports.

As for the slowing down of various expenditures domestically, which in turn caused an increase in the trade surplus, this is not the government's original intention. In fact, the government's policies on promoting increased domestic expenditure, to some degree due to the passive resistance of the opposition parties, have been incapable of helping economic growth.

As for the trade surplus with China, it should definitely not be seen as China's economy feeding Taiwan's economic growth. The surplus is in large part due to investments in China and an exodus of industries there. The reasons behind the surplus are not only harmful to us, this kind of surplus will not last long either.

For the past two years, Taiwan's notebook-computer industry has been massively emigrating to China. Therefore, some domestically manufactured components had to be exported to China for assembling, increasing the trade surplus. On the other hand, some components typically imported from overseas to Taiwan are now imported to China, where they are assembled. This is not helping Taiwan's economy to grow. Rather, it is taking away our industries.

As a result of the relocation of the factories and the export of notebook computers to China, Taiwan's production, export and trade surplus totals have declined. Many people do not understand this, and actually believe that exports to China and the increase in the trade surplus are helping Taiwan. People who do not know better cannot offer the correct solutions for decreasing dependence on China. Before government officials draft policies, they must fully realize this point.

The government has not done enough, especially when it comes to the inadequacy of public infrastructure, which has made our investment environment less attractive than that of other countries, making it difficult to attract private investments and professional talent. The government's policy to improve the construction of public infrastructure was countered by opposition parties, based on their confused reasoning that we should leave behind massive debts for future generations.

Financial institutions' excessive loan extensions have caused limited growth in loan extensions to the private sector over the past five years, as well as the restrictions on growth in private consumption and investments. The government had planned to improve the situation of financial institutions with a financial restructuring fund, but the idea was similarly countered by the opposition, who used a variety of excuses.

As one can see, while the government's efforts to revive the economy do leave room for criticism, they are not entirely aimless. It is just that their direction has often been blocked by the opposition.

Based on the above, the pan-blue camp's stance of leaning toward China is the wrong way to go. Pan-blue politicians and scholars strongly advocate further opening up investments in China and launching direct cross-strait links.

However, the example of the notebook-computer industry demonstrates that, although opening up investments will lead to an increase in the trade surplus and boost exports to China in the short term, it will also reduce domestic production, employment and economic growth. This will only make Taiwan's economy more dependent on Chinese policies. This is what lies at the core of pan-blue policies. Now that they can see the risks which dependency on China's economy entails, they should change their views.

The government must be even more on guard during discussions about cross-strait policies, to avoid falling into the trap of a "opening-up race."

Too bad that the pan-blue camp is still holding on to the policy of supporting direct links with China. Don't they know that after such links have been established, a lot of the domestic consumption, including traveling and even shopping, will move to China? This indicates that its criticism that the government lacks direction in trying to revive the economy actually better applies to the pan-blue camp itself.

They know only too well that Taiwan's economy is over-dependent on China as it is, yet they still actively support direct links. They know very well how China is soliciting Taiwanese investments using very unfair tactics, yet they still praise Chinese enthusiasm in this regard. They know government expenditure and public infrastructure are inadequate, yet they still oppose expanding the construction of public infrastructure. They know that domestic consumption and investment expenditure have fallen behind, and that the finance industry has long accumulated problems, yet they block restructuring of the finance industry which could rejuvenate the industry and alleviate the potential crises.

The pan-blue camp's contradictory and aimless policies have two primary causes -- one is insisting on the "one China" ideology even if it means sacrificing Taiwan's interests, and the second is the tendency to oppose for the sake of opposing. If these were not the real reasons, then they must not really know where the problems lie.

Among members of the pan-blue camp, Liu is relatively more professional. We hope that she can have the courage to suggest to the pan-blue camp that it should change its erroneous cross-strait trade and economic policies.

As for the government, it should realize the need to demonstrate immunity and resistance to pressure in policy implementation and taking on political accountability. Do not be misled by erroneous beliefs. Choose policies that are in the interests of Taiwan's people.

Chen's overseas trip hailed by political pundits

By Lin Chieh-yu

STAFF REPORTER

"President Chen has proved that his proposal to draw up a new constitution is not just a domestic campaign strategy, but is justified by the international society."－Hu Wen-huei, senior political columnist

The success of President Chen Shui-bian's diplomatic trip to Panama and stopover in New York has won him support from the international society for "hastening a new constitution by the national referendum" as well as proving the concrete partnership between his government and the George W. Bush administration, political observers said.

More importantly, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also stressed that the foreign tour provided a turning point in Taiwan's presidential election campaign, giving Chen the lead over his opponent, the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Lien Chan.

"President Chen has proved that his proposal to draw up a new constitution is not just a domestic campaign strategy, but is justified by the international society," senior political columnist Hu Wen-huei said.

Chen recently returned from his trip to Panama. He received the 2003 Human Rights Award from the International League of Human Rights during his stopover in New York.

Hu said that Chen had been dominating the campaign issues by initiating his referendum proposal in the first half of this year, bringing up the idea of a new constitution in September and establishing a timetable for it in October.

Hu said the opposition parties had criticized Chen, saying that he is using campaign tricks. The US seems to be unhappy with these proposals as well, because they believe it could jeopardize the cross-strait relationship, he said.

"During his 35 minute speech at the international human rights ceremony, Chen compared the history of Taiwan's Constitution to that of the US and justified his proposal for a new constitution by referring to common values," Hu said.

While the US government commented positively on Chen's speech, Hu said the KMT and People First Party (PFP) have demonstrated incredible "rudeness and impropriety" during the president's trip, including PFP Chairman James Soong's  distortion of the truth by saying that Chen had been poorly received and KMT and PFP legislators' attacks on American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairwoman Therese Shaheen.

"This shows that Lien and Soong lack people who understand the international political status. The way their legislators attacked Shaheen will do nothing but hurt Taiwan-US relationships," Hu said.

"If Shaheen was not important, then the opposition need not attack her. The more they attack her, the more highly the Taiwanese community will think of her. On the other hand, if she is considered important, shouldn't the pan-blue camp understand that if Lien and Soong are elected next year, they would have to interact with her. What good does it do to damage our relationship with Shaheen?"

DPP Legislator Parris Chang said that Shaheen fully represented the US government, although she had no experience of serving as a diplomat before she had been appointed as AIT head.

"She has strong backing, that's why she purposely revealed publicly that Bush is [Chen's] `secret guardian angel' to prove that the decision of giving him a high-profile reception had been authorized by the US Department of State. After Taiwan's firm support of the US during the past three years in major international events, such as the campaign against terrorism and the US-led war in Iraq, the US government obviously wanted to completely return the favor to President Chen," Chang said.

"The partnership relations demonstrated by Chen's stopovers in New York and Anchorage have made a joke of opposition parties' criticism," Chang said.

Deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office Joseph Wu said that after Chen took office, he has managed to visit several allied countries in the past three years.

"Chen's trips to these countries have been beneficial, as he managed to use the trips to deal with Taiwan's domestic issues. This time he focused on international relationships, as well as Taiwan's democratic achievements and human rights reforms," Wu said.

Chen has won more support after positive reports in the international and domestic media. A recent poll shows that his popularity has exceeded that of the Lien-Soong ticket for the first time since they declared their intention to run in the presidential election.

"There are two external factors that will affect Taiwan's election. The first is China's action; the other is what the US-led international community believes," senior political commentator Chen Sung-shan said.

"China has made no comment [on Taiwan's upcoming presidential election], and the US has shown its support. This will certainly influence the election," he said.

Quality counts in foreign affairs

Only one day after President Chen Shui-bian returned from his triumphant overseas visit, the icing on the cake in the area of foreign ties was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) surprising yet encouraging announcement that official diplomatic ties have been established with the Republic of Kiribati.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had been right in pointing out after it came to power that the actual number of official diplomatic allies is not the most important aspect of foreign affairs, but that constructive and substantive foreign ties are what matter most. Still, the newly established diplomatic ties with Kiribati is an encouraging breakthrough.

Anyone who doubts the importance of these ties should first understand their background and context -- an ongoing zero-sum battle of diplomacy between China and Taiwan, with China absolutely prohibiting its diplomatic allies from formally recognizing Taiwan.

As a result, most countries have opted for the easy way out, that is, to forego formal recognition of Taiwan while maintaining substantive informal ties with the country. Under the circumstances the importance to Taiwan of each and every formal diplomatic ally goes without saying.

To Chen and the DPP, the establishment of ties with Kiribati is especially significant, since it marks the first formal diplomatic ties entered into during Chen's presidency, after having lost three allies in a series of vicious and deliberate diplomatic assaults by China. Anyone who had hoped that the change of leadership in China, that is, the succession to power by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, would bring China's Taiwan policy into a less hostile era, must have been disappointed.

That China is far from relaxing its foreign affairs assault is demonstrated by its high-handed obstruction of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization earlier this year at the height of the SARS outbreak, the plots to downgrade Taiwan's membership status in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and China's efforts to force other countries to reject Taiwan's new passports, just because the word "Taiwan" appears on the cover.

In recent years, China has also increasingly abused its growing power in the UN to accomplish its agenda. As pointed out by Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien, this year China has mobilized an unprecedented number of countries -- as many as 80 -- to block Taiwan's efforts to place the issue of its membership on the agenda of the UN General Assembly. China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, also succeeded in forcing Liberia to sever ties with Taiwan at a time when Liberia desperately sought the assistance of UN peacekeeping troops to help maintain domestic order.

As for the three countries that have severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan during the past three years, China had even painstakingly timed the break-ups to add insult to injury -- Macedonia right after Chen returned from an earlier overseas visit, Nauru right after Chen took over as chairman of the DPP, and Liberia around the time Taiwan was celebrating Double-Ten Day last month.

Predictably, some opposition lawmakers will try to put a damper on the excitement over the formal ties with Kiribati by questioning whether it was accomplished as part of "monetary diplomacy." Leaving aside the issue that the opposition, as members of the former ruling party, should understand the dilemma and difficulties faced by Taiwan in the sticky area of foreign ties, isn't it also our duty as a member of the WTO, for which the preamble clearly states helping developing and third world countries as a goal, to offer assistance and aid to our developing allies?