US bill calls for diplomatic ties
　

‘SEPARATE RECOGNITION’: While the resolution is unlikely to be adopted, it would ensure that the issue of Taiwan remains present in the minds of politicians
　

By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER, IN WASHINGTON
Sunday, Jan 11, 2009, Page 3

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.

A similar resolution was introduced in 2005 and 2007 by then congressman Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, who has since retired.

The US and Taiwan have not had official diplomatic ties since 1979 when Washington formally recognized China.

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.

“The introduction of Congressman Linder’s resolution during the first week of 2009 when the new Congress gets back to work is extraordinarily poignant as a reaffirmation of US Congress support for Taiwan,” said Bob Yang, president of the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs.

“Despite the severance of diplomatic ties by the US 30 years ago, Taiwan has flourished as a fledgling democracy with impressive economic achievements,” he said.

“The world recognizes Taiwan as a beacon of freedom. Separate recognition by the US of China and Taiwan could be a model for those nations which seek to align both countries in a mutual co-existing relationship,” Yang said.

Should the resolution ever come to a vote, it would be unlikely to attract more than the 151 ballots from the current members of the Taiwan caucus. It would need a majority of the 435 members to pass the House and would then face even more formidable odds in the 100-member US Senate, where it has not even been introduced.

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.”

Taiwan seeks more flights from PRC
　

TIGHT CAPACITY: Restrictions on the number of flights leaving from Shanghai for Taiwan could affect as many as 10,000 travelers during Lunar New Year

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Sunday, Jan 11, 2009, Page 3

Taiwan is coordinating with Chinese authorities on the possibility of increasing the number of charter flights to and from Shanghai during the Lunar New Year holiday to serve the needs of Taiwanese planning to return home for the holidays, a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official said yesterday.

To meet the expected high demand during the holiday, Taiwanese carriers had previously applied to operate an additional 36 flights to Shanghai, but Chinese authorities approved only 20 extra flights because of the tight capacity at the Shanghai Pudong Airport — a decision that affected the travel plans of about 10,000 people.

TALKS

MAC Vice Chairman Fu Don-cheng (傅棟成), who is visiting China, told Taiwanese media that Taiwan was in communication with Chinese authorities and was seeking the approval of more flights.

There were no similar problem with charter services between Taiwan and other Chinese destinations, Fu said.

Lee Mao-sheng (李茂盛), president of the Taiwan Businessmen’s Association in Shanghai, said the situation mainly affected Taiwanese residents in Shanghai and that the association had recently raised the issue with the Shanghai City government.

QUESTIONS

Although the city government has agreed to increase the number of flights, it remains uncertain how many extra flights would be allowed by Chinese authorities, Lee said.

The nonstop charter flights launched last month between Taipei and Shanghai are no longer required to make a detour through Hong Kong airspace.

Travel time between the two cities is now less than 90 minutes, compared with nearly six hours on the route through Hong Kong.

Cross-Strait charter flights for passengers were first launched in 2003 to transport China-based Taiwanese businesspeople and their families home for the Lunar New Year holiday and back to China.

EVOLUTION

The services were expanded in 2006 to cover the Mid-Autumn Festival and further in 2007 to cover two more holidays — the Tomb Sweeping Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival.

Weekend charter services were launched in July last year and daily charter services began operating on Dec. 15.

Australians flock to Asia majors: ANU
　

ASIA-BOUND: Australian National University said there was a 23 percent increase in the number of Asian studies applicants this year and high interest in Asian languages

AFP, SYDNEY
Sunday, Jan 11, 2009, Page 4

Australia’s Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has helped spark a renaissance in the study of Asian languages, with record numbers of students signing up for Chinese, a major university said on Friday.

“There has been a significant increase in students wanting to study Mandarin, probably reflecting that we have a prime minister that speaks Chinese,” Australian National University’s (ANU) Kent Anderson said.

“But across the board Asian languages are proving popular with students which fits in nicely with the government’s languages program,” the head of the university’s Asian Studies faculty said in a statement.

There was a 23 percent increase overall in the number of Asian studies applicants for this year at the university, with growing demand for classes in Japanese, Thai, Korean and Vietnamese, he added.

Rudd, who became prime minister little more than a year ago, quickly put in place a A$62 million (US$44 million) Asian languages program for high schools.

By 2020 the program aims to have 12 percent of graduates fluent in either Mandarin, Japanese, Indonesian or Korean.

“This is the Asia century, our No. 1 trade partner is China and our No. 1 export partner is Japan,” Anderson said. “It’s in our economic interests, it’s in our security interests to make that kind of investment.”

Rudd studied at the ANU in the 1970s, majoring in Chinese language and history before continuing his studies in Taiwan and going on to become a diplomat appointed to Beijing.

His fluent Mandarin — a unique skill among Western world leaders — has charmed Chinese from President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to Beijing university students and impressed his countrymen since he came to power.

“The growing economy [of China] and the profile given to it by having the prime minister speak Chinese has an impact on the kind of people who are seeing the economic opportunities in China and other regional economies,” Anderson said.

But he expressed concern about a decline in Indonesian studies, which began after the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

With Indonesia being Australia’s closest neighbor it was critical to educate a new generation about the country, but government security warnings against travel there deterred students from in-country study, Anderson said.

Rules are rules

Sunday, Jan 11, 2009, Page 8

Investors usually count on a company’s quarterly or annual financial reports to get a better grasp of the firm’s financial conditions and operating performance. Banks also use the information for credit decisions. Since inventories are among the most important assets many companies have, how they are calculated and booked in a company’s financial report has become increasingly crucial to investors and banks.

A revised accounting rule for inventory booking was implemented on Jan.1. It is known as International Accounting Standards Statement No. 10, and requires listed companies to provide financial reports in a more transparent and accountable manner.

In implementing the rule, the government also hopes to bring Taiwanese companies into alignment with international standards, as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore have all adopted similar measures.

The revised accounting rule has companies measure inventories at net realizable value, which refers to the estimated selling prices minus any estimated costs to complete and sell the goods. Under the old rules, companies would determine the value of inventories by their replacement value — the amount it would cost to purchase the same goods to replace the inventories.

Secondly, the revised rule requires listed companies to book their inventory write-offs as costs of goods sold rather than as non-operating items. It also demands that listed companies list their inventories item by item in financial reports rather than writing them down as a group.

For listed companies, the revised accounting rule helps them reach quality asset appraisals and enhance their inventory management. To those who read company financial reports, the new standards grant them fair access to corporate transparency.

The new accounting standards come at a sensitive time for local companies rattled by a global financial crisis and an economic slowdown at home. While the revised rule will help increase competitiveness in the long term, among companies it has raised immediate concerns of higher inventory impairment losses and gross margin erosion, especially for companies exposed to low gross margins, falling product prices and high inventory turnover days.

On Thursday, the Presidential Office’s economic advisory committee suggested the government temporarily suspend implementing the rule, saying it would negatively affect companies’ bottom lines. Some business representatives also warned the new standards would cause banks to tighten access to credit for companies that report more inventory write-offs.

So far, both the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Executive Yuan have stuck to their guns, refusing to backtrack on their assertions that the new standards would increase financial transparency.

On a positive note, the financial regulator’s resistance to pressure from the Presidential Office and business circles will not create policy uncertainty in the market after the rule went into effect at the beginning of the year.

Moreover, the recent bickering between government officials and companies regarding the timing of the implementation should alert the general public and investors to the importance of inventories, while prompting more companies to act quickly and boldly to adopt the new standards.

The president’s economic advisers have the right to reflect companies’ concerns about the accounting standards, but the financial regulator’s job is to protect investors and maintain market order.

The real impact, if any, of the rule change might not be as significant as local media have suggested. Hopefully implementing the new standards will help restore the public’s confidence in listed companies’ financial books.

Human rights mark closed

Last March, I came back to Taiwan from the US as part of an election observation tour. During the tour, I had the privilege of visiting the Taiwan Human Rights Memorial Park in Jingmei. I have longed to take my parents to the memorial, as it is a place they would appreciate.

I am back in Taiwan this month, and today I decided to take my mom to this under-appreciated memorial that many Taiwanese citizens have never heard of. After an hour’s bus and MRT ride, we arrived there, only to find the place surrounded by yellow tape with a small sign that said it is now temporarily closed for reconstruction. We saw a guard and asked him for further details. All he told us was that the memorial needed to be checked for fire alarms and so on. We asked him when the memorial would be reopened, and he said he had no idea.

It is hard for me to not link the temporary closure to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) taking over the government. The KMT would seek to close the memorial for obvious reasons, as the memorial brings up the KMT’s wrongdoings in the past.

In writing this letter, I want to let all the readers know about this. I personally find it unacceptable and I hope the media will investigate the matter.

JESSIE LIN
Silver Spring, Maryland

Steel doors closing on Taiwan’s democracy
　

By Huang Kuo-chang 黃國昌
Sunday, Jan 11, 2009, Page 8

In January last year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) scored a resounding victory over the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the legislative elections, winning more than 50 percent of the total vote and just below three-quarters of all legislative seats.

Two months later, KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was elected president, garnering more than 55 percent of the total vote. Cooperation between the administrative and legislative branches led to an immediate reshuffle of top positions in the Control, Examination and Judicial yuan.

The major changes to Taiwan’s democracy that have occurred in less than a year are not a reflection of the maturity and vigor that the second transition of government power would imply, but rather of the collapse of constitutional mechanisms for supervising and balancing power as Taiwan’s democracy has its wings clipped and is locked up in a steel cage.

It has been around 300 days since former legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) was reported to hold dual citizenship. Regardless of concrete evidence against her, the government ignored calls to relieve Lee of her legislative status, to recover illegal income made during her terms in elected office and to prosecute her on suspicion of committing criminal offenses. Besides actively backing her, the government never moved past approving her resignation from the KMT.

During the visit by Association for Relations Across Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) to Taipei in November last year, the government violated human rights by resorting to excessive police force to protect Chen. Not only did those in power fail to review their behavior, but prosecutors did not initiate investigations into the case. When the public appealed to courts and the Control Yuan, the government disregarded and sneered at their dissatisfaction. The Wild Strawberry Student Movement has gradually come to an end after being treated indifferently by the politically influenced media.

In September last year, a typhoon caused a landslide near the Maokong Gondola, revealing unknown construction problems. With scant regard for the safety of residents and environmental protection, the Taipei City government began construction of the gondola, calling it an amusement park facility to avoid a legally required environmental assessment.

The gondola finally commenced operations as a means of mass transportation. Faced with this flawed and illegal “achievement” by Ma during his terms as Taipei mayor — which will continue to waste hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money — Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) publicly said that Ma was in no way responsible, and other related organizations have remained silent.

With the government signing several significant agreements with China concerning national development, the legislature chose to remain silent, evading its constitutional responsibility of supervising the government on behalf of the public. While political appointees blatantly violated laws, the legislature chose to forget its own role and power. Many more examples of the nation’s democratic regression can be seen as its mechanisms for checks and balances collapse. The democracy we used to enjoy is disappearing day by day.

The options we are facing now are actually very simple: Slowly fall asleep and die or start to call for a change. The cage may be strong, but if there is any hope of breaking out of it, we should try to do so.

Huang Kuo-chang is an assistant research fellow at the Preparatory Office of the Institutum Iurisprudentiae at Academia Sinica.