US cites continued rights abuses in Taiwan
　

CONCERNS: A State Department report said that foreign spouses were targets of discrimination and that arranging marriages tended to treat women as property

By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER , WASHINGTON
Friday, Feb 27, 2009, Page 1

In its latest international human rights report, the US State Department said Taiwan “generally respected” human rights last year, but that human trafficking, abuse of foreign workers, discrimination and violence against women and government corruption persisted.

The report’s biggest criticism of Taiwan concerned violence against women.

“Rape and domestic violence remained a serious problem,” it said.

“Because victims were socially stigmatized, many did not report the crime and the MOI [Ministry of the Interior] estimated that the total number of sexual assaults was ten times the number reported to the police,” it said.

The report cited “strong social pressure not to disgrace their families” as a key reason that prevents women from reporting rape or sexual assault to the police.

PROSTITUTION

Prostitution, including child prostitution, remained a problem, the report said.

“Child abuse continued to be a widespread problem ... Approximately 90 percent of abusers were parents, relatives or caregivers,” it said.

It appears that there has been a “significant increase” over the last year in the number of boys forced into prostitution, it said.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The report also cited Taiwan as a destination for trafficked persons from nearby countries.

“Trafficking in persons continued to be a problem. Taiwan is primarily a destination for Southeast Asian and PRC [People’s Republic of China] nationals trafficked into forced labor or sexual exploitation,” it said.

“Some women smuggled into Taiwan to seek illegal work were subsequently forced to work in the commercial sex industry,” it said.

In addition, the report cited “reports of women being trafficked from Taiwan for sexual exploitation purposes to Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries.”

“Taiwan authorities reported that traffickers continued to use fraudulent marriages as a method for human trafficking, in part because penalties for ‘husbands’ were lenient,” the report said.

The State Department report said that foreign spouses were targets of discrimination both inside and outside the home and said arranging marriages through brokers degraded women and treated them as property.

“Most marriages to foreign citizen spouses were arranged by brokers whose local advertisements were degrading to women,” it said.

ARRANGED MARRIAGES

“Brokers typically flew clients to other Southeast Asian countries where they could choose from a group of eligible women recruited by the broker. This commercialized process likened foreign spouses to property and contributed to their mistreatment,” it said.

“Social and economic marginalization contributed to an abnormally high rate of domestic violence in marriages to foreign spouses,” it said.

CORRUPTION AND JUSTICE

On the nation’s judicial system, the State Department said: “Although the authorities made efforts to eliminate corruption and to diminish political influence in the judiciary, residual problems remained.”

“During the year many political leaders publicly questioned the impartiality of judges and prosecutors involved in several high-profile and politically sensitive cases,” it said.

On the media, the report was favorable, saying Taiwan had a “vigorous and active free press.”

The report can be viewed at www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119038.htm.

New 228 Incident papers released
　

DARK DAYS: The materials include details of the secret sentencing of former national assembly member Chang Chi-lang, later killed by the military

By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Feb 27, 2009, Page 2
　

Academia Sinica yesterday released newly acquired records from government intelligence agencies on victims of the 228 Incident and the White Terror, revealing the government’s close monitoring of academics and political activists, and details of secret sentences given to certain individuals.

The materials, purchased by Academia Sinica’s Institute of Taiwan History last year from private collectors, included informers or intelligence agent reports about the secret sentencing of Chang Chi-lang (張七郎), a former national assembly member who was killed by the military in the aftermath of the incident, and several other individuals who were killed after being falsely accused.

The materials also include lists of names of those suspected of being communists and details of the intelligence agency’s infiltration into political parties and educational institutions for monitoring purposes during the White Terror period.

Hsu Hsueh-chi (?V), director of the institute, said the materials were purchased on the Internet last year and that they would facilitate more in-depth research on the incident from differing perspectives.

The new materials found cover 1,000 228 Incident victims. Following a cross-check, it was found that only 68 of them appear on the 228 Memorial Foundation’s victim list, showing that many victims and their families have never applied for compensation.

The 228 Incident refers to an uprising against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and was followed by a bloody crackdown, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.

Hsu said the materials confirmed that Chang was killed by the military because of a personal conflict with a local government head rather than his involvement in the 228 Incident.

The materials also showed that Chiang Wei-chuan (蔣渭川), brother of Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水), did not provoke political conflict during the White Terror era.

Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), a board member of the 228 Memorial Foundation, however, said except for the information on Chang, most of the new material was not that “fresh,” as Academia Historica also held similar material.

Chen said the 228 Incident carried a lot of political meaning and academic research alone offered limited help when promoting social reconciliation.

Chen criticized the government for acknowledging the responsibility of late dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) for the incident, while still planning to replace the name plaque of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall with that from the original Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to honor him.

Ma promises to uncover truth about 228 Incident
　

By Mo Yan-chih and Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTERS
Friday, Feb 27, 2009, Page 2

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday promised to uncover the truth behind the 228 Incident and said the government should apologize for its past mistakes to eliminate hatred in society.

“I believe we should face the 228 Incident and history, and focus discussions on the issue itself. We should eliminate the hatred and feel sympathy for each other,” Ma said yesterday when attending a symposium at Academia Sinica.

“The truth should be made public, regardless of the controversy it may cause. [Revealing the truth] gives families of the victims the justice they deserve and is what a responsible government should do,” Ma said.

Ma said the government began its efforts to acknowledge the mistakes and offer public apologies over the incident under former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) administration, and he expected the government’s acknowledgment of its mistakes to bring social reconciliation.

Several family members of those murdered, however, erupted into a war of words shortly after Ma left.

Lin Li-tsai (林黎彩), a 228 victim family member, condemned the organizers for refusing to let her inside the symposium during Ma’s speech. She also urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to return its party assets to the public.

Lin’s remarks were not welcomed by other participants, who urged her not to politicize the issue.

Also yesterday, Ma reaffirmed that the government would continue to support the operations of the 228 Memorial Foundation.

Last month, the legislature passed a motion proposed by KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) to cancel the NT$300 million (US$8.6 million) budget for the 228 Memorial Foundation, saying that the Act for Handling and Compensation for the 228 Incident (二二八事件賠償及處理條例), which created the foundation, was a temporary law and should have been abolished seven years after it’s enactment in 1995.

Hung’s move met with strong criticism from pan-green politicians and 228 victims’ families.

“The 228 Memorial Foundation is not only about handing out compensation — it is also researching the incident’s history and educating people about it,” Ma said at a ceremony to inaugurate a special exhibition at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum. “Therefore, the foundation’s operations should continue.”

“As most of the survivors of the 228 Incident have passed away, it’s time for us to find out the facts about the 228 Incident without the involvement of personal emotions,” Ma said.

Ma also said that he would keep his campaign promise to establish a national 228 memorial museum.

“But this should be done only after a law is created to provide a legal basis for the museum’s budget,” he said.

　

Ma Ying-jeou’s 228 balancing act

Friday, Feb 27, 2009, Page 8

Tomorrow marks the 62nd anniversary of the 228 Incident, a tragic chapter in Taiwan’s history that six decades later still divides opinion, and one that will continue to do so until the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) makes a genuine effort to make amends for the crimes it committed during the incident and its protracted aftermath.

As usual, the KMT’s attempts at reconciliation have been left to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who after several years of trying to build bridges with victims’ families can now show his face at memorial events without too much controversy.

Attending as president for the first time, Ma on Wednesday went further than ever before when, at a meeting with Taiwan 228 Association members, he said that dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was responsible for the tragedy.

Even the apparent progress reflected in this admission is questionable, as it contradicts Ma’s comments from two years ago, when defending Chiang, he said “the decision-maker during the incident was not the party’s chairman.”

But it is still hard not to question Ma’s sincerity, when on the one hand he continues his courtship of 228 victims and their families, while on the other he persists in paying annual homage to the incident’s architect on the anniversary of his death. Ma’s argument that historical figures should not be judged by a single event just doesn’t wash.

Ma cannot have his 228 memorial cake and eat it.

Inconsistencies aside, it should be recognized that Ma at least makes an effort to promote reconciliation, even if his words are seldom backed up with action. This is more than can be said for the other ranking members of his party, who are conspicuous by their absence at this time of year.

The families of 228 victims are on the whole a retiring bunch: They do not bay for blood or seek retribution. Many would just like to know exactly what happened to their relatives and who was responsible for their deaths, as such information would help them fill in the gaps and close this tragic chapter in their family histories once and for all.

Yesterday’s release of previously unseen papers is a start, but the KMT also needs to give unhindered access to its party archives and make every document related to 228 available for public scrutiny.

The dilemma the party faces is that doing so would implicate certain party demagogues who remain popular with many Taiwanese, notably Ma’s mentor and former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), who played a key role in collecting and passing on information about dissidents following the incident.

For this and many other reasons, such documents will likely never see the light of day, and the KMT will remain in an awkward position each spring as the opposition makes capital out of the KMT’s reluctance to clean the 228 skeletons from its closet.

Meanwhile, Ma will continue indefinitely with his annual balancing act as he attempts to tiptoe between the minefields of Taiwanese sentiment and KMT arrogance.

CECA a threat to Taiwan’s freedom

Friday, Feb 27, 2009, Page 8

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics reported last week that the economy contracted a record 8.36 percent in the final quarter of last year and is forecast to decline by a historic 2.97 percent this year. This gives further weight to the prediction by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research unit of The Economist, in December that the Taiwanese economy could be the sixth-worst performer in the world this year. However, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) doesn’t seem to understand that he should humbly review his performance, own up to his shortcomings and policy mistakes and apologize to the public.

Instead, Ma chose to alienate himself further from the public by declining to attend the Taiwan Citizen Conference on National Affairs organized by the opposition and calling a financial meeting of Cabinet ministers at the Presidential Office in an attempt to compete with the opposition.

Moreover, he considers a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) with China to be a tonic for the sluggish economy without proposing any other effective measures. He has once again wasted another opportunity to include public opinion in his attempts to revive Taiwan’s economy.

When did Taiwan, the creator of an economic miracle, fall behind the rest of the world economically? It is too much to bear to see Taiwan suddenly deprived of its glory and branded with shame. Job opportunities are rapidly decreasing, and even those who manage to keep their jobs feel deeply insecure over reduced salaries and unpaid leave.

An old Taiwanese saying has it that as long as you are willing to be an ox, you don’t need to worry that there will be no fields to plow. However, following Ma’s accession to power, even those who are willing to work cannot necessarily find a job. The global financial crisis did not occur because the Taiwanese public or enterprises made mistakes, so why should Taiwan be the hardest hit?

A closer investigation shows that one major factor was the transfer of political power. In other words, although the global economic crisis has swept every country, Taiwan was hit more severely because of the government’s inability to rule the country and its flawed policy direction. Its wishful decision to sign a CECA with China serves as the ultimate example of these policy mistakes.

If the ruling party only lacked executive capability, it would not have caused such great misfortune because the public would still be able to find their way out by relying on their own wisdom. But if those in power are opinionated and do not admit that their policies are flawed, they could lead the country to destruction.

Many foreign investment institutions have predicted that Taiwan’s economy will contract this year, with some saying this is because of Taiwan’s excessive dependence on China and that Ma’s relaxation of cross-strait policies to curry favor with China is of no practical use in boosting the economy.

However, not only has Ma failed to examine the disadvantages of depending on China, but he also thinks that Taiwan must sign an economic agreement with China within the “one China” framework to achieve eventual unification.

Even though Ma has time and again denied that signing an economic pact with China will trade away Taiwan’s sovereignty and promised that he will not allow Chinese produce and workers into Taiwan, signing an agreement would make it difficult for Taiwan to unilaterally ban the influx of Chinese products and workers. It is clear that the government has engaged in closed-door political talks with China on the matter.

Even though the Ma administration has stressed that the name, method and content of the agreement have yet to be finalized, it has already announced that signing an economic agreement with China is a fixed policy. This shows that the two sides have already reached a consensus on the principles and details of the agreement.

As for the recent accords on cross-strait direct flights, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) employed various strategies to evade legislative supervision. This time, Ma has clearly stated that he opposes the idea of holding a referendum to decide whether Taiwan should sign the pact with China, so it is likely history will repeat itself.

It is widely perceived that inking an economic agreement with China would be the beginning of de facto cross-strait unification. The Washington Post reported last Friday that signing the agreement “represents an important step toward the possibility of unification of the longtime adversaries.” Although Taiwan has tried to reduce the political impact of the agreement, Beijing has stressed the importance of the agreement to eventual cross-strait unification.

Kenneth Lin (林向愷), a professor of economics at National Taiwan University, argues that regardless of what the agreement is called, signing it is tantamount to de facto cross-strait unification.

Hung Tsai-lung (洪財隆), an associate research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, also considers the agreement “a thorny rose that enhances Taiwan’s dependence on China.”

In other words, an economic pact with China will end Taiwan’s future. The opposition parties must voice their opinion and take the initiative. If the Ma government insists on signing the pact with China, the opposition must take to the streets and propose that Ma be impeached.

Since taking power, the Ma government has never stopped pushing its China-tilted policies even when it has put Taiwan in the way of danger. The Ma administration appears desperate to pin Taiwan’s future on signing an economic agreement with China. It is not being alarmist to claim that signing the pact will be the fall of Taiwan. If we do not act and prevent the government from signing the agreement, we are in danger of becoming slaves of a foreign country.