Ma rejects idea of ECFA referendum
　

NOT POLITICAL: The president told reporters in Belize the proposed economic pact would do more good than harm and would not contain any political items

By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER, WITH CNA
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 1
　

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Thursday reiterated his opposition to a referendum on the government’s planned economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, saying it was not necessary because no political items would be included in the proposed agreement.

Ma made the remarks at a press conference in Belize for Taiwanese reporters when he was asked to comment on the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) push for a referendum on the proposed ECFA.

The DPP has argued that an ECFA would tilt Taiwan too far toward China.

“An ECFA with China will do more good to Taiwan than harm,” Ma said.

The signing of an ECFA with China was urgently needed for Taiwan because a free-trade agreement between China and ASEAN will take effect next year, further marginalizing Taiwan and crippling its trade-dependent economy, the president said.

Taiwan cannot afford to ignore that China is its biggest trading partner and the third-largest economic entity in the world, he said, reiterating that the government would push to sign an ECFA this year or next year.

Only issues of greater importance, such as those involving Taiwan’s sovereignty, need to be put to a referendum, he said.

“There won’t be any political items, such as ‘one nation, two systems,’ in the ECFA,” he said.

Stressing that the proposed ECFA was an economic agreement, Ma said holding referendums is time-consuming and expensive, and it would be difficult for the government to operate if it had to hold a referendum on every major policy issue.

“It would be meaningless if referendums were held too often and on less important issues,” the president said.

Ma defended his cross-strait and “flexible diplomacy” policies, saying that Taiwan’s diplomatic breakthrough should begin with peaceful relations with China, and that the improvement of cross-strait relations under his administration would help Taiwan engage in diplomatic relations with other countries.

“We should turn Taiwan from a troublemaker into a peacemaker through reconciliation across the Taiwan Strait,” Ma said.

“Now that cross-strait relations have improved, countries that have developed friendly relations with us can breathe a sigh of relief,” he said.

All foreign aid programs must be carried out in an “appropriate, legitimate and effective” manner, and “honest and decent” diplomacy will earn the respect of the international community, he said.

In Taipei, acting DPP spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) yesterday accused the government of having double standards on referendums.

“Why did the government agree to a referendum on legalizing casinos in Penghu, yet opposed a referendum for an issue relating to national interests such as on the ECFA?” Chao said.

“President Ma should not deprive the public of the right to decide on the ECFA,” Chao said.

The spokesman also said the DPP will soon release its proposal for an ECFA referendum. The party hopes to collect 80,000 signatures to reach the first benchmark needed for a proposed national referendum, he said.

The Referendum Act (公投法) stipulates that the signatures of 0.5 percent of eligible voters — approximately 80,000 — must be collected to apply to hold a referendum.

In the second application stage, 5 percent of eligible voters — approximately 800,000 — must sign the petition before the proposed referendum can be screened by the Referendum Review Committee

South Koreans pay emotional farewell to Roh
　

ANGRY MOURNERS: An opposition lawmaker heckled President Lee Myung-bak as he and his wife paid respects to his predecessor at the Gyeongbok Palace funeral

AP , SEOUL
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 1
　

A sea of wailing mourners filled the streets of Seoul for the funeral yesterday of former South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, whose suicide six days earlier amid a deepening corruption probe plunged the nation into grief and anger.

Heads bowed, thousands took part in a solemn ceremony in the courtyard of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace before the hearse carrying Roh’s body headed to a grassy plaza outside City Hall for emotional public rites attended by a reported 500,000 people. Riot police later moved in as the crush of mourners delayed the hearse from leaving the capital.

Police dispatched some 21,000 officers to quell any protests by Roh supporters who accuse conservative political opponents led by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of driving the liberal former leader to his death with the bribery investigation.

Roh, 62, died last Saturday after throwing himself off a cliff behind his home in the southern village of Bongha. Roh, president from 2003 to last year, recently had been questioned about allegations he and his family accepted US$6 million in bribes during his presidency.

He denied the bribery accusations, but they weighed heavily on a man who prided himself on his record as a “clean” politician in a country struggling to shake a deeply rooted culture of corruption.

The suicide stunned the nation of 49 million, where the outspoken Roh — a self-taught former human rights lawyer who swept into office on a populist tide — was celebrated as a leader for the people and was a favorite among young South Koreans for standing up to Washington.

Though many were critical of his anti-establishment ways, others rallied around his efforts to promote democracy, fight corruption and facilitate rapprochement with North Korea.

Roh “lived a life dedicated entirely to human rights, democracy and fight against authoritarianism,” South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said at the palace funeral. “Our people won’t forget what you accomplished for the country and the people despite a number of hardships.”

Last weekend, Roh supporters refused to let Han and others from the ruling Grand National Party pay their respects in Bongha, with some dousing politicians with water and pelting them with eggs.

Roh supporters have called the probe against him “political revenge,” and posters accusing Lee of driving Roh to his death plastered the walls of one Seoul subway station.

“I’ve never been so ashamed of being a citizen of this country — a country that kills its own president,” said Won Seung-tae, 52, of Seoul. “It feels like we’ve lost all respect in pushing each other to extremes.”

Opposition lawmakers jeered Lee as he and his wife approached the altar to pay their respects.

“President Lee Myung-bak, apologize!” opposition lawmaker Baek Won-woo yelled, jumping to his feet and cursing Lee before security guards hauled him away. “This is political revenge, a political murder!”

A somber Lee looked back momentarily and hesitated before laying a white chrysanthemum on the altar and bowing before Roh’s portrait.

At City Hall, sobbing mourners wore yellow paper hats with images of Roh and waved yellow handkerchiefs as they watched the funeral on large monitors. The plaza was awash in yellow, Roh’s campaign color.

“I respected him. He was a person who never compromised with injustice,” said Chang Min-ki, 30, a yellow scarf tied around his neck. “I feel like I’ve lost everything.”

The funeral procession began at dawn in Roh’s hometown. Villagers lined Bongha’s streets as the hearse blanketed with white chrysanthemums departed for Seoul.

More than 2,500 were invited to a formal ceremony in the courtyard of the stately palace in the heart of ancient Seoul, where Roh’s portrait sat on a bed of 1 million chrysanthemums laid in the shape of a Rose of Sharon, South Korea’s national flower.

Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns chanted prayers as part of the multi-faith ceremony.

Roh’s ashes were to return to his village to be buried with a small gravestone as he wished.

Alleged spy laments ‘bad’ treatment
　

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 3

Chinese tourist Ma Zhongfei (馬中飛), who was released on Tuesday by Taiwanese prosecutors after being arrested the previous day for allegedly spying at an armed forces recruitment center, complained about his treatment in Taiwan in an interview with the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po after his return to China on Wednesday.

In the interview, Ma complained about being handcuffed on Monday and said in a separate call-in to a Taiwanese political talk show that he would not come to Taiwan if he were summoned by court.

Ma, chairman of a high-tech company in China reportedly named Guangdong Sikeda Technologies Co Ltd (廣東思科達信息技術有限公司), came to Taiwan on a nine-day tour and was originally scheduled to leave Taiwan on Tuesday. He left his tour group on Monday afternoon, saying he was going to Sindian (新店), Taipei County, to pay his respects to a deceased Taiwanese friend.

As he walked along Keelung Road in Taipei, he stopped at a recruitment center and took pictures inside the center and in an adjacent military compound that was off-limits to visitors.

Ma was detained for questioning by military police. He was later sent to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and handed over to the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, which ordered his release on Tuesday.

Ma flew to Hong Kong later the same day and spent a night there before returning to his home in Guangzhou.

MA’S VERSION

“I entered the Armed Forces Recruitment Center out of curiosity when I saw the banner advertising a [monthly] salary of NT$40,000 [for a soldier],” Ma was quoted as saying in the interview published on Thursday.

“I’ve always been interested in military stuff,” he said.

“A soldier asked if he could help me and I asked if I could look around and take pictures. He agreed,” Ma said.

Ma said he looked through an emergency exit that had been left open and saw military vehicles parked on the training ground, with some people in civilian clothes jogging. He said he took pictures of that.

“A woman came up and asked if I needed anything. I said I was just looking around. She told me taking pictures was prohibited in that area and got nervous when she detected my mainland accent,” Ma was quoted as saying.

Several military officers rushed to the scene, deleted the pictures and confiscated the memory card in his camera, Ma said.

A colonel surnamed Hu (胡) told him that taking pictures at restricted areas of a military compound was a serious offense and called the police, Ma said, adding that after looking at his passport and asking some basic questions, two police officers told him he could be charged for spying or trespassing in a military compound.

Ma said he was then brought to Military Police headquarters for questioning and was later informed that he would be handed over to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.

‘PRO-GREEN’

“While I was being taken to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, I was handcuffed and a reporter from a pro-green newspaper took my pictures,” Ma told the Wen Wei Po.

“A [Taiwanese] legislator told me that the prosecutor who questioned me [at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office] was a supporter of the green camp and could have informed the newspaper right away,” he said.

After questioning at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, Ma said he was taken back to the Military Police headquarters and spent the night in detention.

On Tuesday, he was handed over to the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, he said. Prosecutor Tseng Chun-tseh (曾俊哲) took Ma back to the recruitment center to reconstruct his movements before further questioning.

“The prosecutor asked if I intentionally went into the restricted area and if I knew it was a restricted area. I said ‘no’ to both questions,” Ma said in the interview. “The prosecutor then gave me my camera back, but kept the memory card.”

“I was then told I was free to go, but [the prosecutor] didn’t explain why,” Ma said, adding that he left Taiwan later that day.

“I’m very upset about how some media outlets tried to portray me as a spy and about being handcuffed while I was transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office,” he said.

Ma also called the call-in show 2100 The Public Speaking Out (2100全民開講) on Wednesday night and said that when the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors’ Office made the decision about his custody, it did not mention anything about him having to return to Taiwan for questioning.

Asked whether he would return to Taiwan to face questioning if that were required of him, Ma said: “Not unless somebody treats me to a meal.”

Activists call for focus on democracy
　

NEVER FORGET: On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, activists are urging Taiwanese to stick to their democratic ideals

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 3

“Twenty years ago, many Taiwanese were in tears as they watched the tanks roll into Beijing and students and residents bleeding on TV ... Twenty years later, it looks like the public suffers from collective amnesia.”— open letter by rights activists

Panning Taiwanese for their “collective amnesia,” human rights activists in Taipei yesterday urged the public to pay more attention to human rights in China as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre approaches.

“Twenty years ago, many Taiwanese were in tears as they watched the tanks roll into Beijing and students and residents bleeding on TV. Taiwanese politicians — in government and in the opposition — condemned the Chinese Communist Party while celebrities sang [for the demonstrators],” several rights activists said in an open letter released yesterday. “Twenty years later, it looks like the public suffers collective amnesia.”

Among the signatories of the letter were Soochow University’s Chang Fo-chuan Center for the Study of Human Rights Professor Huang Mo (黃默), Amnesty International Taiwan chairman Peter Huang (黃文雄) and director Wang Hsing-chung (王興中), Taiwan Association for Human Rights ­secretary-general Tsai Chi-hsun (蔡季勳), Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡), as well as Deng Liberty Foundation executive director Yiong Cong-ziin (楊長鎮) and office director Li Jieh-mei (李介媚).

While the media and governments praise economic development and scenic areas in China, “we seem to forget that, over the past 20 years, this country has been — and still is — ruled by dictatorship,” the statement said.

“Some of the people who took part in the 1989 demonstration for democracy [in Tiananmen Square] are still in jail or in exile,” it said. “At every corner in China, people are being arrested and locked up for speaking for human rights and protecting minorities. Are we still going to turn a blind eye to these developments?”

The activists said the decision on whether to continue monitoring developments in human rights in China was a test of Taiwanese people’s belief in democracy and human rights.

“As citizens of a country that fought hard for its democracy, we believe that democracy and human rights are universal values. As we strive to improve our own democracy, we should also care about human rights and democracy in neighboring countries and stand in solidarity with democracy fighters there,” the statement said.

However, economic interests have gained the upper hand, the activists said, adding that the Chinese government only focused on making money while muting calls for political reform. As Taiwan develops closer ties with China, such twisted values seem to have influenced Taiwanese as well, they said.

“In the atmosphere of reconciliation in cross-strait relations, ‘human rights’ have become taboo,” the statement said. “It would be a betrayal of our democratic ideals if we were to forget about human rights and democracy for fear of upsetting China.”

“As the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre approaches, we call on all Taiwanese to join activists around the world in calling on China to prosecute those who are responsible for the Tiananmen Square Massacre and push for democracy in China,” the statement said.

Taiwanese have Stockholm syndrome: psychiatrist
　

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 3

A majority of Taiwanese continue to suffer psychologically by sympathizing with their former captors, said a Taiwanese-American psychiatrist, who urged them to shake off their condition by recognizing their own worth and value.

Lin Ih-foo (林毅夫), from Hsinchu County, is a psychiatrist in the US and the author of Psychological Analysis of the Taiwanese’s Self-abusing Behavior (台灣人的受虐性格的心理分析), a book that looks at the complex psychological relationship between Taiwanese and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Lin argues that many Taiwanese suffer from Stockholm syndrome, a term coined in 1973 after a bank robbery in the capital of Sweden. Following their release after being held hostage for more than five days, tellers at the bank displayed affection for the hostage-takers.

Another well-known case is that of Patricia Hearst, the granddaughter of media tycoon Randolph Hearst, who was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. Two months after her kidnapping, the 19-year-old became active in the militant group and participated in a robbery.

The argument that she was suffering from Stockholm syndrome was rejected by the courts and she was convicted.

In an interview with the Taipei Times earlier this month, Lin said the syndrome is the result of psychological change in an individual held captive. The victim develops an emotional attachment to his or her captors and becomes hostile toward the rescuer.

The captor is seen as key to the hostage’s survival.

“The victim believes that the rescuers are jeopardizing his or her chances of survival and ends up adopting the captor’s beliefs and value system,” he said, adding that victims will try to protect their captors by showing concern for their wellbeing.

The three elements that contribute to Stockholm syndrome, he says, are a power imbalance that leads the victim to live in a perpetual state of fear.

“The second factor is the isolation of the victim, which leads to total dependence on the captor. The only information the captive receives comes from the captor,” he said.

“Finally, every so often the captor grants favors and the boundary between the captor and the captive becomes blurred,” he said.

Drawing a parallel between the KMT and Taiwanese, Lin said the circumstances and the behavior of Taiwanese are very similar to those of the victims of the bank robbery in Sweden.

“First, there was the 228 Massacre, where people lived in fear for a long time after it happened. Subsequently, there was the Martial Law era. People lived in fear for 40 years and during that time the livelihood of Taiwanese was dependent on the KMT regime,” he said.

Under the KMT and with help from abroad, standards of living improved and the KMT periodically provided “favors” to different interest groups such as the military, government workers, teachers, fishermen, laborers and farmers.

Members of these groups, he said, began to develop an affinity for the KMT. Even after martial law was lifted in 1987, “the machinery of the rulers” remained in place through education, the legal system and the media, which continued to propagate the KMT belief system.

Rather than point fingers at the KMT, Taiwanese sided with the regime while condemning those who opposed the “captor,” Lin said.

“When someone was arrested for speaking out against the government, people tended to say that the person deserved it, that he or she had a big mouth. In their view, the victim was the bad guy and whatever happened to the victim had nothing to do with them,” Lin said.

Many Taiwanese would also jump to the KMT’s defense — even when the party committed things that were against the interests of the public.

During martial law, many people justified government-imposed restrictions that said Taiwanese had nothing to fear as long as they obeyed the rules, Lin said.

Su An-sheng (蘇安生) is a good example, Lin said. Last year, Su, a staunch pan-blue supporter, kicked former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in the rear as the former president was on his way to court. Su also physically assaulted former Taiwanese representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷).

In July, Su was beaten by two men in Taipei. His arm was broken.

“Rather than condemn Su’s violent acts, many people only denounced the violence that was done to him,” Lin said.

The KMT belief system is gaining strength, he said, principally through the use of language.

“Expressions such as ‘cross-strait,’ ‘mainland tourists’ and ‘mainland investment’ send the message that the relationship between Taiwan and China is one between a district and a country rather than two separate countries,” he said.

When the relationship between Canada and the US is described, no one says “this side of the Niagara Falls and that side of the Niagara Falls,” he said.

“People simply say Canada and the US,” Lin said.

From a clinical angle, contemporary Taiwan has a mixed prognosis — also common in sufferers of Stockholm syndrome — given the re-election of the KMT last year, he said.

“While many people’s views haven’t changed, in the past 10 or 12 years we have seen a strengthening of Taiwan-centric consciousness,” he said.

“More attention is paid to Taiwanese history and culture, and a certain sense of pride has developed,” Lin said.

In a normal doctor-patient relationship, the doctor’s job is to show the patient that he or she can lead a good life without help from the captors, he said.

When it comes to Taiwan, however, the “doctor” is the independence movement — the musicians, teachers, authors and politicians who tell the people that they can live a happy, safe and prosperous life as Taiwanese without being absorbed by China.

Despite some visible progress, Lin said the end result remained in doubt.

“It will fall on Taiwanese to determine the outcome,” he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers express optimism in case
　

AFP AND AP , BANGKOK AND YANGON, MYANMAR
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 5

Lawyers for Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed optimism about her case after the only witness allowed to testify for the defense addressed the court in her trial on charges of violating house arrest.

Closing arguments in a case that could send the Nobel Peace laureate to prison for five years are set to be heard tomorrow. The defense has argued that there is no legal basis for the charge that Aung San Suu Kyi had violated the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American swam secretly to her home.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters fear that she may be found guilty because the courts are under the influence of the ruling junta and usually mete out harsh punishment for political dissidents.

But one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers, Nyan Win, said on Thursday night he was “very confident of victory if the trial is carried out according to law.”

The court was in recess yesterday.

The trial has drawn outrage from the international community and Aung San Suu Kyi’s local supporters, who worry that the military junta has found an excuse to keep her detained through next year’s elections.

Her party won the last elections in 1990 but was not allowed to take power by the military, which has run the country since 1962.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s defense team acknowledges that 53-year-old John Yettaw swam to and entered her lakeside home, where he stayed for two days. They argue, however, that it was the duty of government guards outside her closely watched house to prevent any intruders.

Yettaw was taken to Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence on Thursday, accompanied by dozens of police, to reenact before court officials how he entered and left her compound, state-run newspapers said yesterday.

Kyi Win, the defense witness who is a legal expert and a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, highlighted what appears to be the defense’s main argument, that the charge against Aung San Suu Kyi is unlawful.

The charge against Aung San Suu Kyi cites a 1975 state security law, not the more narrowly defined confinement order for her house arrest.

The 1975 law sets out broader penalties and refers to the 1974 constitution, which was annulled when the military took power in 1988. The country adopted a new Constitution last year.

Meanwhile, an international media rights group urged Myanmar’s junta on Thursday to lift restrictions on coverage of the trial, saying the lack of transparency made a fair verdict unlikely.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the military government had been “inconsistent” in its dealings with the media over the trial of the Nobel laureate inside Yangon’s Insein prison.

Breaking ground, against the odds

Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 8

Coherent, durable cross-strait strategy was one of the biggest victims of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) tenure. In this arena, especially compared with his wily predecessor Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) — who outmaneuvered people within his own political party as handily as he brushed off the Chinese Communist Party — Chen gradually weakened his position not only as president but also as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) figurehead.

President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) mandate was therefore able to extend much more deeply into cross-strait detente; the perceived alternative was four more years of asinine slogans, dumb confrontational politics and testy responses from Washington, regardless of the administrative and political reality.

In many ways, the latter part of Chen’s presidency turned out to be more damaging to his political credibility and legacy than his subsequent detention and ongoing trial. Other than demoralizing the DPP, emboldening the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and triggering the reversal of many sound policies, this unfortunate period of governance helped to obscure the profound differences that separate Taiwan and China, not least the former’s steady formation of a new, separate and keenly felt national identity.

It has also helped to mask the consistently mediocre performance of the current Cabinet — from the Nero-like fiddling of Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) and the infantile outbursts of Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) when under minimal pressure to the utter irrelevance of the Sports Affairs Council on every level.

If Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) recent trip to Beijing has demonstrated anything, it is this: The “opening up” of Taiwan to China is a much more complex process and carries a much greater number of possibilities — positive and dangerously negative — than the Chen era made clear.

Unlike KMT figures such as party Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and former chairman Lien Chan (連戰) — whose regular China trips amount to little more than a desire to return to the womb and reattach to the umbilical cord — Chen Chu has helped to open a new front in the debate on how supporters of Taiwanese democracy can engage China’s grim elite and, more importantly in the longer term, ordinary Chinese.

Likewise, the sight of an enthusiastic, eloquent and intelligent woman —- and a former political prisoner — mixing with some of the most powerful regional politicians in that country defies any number of presumptions in China and elsewhere about Taiwan and Taiwanese women in particular.

If this defiance can help to awaken understanding among those Chinese who would prefer to talk about differences with other people rather than suppress them or obliterate them with munitions, then there might just be hope that “cross-strait detente” will not be the Orwellian expression to replace “status quo” prior to annexation.

The domestic angle is just as compelling. It will be interesting to see if Chen Chu’s groundbreaking visit and dignified reception will temper the obsequiousness of KMT officials and force them to behave in a manner more respectful of the grassroots voters they purport to represent.

The Ten Exaggerations

Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 8

Dear Johnny,

The Top Ten Things I Dislike About the Current Government:

10. Although the DPP didn’t fare any better, I’m still irritated every time I see a shitty sign in English that is just plain stupid.

9. Police beat up people, reporters and others; they take people’s flags away and shut down the Sunrise Music Store … and they got away with it “clean” … WTF is wrong here?

8. The government wants to amend the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) to suit its own needs. On top of that, it wants to punish lawmakers who locked the doors to two meetings to vote on the amendment. Truly weird to try and pursue people who were defending a right they have and don’t want to lose. This is already an authoritarian regime.

7. People turning onto a road without first checking to their left. I am not against a driver exercising his right to drive, but please: If I’m going straight and I hit you because you popped out of an alley without looking, then why should I take the blame?

6. Taiwanese need a crash course on what foreigners are and how they differ. We have different cultures, and as a foreigner I have almost eight years of learning under my belt. How many Taiwanese can claim to know about foreign cultures? I’d appreciate a stat on that.

5. I can’t understand this one little bit. Many DPP officials are on trial. Few KMT officials are. I’ve lived here for about eight years, and I know that the proportion is usually 60-40 … nowadays it’s about 90-10. What more needs to be said? Nine out of 10 officials on trial are green!?

4. Allowing more Chinese tourists seems fine. That was my take on things up until this swine flu thing came up. I am very worried that some selfish Chinese tourist will use fever masking medicine and sneak into Taiwan thinking, “I don’t want to spend my vacation in quarantine.” I’m sorry to disappoint my Chinese friends, but honestly many of them are selfish. They should all provide oral samples on arrival!

3. No self-reflection: Although I did find it lame to see the DPP government say it was sorry and that it needed to reflect on its decisions and whatnot, I still prefer this to a government that doesn’t respond to any criticism. The KMT makes mistakes like any other government. Why can’t they admit it just once?

2. Press freedom: Freedom House placed Taiwan 11 spots down this year. Enough said! I wonder how long I’ll be able to write to a newspaper before someone instructs me not to. I also wonder if my i-Report will be shown on CNN.

1. Why does the KMT not understand that they are being pushed into a corner? These plutocrats think that talks with China are so great for business … until the CCP imposes rules that they deem unfair, that is. Then, when you complain, they’ll just toss you in jail like in Russia. Yeah! Shit happens!

T. HARRY
Taipei

Johnny replies: A word from the wise (or wise-ass, if you prefer): straight-faced exaggeration will get you nowhere ... or maybe a media job.

Taiwan’s sovereignty is not a plaything
　

By James Wang 王景弘
Saturday, May 30, 2009, Page 8

Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) lost control when Taiwanese students confronted him in Geneva, where he was attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) earlier this month. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the accusations against Yeh were “intolerable,” so he could understand Yeh’s feelings, while Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said the government had no choice but to accept “Chinese Taipei.” They clearly didn’t know what they were saying.

Their reaction only highlights the guilty conscience of the Ma administration, which is lying in its attempts to gain credit while treating Taiwan’s sovereignty as child’s play.

Yeh said he felt “great” as he participated in the WHA as an observer and acted pleased with himself, while ignorantly claiming it was the first time in 38 years Taiwan participated in a UN “event” despite the fact that the Republic of China (ROC) was still a member of the World Bank and the IMF in 1980. In seeking credit for Ma, Yeh put down Ma’s mentor, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), by ignoring events that occurred during Chiang’s presidency.

The government can be flexible on the title under which it participates in international organizations, but it must uphold the principles of independence and reciprocity. Although Chiang agreed that Taiwan maintained membership as “Chinese Taipei” in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the advice of former US president Ronald Reagan’s administration, he refused to send a delegation to attend bank meetings. When former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) decided to send delegations to the ADB meetings, he insisted that the delegation lodge a protest and cover the title “Chinese Taipei” on their name tags.

Taiwan’s national status is in a special predicament, so participation in international events only makes sense if they are beneficial to the open or tacit recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty. If the way in which the government participates in international organizations implies that Taiwan is part of China, then participation brings disgrace to the nation.

Despite China’s attempts to annex Taiwan, the Ma government goes along with the “one China” framework while Yeh made innane remarks while sitting as an observer at the WHA. The WHO has listed Taiwan as a province of China and included Taiwan’s cases of A(H1N1) influenza under China’s listing. The Ma government sold out Taiwan for participation in an international event.

In 1971, “the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石)” were expelled from the UN and all its related organizations. Yang Hsi-kun (楊西崑), then- deputy foreign minister, told US officials that the wording of UN Resolution 2758 proposed by Albania and 22 other countries was “to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek” instead of “the ROC,” and thus if a future government in Taiwan declared jurisdiction over Taiwan alone, it might easily gain sympathy and acceptance as a member at UN specialized agencies.

Two elected governments — those of former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Lee Teng-hui — declared that the “ROC” was simply the national title of Taiwan, that neither the People’s Republic of China nor the ROC had jurisdiction over the other, and that the ROC was actively seeking international recognition.

Ma, however, restored the party-state system and is conforming to the “one China” framework. He is implementing the “one country, two systems” model according to China’s directives. If Yang knew, he would have heckled Ma too.

James Wang is a media commentator.

A patron deity for each occupation!


Saturday, May 30, 2009,Page 13

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Those in the sex industry worship Chu Pa-chieh, also known as “Pigsy”, while gamblers worship Han Hsin. There are different guardian and patron deities for every profession. Until Aug. 23, the National Center for Traditional Arts in Ilan County will be holding a special exhibition called the Trades and Deities Exhibition. Visit the center to find out who the patron deity of your profession is and their history.

A representative of the center said the saying that “every profession has a god and a founding father” means every profession has its own guardian or patron deities. According to folk belief, if you offer incense, you will be protected. This gives spiritual comfort, and it has become a practice among those who want to get ahead in a competitive profession to rely on the assistance of religion and faith.

Each profession has its own god. For example, Tsai Lun, the inventor of papermaking, is the patron deity for the papermaking industry. Tsao Chun, the Kitchen God, is worshipped by chefs as their patron deity. Sometimes, a god does not watch over one single profession — Lu Ban is the patron deity of both carpenters and builders. After Matsu’s elevation to the exalted level of “heavenly queen,” she became an omnipotent goddess that is not only the patron deity of sailors and fishermen, but also one of the guardian deities of all Taiwanese.

During these tough economic times and contracting markets, many people pray to patron deities to offer protection and help. The National Center for Traditional Arts has therefore set up the Trades and Deities Exhibition to pray to all gods to support all professions and industries.

The recent opening ceremony for the exhibition was attended by Ko Chi-liang, director of the Preparatory Office of the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts, and others holding up tokens reading “May all professions prosper and make lots of money” and then sticking them in a cornucopia of wealth.

Taiwan has many emerging industries and the National Center for Traditional Arts has come up with the idea to create deities for these new professions. For example, what god should the paparazzi worship? The answer is Fu Hsi, the inventor of the Eight Trigrams, or “bagua,” which is also Chinese slang for gossip. Meng Chiang Nu could be the patron deity for the demolition business, because she made the Great Wall of China fall over by crying. These examples are imaginative applications of ancient legends, and the center welcomes you to come up with more ideas for new deities.

Apart from Fu Hsi and Meng Chiang Nu, Mother Yueh, the mother of General Yueh Fei and famous for the tattoo she etched on her son’s back, could become the patron deity for the tattoo business. Matsu had a Dharma Protector called “Thousand-li Eye” who could see the finest details of everything. He could therefore be the patron deity of the photographic equipment business, while those in the mobile phone and telecommunications industry could worship Matsu’s other Dharma Protector, “Wind-following Ear,” because he could hear everything and recognize a person by only hearing their voice.

Detectives could worship Tathagata, who, according to legend, no one can escape. Nazha, who rides on fire wheels, could be the patron deity of the bicycle industry and drivers, while prosecutors could worship Judge Bao, known for his impartiality. The National Center for Traditional Arts said these are creative suggestions for deities and their success will depend on whether those in the related professions will agree with them.

(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON)