Dalai Lama, Ma will not cross paths
　

PURPOSE OF VISIT: The Presidential Office said that because the Dalai Lama is visiting to take part in religious activities, no political meetings would be scheduled
　

By Jenny W. Hsu and Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTERS
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 1

The Presidential Office yesterday indicated that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would not meet with the Dalai Lama when he visits Taiwan from tomorrow night.

The Presidential Office on Thursday approved the visit of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The 75-year-old Dalai Lama accepted an invitation from a group of local government officials in southern Taiwan and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow for a six-day visit. He will visit southern Taiwan, which was battered by a typhoon earlier this month, leaving more than 500 people dead.

Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday the only memorial or prayer ceremony for Typhoon Morakot victims that Ma is scheduled to attend in coming weeks is the national memorial service on Sept. 7, after the Dalai Lama leaves Taiwan.

“Our understanding is that the Dalai Lama’s visit is to attend religious activities ... We will not arrange [public meetings between the president and the Dalai Lama],” Wang said at the Presidential Office.

Wang had said the government’s decision to authorize the visit was based on religious and humanitarian considerations. Ma rejected a proposed trip by the Dalai Lama last December, saying that the timing for a visit was “inappropriate.”

Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), on the other hand, may meet the Dalai Lama, Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said yesterday.

Huang, who served as the Presidential Office secretary-general during Lee’s presidency, said that no arrangements had been made for the two leaders to meet, but Lee and the Dalai Lama had forged a strong friendship during his first visit to Taiwan in 1997.

“I believe the former president would like to meet his old friend, but it will all depend on the Dalai Lama’s itinerary once he arrives,” he said.

The Dalai Lama visited Taiwan in 1997 and 2001.

Beijing on Thursday said it strongly opposed the visit by the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of seeking independence for his Tibetan homeland. Beijing also slammed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), saying it had plotted the trip to rattle the recent cross-strait detente and “not for the sake of disaster relief.”

“The DPP’s evil motives will definitely be opposed by compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Straits [sic],” the statement read.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the visit “should not result in increased tensions in the region,” calling the Dalai Lama a “respected religious leader” who “travels regularly.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday the Dalai Lama would enter Taiwan under a special arrangement that does not require a visa or an entry permit, solving the quandary of how the religious leader would come to Taiwan while dodging the sensitive question of his status.

MOFA spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said that after hours of meetings it was decided that the Dalai Lama, who is deemed solely as a religious leader by the Taiwanese government, will enter Taiwan using his Identity Certificate — a travel document issued by the Indian government to Tibetan refugees residing in the country.

“To streamline the process, we will contact the airline company prior to the Dalai Lama boarding the aircraft. Upon touchdown at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, he will be greeted by National Immigration Agency and Bureau of Consular Affairs personnel who will then escort the Dalai Lama to bypass the regular immigration custom procedure,” Chen said.

Chen said the special arrangement was made because of the urgency and significance of the Dalai Lama’s visit to offer comfort and prayers for the Typhoon Morakot victims.

The leader of the Tibetan exiled government will be accompanied by eight people, six of whom will enter Taiwan in the same manner as the Dalai Lama, Chen said, adding that the other two were Republic of China and US passport holders.

Chen said so far no ranking MOFA officials were scheduled to meet with the Dalai Lama.

Meanwhile, the DPP yesterday reiterated that the Dalai Lama’s visit was purely a humanitarian mission to console Morakot victims and urged critics not to politicize the event.

“The DPP’s take on the Dalai Lama is very simple — he is here to offer spiritual nourishment for typhoon victims and to pray for Taiwan. We ask critics and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] to refrain from interpreting his visit using political logic,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said.

Tsai shrugged off Beijing’s criticisms and repeated her stance that China and pan-blue politicians, including Ma, should not twist a simple religious visit into political ammunition.

“The Dalai Lama is a world-­respected spiritual leader. His high-profile presence in Taiwan will bring much needed comfort to typhoon victims as well as elicit more global attention for Taiwan’s plight,” she said.

Tsai is expected to meet the Dalai Lama at a prayer service next week.

In a telephone interview with the Central News Agency yesterday, Tsegyam, secretary of the Dalai Lama’s office who once served as the Tibetan exile government’s representative to Taipei, said the Dalai Lama hoped to console typhoon victims in southern Taiwan.

The Dalai Lama’s visit is based on the “responsibility and obligation of a Buddhist leader,” Tsegyam said.

New AIT director Stanton arrives in Taiwan for post
　

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 1

The new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), William Stanton, reported for duty yesterday and promised to “listen carefully” to the Taiwanese people to improve Taiwan-US ties based on mutual interests.

Speaking briefly at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon his arrival, Stanton said he was honored and delighted to return to Taiwan after living here more than two decades ago.

“Although I last lived in Taiwan 22 years ago, I have many fond memories, including the birth of my older daughter Kate who was therefore — as I said in Washington recently — made in Taiwan,” said Stanton, referring to his experience of studying Chinese in Taipei between 1986 and 1987.

“With virtually no natural resources other than the intelligence and hard work of its people, [Taiwan] is now the 26th largest economy in the world,” Stanton said, calling Taiwan an “economic miracle.”

DEMOCRATIZATION

Stanton, who assumed the post vacated by Stephen Young, also applauded Taiwan’s democratization, recalling that the country was still under martial law when he lived here.

“Now Taiwan is a vibrant democracy built on the foundation of a civil society of the people and non-government organizations. This is an impressive achievement that the people of Taiwan can be proud of,” he said.

ISSUES

Some of the pertinent issues that he expected to tackle during his three years in office include convincing Taiwan to allow a comprehensive opening to US beef, Taiwan’s petition to be included in the US visa-waiver program and US arms sales to Taiwan.

Stanton’s most recent assignment was as deputy chief of the US embassy in South Korea. He also served as Charge d’Affaires ad interim and as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Canberra, Australia.

DPP firm on changing referendum law
　

By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 3
　

“We can safely conclude that the members of the review committee are either ultra-conservative or hold biased political opinions.”— Tsai Ing-wen, DPP chairperson

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will do whatever it takes to create a more comprehensive referendum law, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.

She said the government’s decision on Thursday to veto the party’s petition to launch a referendum on a cross-strait trade pact was “disappointing” and “unacceptable.”

The DPP will appeal the decision and demand a constitutional interpretation if necessary, she said at a press conference in Taipei.

On Thursday, the Executive Yuan’s Referendum Review Committee rejected the DPP’s petition for a referendum on the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) that the government plans to ink with Beijing.

The DPP had hoped to have the nation’s voters answer the question: “Do you agree that the government should put the ECFA that Taiwan signs with China to a referendum?”

Of the 19 members of the 21-member committee who attended Thursday’s review, only four voted in favor of the DPP’s proposal, while two abstained and the rest voted to reject it on the grounds that it is based on a hypothetical situation that does not meet the criteria of the Referendum Act (公投法).

Tsai rejected this line of thinking, saying that holding a referendum on a trade pact that poses potential threats to local industries one year after it goes into effect would be “too little, too late.”

“We can safely conclude that the members of the review committee are either ultra-conservative or hold biased political opinions,” Tsai said, adding that the purpose behind the DPP’s proposal was to highlight the shortcomings of the current Referendum Act.

The crux of the DPP petition, she said, was to urge the government to voluntarily hold referendums on major issues, such as an ECFA, that affect the livelihood of every person in Taiwan.

The ECFA is more than an economic trade deal, and touches upon Taiwan’s status as a sovereign nation, she said.

Also attending the press ­conference, Taiwan Solidarity Union ­Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said he suspected the committee was pressured to object to the DPP’s petition to offset the wrath of Beijing about the Dalai Lama’s upcoming visit.

Huang said that if Penghu County can be allowed to hold a referendum on building casinos on the island, it made no sense for the government to block a referendum on an agreement that could affect the lives of all Taiwanese people.

China blames DPP over Dalai Lama
　

‘RESOLUTE OPPOSITION’: Beijing is unlikely to fall for the ‘DPP’s plot’ to invite the Tibetan leader, and will not hold his visit against Ma Ying-jeou, experts said

AFP , BEIJING
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 3

The Dalai Lama’s trip to Taiwan is bound to upset China, but Beijing will likely seek to avoid lasting damage to its warming ties with Taipei, analysts said yesterday.

China’s initial comments about the visit by Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader have focused on the fact that he was invited by members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — not the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government. This could allow China to go easy on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is struggling to overcome criticism of his handling of this month’s devastating typhoon, which left at least 543 people dead, experts said.

“The mainland will watch the situation carefully and earnestly take Taiwan’s internal situation into consideration,” said Wu Neng­yuan (吳能遠), a Taiwan expert at China’s Fujian Academy of Social Sciences. “It won’t fall for the DPP’s plot.”

Liao Da-chi (廖達琪), a political science professor at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University, agreed, saying the absence of any mention of Ma’s ruling party in China’s official reaction was not a coincidence.

“Judging from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office’s [TAO] reaction, which criticized the DPP but left out the KMT, there’s some mutual trust between the two sides,” she said.

The Dalai Lama, who is expected in Taiwan late tomorrow, was invited by seven mayors and local government chiefs from the DPP.

The TAO issued a statement on Thursday after Ma approved the Dalai La­ma’s visit, voicing “resolute opposition.”

But a spokesman for the office was also quoted in China’s media as singling out the DPP for special criticism.

“When people from all sectors on the mainland are lending a hand to help Taiwan reconstruct and overcome the typhoon disaster quickly, some DPP members have taken the chance to plot the Dalai Lama’s visit to Taiwan,” said the official, who was not identified.

Beijing routinely reacts with anger whenever the Dalai Lama goes on overseas trips, but this time he is heading for territory that it claims as its own national soil.

Some pro-China media in Taiwan expressed concern yesterday about the possible fallout from the visit following recent improvements in ties between Beijing and Taipei.

“If Beijing would not leave the matter at that, the adjustments in cross-strait relations in the past year would be wasted,” the Chinese-language United Daily News said in an editorial.

But Chinese academics said they believed ties would remain strong, and that Ma was powerless to refuse the visit, given the domestic pressure he is facing over his reaction to Typhoon Morakot, which has been described as weak and tardy.

“Ma dared not say no to the invitation of the Dalai Lama,” said Hu Shisheng, a Tibet expert at the Chinese Institute of Contemporary International Relations think tank.

“He and his Kuomintang [sic] were strongly accused of ineffective disaster relief, so it could be a big political crisis,” Hu told the Global Times.

Xiong Kunxin, an expert on ethnic minority issues at China’s Minzu University, told reporters: “I still have confidence. Whether it’s Taiwan or the mainland, I don’t think we’ll end up in a deadlocked situation just because the Dalai Lama visits.”

Thousands say goodbye to Kennedy

AFP , BOSTON
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 7
　

Edward Kennedy’s body lay in state at his beloved hometown of Boston for the second day yesterday, as thousands of people kept pouring in to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library to bid a final farewell to the legendary senator.

Within an hour of the line opening to the public on the first of two days of wake on Thursday, 12,000 people had come to pay their respects to the liberal “lion of the Senate,” a number that nearly doubled in the late-night hours, Kennedy’s office said.

Young, old, black, white and the handicapped made up the diverse throng, all of them waiting patiently. As night fell, Kennedy’s widow, Vicki, was among family members who stood by the flag-drapped coffin and shook the hands of the public.

“We just wanted to pay our respects and say thanks for all he has done,” said Trisha McLaughlin, 40, said as she pushed her 80-year-old mother forward in a wheelchair.

The body of Kennedy began its final journey on Thursday in the Cape Cod resort of Hyannis Port. The coffin departed the town in a hearse escorted by a convoy of police, black limousines and a bus carrying 85 Kennedy family members.

When the motorcade arrived in Boston, cheers and clapping from well wishers broke out. At City Hall, a huge US flag was unfurled and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino rang a bell 47 times, marking each of the years that the 77-year old Kennedy served in the Senate.

Morakot turns the screws

Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 8

Pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to slow the cross-strait negotiations juggernaut had become very uncomfortable. Outflanked, disorientated and unable to convince the public that a closer economic relationship with China is cause for suspicion, the party has been given an extraordinary boost — and an opportunity — by Typhoon Morakot.

The boost comes from the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) deflating trust in its capacity to govern. The government’s ongoing challenge will be to juggle the profoundly difficult task of recovery from a natural disaster and the unpredictability of cross-strait negotiations — and not let both come crashing down in flames.

The first of the two tasks is daunting enough. Before reconstruction legislation had even passed, the worst affected of those in the disaster zone indicated that they would not stand for being uprooted and replanted wherever the government sees fit — which is precisely what the law now allows for. The environmental fallout of the storm will also be apparent every time there is heavy rain or a significant earthquake in southern and central regions, and the government will be held responsible if nothing is done — or if something is done that worsens the situation.

China has likely sensed that Ma is in deep trouble and, for fear of weakening its own hand, has responded to the hastily approved visit of the Dalai Lama this weekend with relative restraint. But such restraint reflects strategy, not respect; it masks the impatience of a government that wants results in the space of months or a few years, a timeframe that pro-China elements would now be feeling all too keenly given that Ma’s leadership has been found to be deficient and demoralizing.

The DPP, meanwhile, can take comfort from the fact that it cannot be sensibly accused of exploiting suffering for political gain; at this point, simply letting the government do its thing should be message enough for the electorate.

The DPP, however, does itself no favors by peddling sophistry. In its attempt to combat an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), the party has proposed that a referendum be held asking whether the issue should be put to a referendum.

DPP supporters should be alarmed at this stupidity; endless bickering over referendums within referendums and appeals to the Council of Grand Justices on such ephemera are precisely the kind of misbehavior that drove the public away from President Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) government and his would-be successor, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).

But the bulk of the pressure remains on the president. Matters have been worsened by the open dissent of popular and populist KMT legislators over Ma’s performance, as well as that of Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), who has been rightly excoriated for his obliviousness to the magnitude of the disaster and for lack of basic leadership skills.

National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起), a crucial Ma ally, is also a prime target as legislators with friends in under-fire ministries strike back against what they — and almost everyone else — see as the scapegoating of minor and innocent officials.

Previous open expressions of division within the KMT to this poisonous degree preceded the formation of splinter parties that heavily wounded the party on election day. Although the prospects for an organized, well-funded rebellion against the party machine, soon to be headed by Ma, are remote, and although there is no alternative to Ma personally, it is clear that KMT legislators are nervous.

Ma has a lot of work to do, yet more and more of his colleagues seem to think that he just hasn’t got it.

Everyone’s doin’ the apology shuffle
　

By Johnny Neihu 強尼內湖
Saturday, Aug 29, 2009, Page 8

For Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), being president means always having to say you’re sorry.

This past week has seen Ma and his entourage tour disaster-hit areas to engage in ritual acts of contrition before a seemingly endless number of town halls packed with zaimin (災民, disaster zone victims).

They’ve pretty much got the routine down now: (1) Appear contrite and mumble something about your “deepest regrets.” (2) Execute a group bow of 90 degrees, sufficient for the zaimin to note the thinning hair on your pate, or, if you are Yao Yao (瑤瑤), to blind the zaimin with your cleavage. (3) Hold position for 10 seconds. (4) Conclude with a hearty “Taiwan, jiayou!” (5) Drive to next zaimin town hall. (6) Repeat.

It took a while for Ma and his cronies to get coordinated on Step 2, with TV commentators at first criticizing their group bows as being just as disorganized as their typhoon response.

But after much practice, their moves are looking as polished as F4 — without the gravity-defying spiked hairdos.

I think they’re ready for one of those Chaoji Xingguang Dadao (One Million Star) shows, where a panel of Simon Cowell-wannabes can coach them on the finer points of their apology ditties wherever there’s room for improvement.

But don’t invite Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊). As far as he’s concerned, the “apology shuffle” is about as tired as the Macarena (“It’s so last week,” he was overheard saying, except not in those exact words).

Meanwhile, Cabinet member resignations are coming so thick and fast it’s almost like these guys can’t wait to get out of the government. Oh, wait … they probably can’t.

Yes, it’s the trend du jour — all the cool kids are quitting.

The resignation train includes Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言), Cabinet Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川, widely panned for attending a lavish Father’s Day blow-out the day the typhoon hit instead of, oh I don’t know, monitoring the situation) and Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏).

The foreign minister reportedly also offered to resign, but the ministry later rebutted that. In reality, he’s probably humming to himself that other golden oldie, Should I Stay or Should I Go.

But the musical chairs will have to wait another week or two, insists Ma, until after the typhoon relief efforts have wound down.

In other news, Reuters reported on a coming-of-age ceremony in Tainan, where 16-year-olds crawl around under an altar to symbolize their passage to adulthood. Then everyone stuffs themselves at a banquet.

Here’s the money quote from a local official on the significance of the rite: “It means they’ve grown up, they’re like trees and can’t be blown away by a windstorm,” said Fu Pei-ying, standing director of the city’s culture exchange association.

As my American colleagues would say, “Hello-ooo?” Did old Pei-ying not notice the recent typhoon?

Forget trees being blown down — Morakot toppled a six-story hotel and busted concrete bridges islandwide.

But anyway. No fear: After bungling the response to one crisis, the Ma administration has a golden opportunity to redeem itself by taking strong, swift and resolute action on the next ones: A(H1N1), or swine flu.

So what are they doing? Reported our very own rag:

“The Presidential Office said yesterday that President Ma Ying-jeou has decided for the moment not to activate the national security mechanism in response to the growing threat of an (A)H1N1, or swine flu, epidemic.

“Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said that Ma had discussed the matter with Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), who had asked epidemic prevention experts to assess the situation and make recommendations, Wang said.

“Wang said ... he did not know how long it would take the Executive Yuan to finish the study and make the recommendation.”

Great Scott. The very gang of clowns responsible for dropping the ball with the typhoon now appears to be slinking back for overtime with swine flu.

Would someone do the country a favor, get the old vaudeville “hook” out and yank these guys off the stage?

Forget responding to a genuine disaster; these guys couldn’t respond to a toilet crisis in their own homes. Just imagine:



Ma daughter No. 1: (runs into the living room in a panic) Dad, the toilet’s all clogged up. I don’t know what to do!

Ma: (remains seated, reads the paper) Calm down, dear, I’m sure it’s not that serious. Mr Premier, can you handle this?

(Exeunt Premier Liu, grumbling, and Ma daughter No. 1).

Ma daughter No. 2: (runs in, also panicked) Dad, it still won’t flush! And now there’s turds floating around on top. It’s, like, totally gross!

Ma: (doesn’t look up, still reads the paper) That’s alright dear, just fetch me the manual that came with the commode.

Ma daughter No. 1: (runs in, out of breath) Dad, the premier says he doesn’t know what to do!

Ma: (still reading his paper) Ask him if he’s jiggled the handle.

Ma daughter No. 1: (shouts into the bathroom) Dad says to ask you if you’ve jiggled the handle! (Pause. To Ma) Dad, he says he tried that.

Ma: (annoyed) Well, has he used the plunger?

Ma daughter No. 1: (shouts into bathroom) Dad says “Did you use the plunger?” (Pause. To Ma) He says he doesn’t know where it is.

Ma: (more annoyed now) Well, darn it, tell him he may just have to use his bare hands and—

Ma daughter No. 2: (runs in, interrupting) Dad, I can’t find the toilet manual, what should we — oh my God!

(Feces-laden water inundates Ma household as curtain falls).



At least Ma’s team has retained some shred of political sense: They grudgingly approved a visit by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit typhoon-hit areas. Someone on Ma’s staff must have politely reminded him that his party will, after all, be held accountable by voters in just over three months’ time.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is tight with the exiled Tibetan community in India, must be delighted to drive a wedge between Ma and the Chicoms, who get their dyed-red undies in a bunch at the mere mention of this “separatist.”

You can almost hear the DPP politicians down south singing their own take on a classic tune:



Well, hello Dalai

Well, hello Dalai

It’s so nice to have you

back where you belong.



But forget the Lama. For those who worship at the altar of Mammon — which includes most of us Taiwanese — a much more important spiritual guest has graced the island with his presence: China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou (王建宙).

Yes, the God of Fortune has indeed smiled on Taiwan’s telecoms moguls by sending his blessed emissary — he of the world-beating 500 million mobile subscribers — to make the rounds. Who cares about a few thousand zaimin in southern Taiwan when millions more Chinese are still without a cheap, wireless-enabled cellphone?

Talk about a disaster.

Never fear: Far EasTone Communications is ready to team up with the Chicom telecoms giant to correct the tragic lack of 3G, “e-reading”, soap-opera-downloading handhelds among China’s vast population of ruddy bumpkins. In return, all China Mobile is asking for is a juicy 12 percent stake in the firm.

Sure, Taiwan’s regulations prohibit Chinese stakes in our sensitive telecoms sector.

But after the beneficent one’s (er, Wang’s) audience with the cconomics minister, look for a quiet reversal of that policy in a few months time — when the link with wining and dining Wang ain’t so obvious.

Then, shall ye know, the God of Fortune truly does work in mysterious ways.



Got something to tell Johnny? Get it off your chest: Write to dearjohnny@taipeitimes.com, but put “Dear Johnny” in the subject line or he’ll mark your bouquets and brickbats as spam.