DPP condemns China over film festival
　

DOCUMENTARY DRAMA: Beijing protested Rebiya Kadeer's visit to the Melbourne Film Festival earlier this year and now the Kaohsiung Film Festival is attracting its ire
　

By Loa Iok-sin and Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTERS
Saturday, Sep 19, 2009, Page 1

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday condemned China for intervening in the selection of films at the upcoming Kaohsiung Film Festival and voiced its support for the screening of a documentary on prominent Uighur independence activist Rebiya Kadeer.

“Film production, as a form of artistic expression, should be protected as part of freedom of expression without political intervention,” the party said in a press release. “The Taiwanese people have every right to freely choose which movies they would like to see without having to gain permission from the Chinese government in advance — and we will not tolerate the intervention of the Chinese government.”

The DPP’s remarks came in response to a call by the tourism industry in Kaohsiung for the screening of a documentary on World Uyghur Congress president Rebiya Kadeer titled The 10 Conditions of Love at the Kaohsiung Film Festival to be canceled. The festival takes place between Oct. 16 and Oct. 29.

Representatives from the tourism industry said the screening of the movie, along with the visit by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the end of last month, could harm cross-strait relations and the tourism industry in the city, as Chinese tourist groups have canceled hotel and restaurant reservations and visits to the city.

Beijing claims US-based Kadeer is a terrorist and has accused her of inciting unrest in the Xinjiang region earlier this year. China protested Kadeer’s visit to Australia last month for a screening of the biopic at the Melbourne International Film Festival and Chinese directors boycotted the festival.

The DPP yesterday condemned Beijing for using cross-strait economic exchanges as a bargaining chip for political purposes, warning that such a move would only “disgust the Taiwanese” and would be harmful to the development of the cross-strait relationship.

DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), who was elected by the Kaohsiung constituency and was behind the creation of the film festival in 2001 when she was Kaohsiung City Information Office director-general, said that in an ironic way Beijing’s intervention was a “good thing.”

“I think it’s a good thing because it helps Taiwanese realize that the Chinese leadership does not separate politics and economic exchanges, or differentiate between politics and culture,” she told the Taipei Times via telephone. “I hope it helps Taiwanese to understand something.”

Officials at the Kaohsiung City Information Office yesterday said that the city government was still reviewing the plan to screen the documentary.

Later, the city government said in a press release that, after a meeting with hotel operators and travel agencies earlier in the day, it was found that Chinese tourist groups had canceled their hotel reservations mainly because roads leading to popular tourist destinations, such as Alishan (阿里山), had been damaged by Typhoon Morakot and have not yet been repaired.

The rising number of swine flu cases was another reason why many tourists had canceled their trips, it added.

When contacted by the Taipei Times, Deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Lee Yung-te (李永得) said he could not comment on the issue as he had been in South Korea the past few days attending the Asian-Pacific City Summit. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) is in Japan on a business trip and will not return until later today, he said.

John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker who doubles as the party’s vice chairman, yesterday called on the Kaohsiung City Government to rethink its plan to screen the documentary, saying that it would negatively impact cross-strait relations.

“The Dalai Lama’s visit impacted cross-strait relations, but relations can get back on track depending on efforts by both sides to clear away any dark clouds,” Chiang said.

Chiang said that screening the film was a sensitive issue for Beijing and needed to be handled carefully.

Meanwhile, the KMT legislative caucus held a press conference at which they urged Chen and Lee to finalize whether the festival would air the film or not as soon as possible.

“We hope the DPP bears in mind that this concerns not only about politics, but economic development and people’s livelihoods. Deciding to screen the film at the festival will put hoteliers in an even worse predicament,” KMT Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said.

That the hotel occupancy rate in the city has hit a record low was worrying as Kaohsiung was expected to attract more tourists after it staged a successful World Games, KMT Legislator Justin Chou (周守訓) said.

“It’s likely that Chinese tourists will boycott trips to Kaohsiung because of the film festival,” he said.

Wu refuses to apologize over trip to Hong Kong
　

UNCLEAR ACCOUNT: Wu Den-yih struggled to deliver his administrative report amid calls for an apology, and his speech was delayed by 80 minutes
　

By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Sep 19, 2009, Page 1
　

Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday refused to apologize over his controversial trip to Hong Kong he made shortly before accepting the premiership, saying he would resign if he had offered an incorrect account of the visit.

Pressed for an apology on the first day of the new legislative session by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators over the trip, during which he met two members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Wu said: “I should not have to apologize.”

“I would do something to take responsibility if I had lied about anything surrounding the trip … including resigning,” Wu told DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) during a question-and-answer session.

Since assuming office last Thursday, Wu has been bombarded with questions regarding the short trip he made to Hong Kong on Sept. 5, a sensitive time as it was after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had asked him to take the job as premier and before his appointment was announced on Sept. 6.

The issue was further complicated by inconsistent explanations offered by government officials on the purpose of Wu’s trip and the concealment of his meeting with Peter Kwok (郭炎), a CPPCC member, as well as his meeting with the man many see as Beijing’s preferred candidate for the territory’s next chief executive, Leung Chun-ying (梁振英).

Wu admitted that he had met with Leung, but his explanation that it was to discuss mudslide prevention methods was met with skepticism by the DPP.

The DPP has accused Wu of discussing his appointment as premier with Beijing’s representatives and seeking China’s prior approval.

“You first said you went there to find out more about [the Hong Kong administration’s work on] mudslide prevention, but then you said you didn’t, as it [Sept. 5] was a Saturday. First you said you were invited by Leung, but then Leung said you asked to see him. Then you said you didn’t meet with any Chinese officials, but you were pictured talking to Peter Kwok,” DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said.

Prior to the question-and-answer session, Wu struggled to deliver his administrative report amid calls for an apology.

Wu’s presentation was delayed by 80 minutes as DPP lawmakers staged a boycott of the session following his refusal to offer an apology for what they said were his “unclear accounts” of his trip and the “numerous lies” he had told when explaining it.

Flanked by DPP lawmakers holding banners that read: “Liar Yih, Apologize,” “Liar premier, how can you rule a country without honesty?” Wu skipped a large portion of his 15-page statement, polishing it off in just 10 minutes.

Wu raised his voice toward the end of his presentation as DPP lawmakers interrupted him by shouting “liar” whenever Wu talked about what he expected to achieve.

Approached by reporters during the lunch break, Wu said that he “has a clear conscience” about his trip to Hong Kong, so he couldn’t act rashly and offer an apology.

Wu acknowledged meeting Kwok after a picture of them standing outside a restaurant was published in Thursday’s Chinese-language Apple Daily, saying that Kwok introduced a fortune teller to his youngest son.

While the DPP continued to question Wu about the purpose of his meeting with Kwok, KMT Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) said that it was “not a surprise” that Wu went to see a fortune teller.

“It’s no secret that [Wu] has always sought the opinions of fortune tellers when he is at a crossroads. He does this and many people in the south know about it,” Ho said.

Earlier yesterday, Wu denied again that he went to see the fortune teller in Hong Kong himself.

Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) dismissed the allegation made by KMT Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) that Wu’s trip to Hong Kong was disclosed to DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by Mainland Affairs Council official Jeff Yang (楊家駿), the country’s representative to the territory.

DPP spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) also said it was not true.

“Lo’s accusation was not true at all — it is a KMT strategy to blur the issue,” Chao said yesterday. “The controversial thing about the trip is Wu’s honesty and the crisis of confidence in the Cabinet that results. No one should try to blur the focus.”

Taiwan to seek participation in UN specialized agencies

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Saturday, Sep 19, 2009, Page 3

The government has identified two UN specialized agencies in which the nation would seek “meaningful participation” this year, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday.

The two agencies are the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said Wu when fielding questioned filed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chu Fong-chi (朱鳳芝) on the legislative floor.

Wu said the government would seek help from the country’s allies to initiate the proposals this month and write letters to other UN members to seek more support.

Following the opening of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, the General Committee on Wednesday reviewed requests by member nations to include specific issues as supplementary items on the agenda.

For the first time in 17 years, Taiwan has not mobilized its diplomatic allies to request that the world body include Taiwan’s bid for UN membership on the agenda.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) said on Tuesday that while Taiwan will not make a bid to enter the UN this year, it will seek greater participation in UN-affiliated agencies.

An official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who wished to remain anonymous, said last night the ministry would make the proposal public early next week.

SPECIAL MUNICIPALITIES

Meanwhile, in his 10-minute report to the legislature Wu yesterday said four new special municipalities would be created and become operational by Dec. 25 next year as stipulated by the law.

“The Executive Yuan will accelerate efforts to work out measures and regulations to facilitate the upgrading and mergers of seven existing cities and counties into the four new special municipalities,” he said.

The legislature passed an amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法) in April to serve as the legal basis for upgrading Taipei County and merging Taichung City and Taichung County, Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County, and Tainan City and Tainan County into special municipalities next year.

Wu also pledged to push for an amendment of the controversial Assembly and Parade Assembly Law (集會遊行法) after the opinions of all sectors of the public were considered.

Wu cited five priorities for his administration: accelerating post-typhoon reconstruction and strengthening flood-prevention efforts; completing preparations to combat the A(H1N1) virus outbreak; revitalizing the domestic economy and boosting employment; improving cross-strait relations and expanding diplomacy; and promoting the beneficial while abolishing the harmful.

Elaborating on the goal of strengthening ties with Beijing, Wu said the Executive Yuan would seek to enhance Taiwan’s economic exchanges with China based on the “Taiwan first, people benefit” principle.

China cutting too close to the bone

Saturday, Sep 19, 2009, Page 8

Make no mistake: China’s influence over Taiwan’s domestic affairs is growing, and quickly.

The modus operandi is all too familiar. Beijing gets wind of a proposed deal or event, cries foul and a government, company or charitable group that was about to complete a transaction of some sort with Taiwan is forced to renege on the deal.

This scenario has played out hundreds, if not thousands, of times in the six decades since Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) humiliated Nationalist regime decamped to Taiwan, forcing the Chinese Communist Party to declare Taiwan an “inalienable part of the Motherland.”

In the last 20 years or so as China’s economic and diplomatic clout has grown, the small number of countries prepared to ignore China’s threats and seal sensitive deals with Taiwan has diminished rapidly.

It has now reached the point where just one country — the US — is willing to suffer the consequences of Chinese saber-rattling by selling Taipei advanced weaponry. But these days, even in the face of well over 1,000 ballistic missiles and arguably the fastest modernizing military in history, Taiwan’s legitimate defense needs are forced to take a back seat as Washington places more value on maintaining cordial ties with authoritarians.

While Taiwan cannot be blamed for this trend — whether or not other countries are prepared to stare down Beijing’s threats is entirely their responsibility — Taipei is entirely responsible for the latest manifestation of this worrying phenomenon. The problem now is that this enduring international obstacle is beginning to rear its sinister head at home.

The risks of deepening ties with — and hence increased dependency on — China that came with the commencement of unofficial business links in the 1980s have, under the blinkered “China first” policy of the present government, begun to manifest themselves in new and more insidious ways.

The latest incident involves culture. The Kaohsiung City Government is considering pulling the documentary The 10 Conditions of Love about exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer from the Kaohsiung Film Festival after Chinese tourists supposedly canceled bookings en masse.

This is a confusing development, because this approach to the Uighur controversy is most inconsistent with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) embrace of the Dalai Lama last month.

Coupled with evidence that the central government refused foreign aid in the wake of Typhoon Morakot last month until after it consulted Beijing, as well as new Premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) recent meetings with influential Chinese political figures in Hong Kong before accepting his appointment, the question therefore emerges: Who is running Taiwan these days?

The relationship that Taiwan is forging with China and the Ma government’s indifference toward exercising this nation’s sovereignty mean that Taiwan is disappearing from the radar of international credibility faster than even skeptics could have imagined.

Each new deal that central and regional governments strike with Beijing resembles one of the strings that the Lilliputians used to tie down Gulliver: Every new thread, however innocuous in itself, makes it harder and harder for Taiwan to free itself.

That China has influence on the way other countries deal with Taiwan is one thing, but when domestic affairs, be they cultural, economic, political or diplomatic, have to be run past Beijing before proceeding, it’s time for the alarm bells to start ringing.

A denuded bid for the UN harms Taiwanese
　

By Chen Lung-chu 陳隆志
Saturday, Sep 19, 2009, Page 8

‘The ... decision to abandon the nation’s UN bid will mislead Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and give the wrong impression that China has sovereignty over Taiwan.’

The 64th session of the UN General Assembly opened at UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. As an independent, sovereign state, Taiwan has the right to be a member of the world body — a wish and demand of the majority of Taiwanese.

As the previous administration was preparing to promote the nation’s bid for UN membership under the name “Taiwan” in 2007, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), then in opposition, organized a protest against the government’s referendum proposal on joining the body.

Then-KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) issued a statement to the effect that the parade expressed the opinion of the general public and supported equal status for Taiwan in the international community.

Ma’s promises are still ringing in our ears, but since his accession to power, all the political checks he issued have bounced.

Last year, the Ma administration adopted a softer approach by promoting Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in UN specialized agencies” rather than full membership to create diplomatic reconciliation with Beijing.

This year the government made an even bigger change to its approach by abandoning the annual campaign of mobilizing diplomatic allies to request that the UN General Assembly include Taiwan’s bid for UN membership on its agenda, a campaign that started in 1993.

The Ma administration instead bowed to China and asked for its permission for Taiwan to participate in UN specialized agencies as a member that is inferior to an independent state.

Not only is Ma making the nation’s diplomacy dependent on Chinese whim, he has repeatedly muddied issues of sovereignty — even declaring a diplomatic truce with Beijing. This move runs counter to the demands of the majority of Taiwanese and has greatly harmed the nation’s international profile and dignity.

Taiwan has not been a part of China since 1895, and in this time, it has evolved into an independent, sovereign state.

If the government were not to apply for UN membership under the name Taiwan in accordance with Article 4 of the UN Charter, or seek international support for Taiwan’s bid for UN membership through tangible actions, it would fail to demonstrate that Taiwan is a peace-loving country, as well as a sovereign and independent nation that is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China nor under its jurisdiction.

The Ma administration’s failure to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty and its decision to abandon the nation’s UN bid will mislead Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and give the wrong impression that China has sovereignty over Taiwan. In so doing, Taiwan is further pushed into the trap of unification with China.

Taiwan’s bid for UN membership may still have a long way to go, but it is not a mission impossible. As long as we work together in the right direction, our dream will come true.

Chen Lung-chu is president of the Taiwan New Century Foundation.