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Taiwanese-Americans
complain of interference
By William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington
A large group of Taiwanese--Americans has formally complained to the White House
about what it sees as US interference in the nation¡¦s recent presidential
elections.
In an open letter to US President Barack Obama, the group expresses its
¡§collective disappointment¡¨ with lapses in the political neutrality of his
administration.
The letter said that despite multiple assurances of impartiality from the US
State Department, ¡§the actions of your administration in the weeks and months
leading up to the election imparted a decidedly different impression.¡¨
Signed by the presidents of twelve Taiwanese--American organizations, the letter
listed a number of instances ¡X including statements by an anonymous White House
official to the Financial Times ¡X that strongly indicated Washington¡¦s
preference for the re-election of President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) of the Chinese
Nationalist Party (KMT).
¡§This series of statements and actions by your administration during a
politically sensitive time led virtually all observers, American and Taiwanese
alike, to reach the unavoidable conclusion that the US government preferred the
re--election of the incumbent administration in Taipei,¡¨ the letter said.
It added: ¡§As Taiwan-born American citizens who learned to cherish liberty and
civil rights after we immigrated, our community has long looked up to the US as
a model for democratic self-governance. It therefore pains us to see the US act
contrary to its own founding principles by choosing sides in another nation¡¦s
democratic elections.¡¨
Mark Kao (°ªÀsºa), president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs ¡X and
one of those who signed the letter ¡X said later that the actions of the Obama
administration amounted to an ¡§external distortion¡¨ of the political playing
field in Taiwan.
He added: ¡§The US needs to be more supportive of our hard-won democracy instead
of undermining it. If the US wants to support democracy in East Asia, it needs
to ensure that the people of Taiwan have full freedom to choose their future ¡X
free from outside interference.¡¨
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