Alex Fai apologizes for campaign mess, quits KMT
　

By Mo Yan-chih and Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTERS
Saturday, Mar 15, 2008, Page 1
　

Democratic Progressive Party legislators hold a silent protest against the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) domination of the legislature during a session in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) yesterday announced he would leave the party after his impromptu inspection of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) campaign office on Wednesday sparked harsh criticism from across the political spectrum.

"I feel terribly sorry that a simple on-site inspection turned into such a mess and damaged the KMT's reputation. I announce that I will hereby leave the party and take full responsibility," Fai told a press conference yesterday at the legislature.

Fai blamed himself for the negative impact on KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) election bid and said he would "consider ending his life" if Ma lost the election because of the incident.

Fai had offered his resignation as party caucus whip late on Wednesday night after he and three other KMT legislators -- Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), Chen Chieh (陳杰) and Luo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) -- barged into Hsieh's Taipei campaign office following allegations that First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) had waived the rental fees for the office.

The legislators, who demanded Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (何志欽) accompany them, soon became involved in verbal and physical clashes with Hsieh supporters, who accused the legislators of trespassing.

Fai said he and his fellow legislators went to investigate a claim by a First Commercial Bank employee that Hsieh's camp had occupied the bank's property for free, but the inappropriate timing of the inspection had given the Hsieh camp an opportunity to attack the KMT over the incident.

Ma and KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday said they respected Fai's decision to leave the party. In response to Fai's suicide threat, Ma said he would spare no effort to win the election.

In an attempt to prevent the incident from affecting his election bid, Ma, who had spent most of the week campaigning in the south, called a press conference yesterday morning after returning to Taipei, at which he bowed and apologized for the incident.

"I offer my apology to Mr. Hsieh, his campaign staff and his supporters once again. I also want to apologize to the public for the disturbance that was caused," Ma told the press conference.

Ma said that the four had exercised their rights at an inappropriate time using inappropriate methods and promised to restrain party legislators from abusing their power if elected next Saturday.

"The KMT is the majority party in the legislature and our legislators should be more cautious when exercising their rights," Ma said. "If elected, I will make sure that the legislature functions well and party reform will also continue. Any members who oppose or refuse to cooperate with the reform will be eliminated during the reform process."

The KMT's Evaluation and Discipline Committee yesterday announced it would suspend the party memberships of the four legislators for a year.

KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said yesterday the incident should be put to rest following Fai's resignation, while urging the Executive Yuan to investigate whether or not Hsieh's camp had occupied the bank's property for free.

In response, Hsieh said he doubted whether the KMT could keep Ma's promise and refrain from abusing its legislative majority.

Only "two-party rule" and "a checks and balances system" could prevent such abuses, Hsieh said.

Hsieh made the remarks at a press conference and called on his supporters to remain calm.

"Ma has offered his apologies and that's enough. The point is we don't want to see one-party dominance become a normal thing. Because when the election is over, people's needs are bound to be forgotten under such a situation," Hsieh said.

Responding to the KMT's allegation that the First Commercial Bank had waived the rental fees on his campaign office, Hsieh's team yesterday called a press conference to publicize the details of the lease.

"The lease clearly shows that we rented the first, second, third and 13th floors and the first level of basement from First Commercial Bank," Hsieh spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said.

Chao said that Ma should ensure KMT lawmakers do not to spread untrue rumors.

When asked for comment, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said how Fai chose to show his loyalty to Ma was the KMT's business, "the public will not be touched."

"Life is precious, take three minutes to reconsider it again," Ker said, quoting Master Cheng Yen (證嚴法師).

Saying that if Ma loses the election it would not be the end of the world, DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said the use of a suicide threat was not in the spirit of democracy.

In related news, Hsieh yesterday morning wore a bulletproof vest for the first time while visiting a Taipei City temple.

A staffer, who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters that the office had recently received an increase in the number of threatening phone calls received.

"Hsieh wore his bulletproof vest at the suggestion of his security agents," he said.

Back at his campaign headquarters in the afternoon, Hsieh took off the vest, joking that he had not yet caught up with Ma, "but it was very close."

Hsieh had previously said that he would wear his bulletproof vest when his support rate caught up with Ma's.

China is the largest small arms supplier to Sudan: report
　

WEAPONS TRADE: As other countries reduced sales to Khartoum, China has filled the gap, selling US$55 million in small arms from 2004 to 2006

AFP, BEIJING
Saturday, Mar 15, 2008, Page 1

China is the biggest supplier of small arms to Sudan following three years of increased sales that helped fuel violence in the African nation's Darfur region, a US-based rights group has said.

From 2004 to 2006, China sold over US$55 million in small arms to the Sudanese government, which then armed the Arab militias accused of genocide in Darfur, Human Rights First said in a report released on Thursday.

"While other countries were decreasing their arms sales to Khartoum, China stepped in to fill the void by providing Sudan with some 90 percent of its small arms during 2004 to 2006," Human Rights First said.

"This makes China the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan," it said.

The group urged China to end its arms trade with Sudan immediately and said the Chinese government may be susceptible to influence in this regard as it tries to project a responsible image ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

Sudan was paying for the arms out of the revenues it received by selling oil to China, it said.

Betsy Apple, a director at Human Rights First, said Beijing's assertions that its arms trade with Sudan was small and that its military supplies were not ending up in Darfur should not be believed.

"So long as it continues to sell massive quantities of small arms to Khartoum, the government of China has created a virtual supply line from the small arms factories in China to the Sudanese government-sponsored militias killing civilians in Darfur," Apple said.

Following a trip to Sudan this month, China's special envoy to Darfur, Liu Giujin (劉貴今), said it was unfair to criticize the Chinese government over its selling of arms to Sudan.

Liu said China was one of seven weapons suppliers to the government in Khartoum.

"In addition, Sudan is Africa's third arms producer behind Egypt and South Africa and is self-sufficient in conventional arms and ammunition," Liu told reporters in Paris.

"The country will always find a way to obtain arms. It is unfair to accuse China," Liu said.

CCW protests legislators' conduct
　

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Mar 15, 2008, Page 3

　

Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) urged legislators to return their salaries to the state coffers yesterday, accusing them of taking too much time off as they prepared to take a week off ahead of next Saturday's presidential election.

"The newly elected lawmakers started their term 41 days ago, but so far they've only been at work for around 10 days," the group's executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said during a protest in front of the legislature yesterday.

What angered the CCW members more was that the lawmakers are taking the next week off to campaign for the presidential election, meaning there will be no more legislative meetings until March 25.

"What does the presidential election have to do with what a lawmaker is supposed to do?" he said.

"A lawmaker is paid NT$180,000 [US$6,000] each month, NT$6,000 per day on average," Ho said. "By the time the presidential election is over, we taxpayers will have paid them about NT$14 million [US$455,000] for nothing!"

The protesters also expressed their disappointment at the level of sincerity legislators and party leaders have shown on making reform within the legislature.

"[Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate] Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] said just this morning that legislative reform is important. But he never agreed to meet with us or sign our legislative reform promise," Ho said.

Ku Chung-hua (顧忠華), chairman of the group, agreed.

"There are more than 30 KMT lawmakers who have not signed the promise -- including the four who were involved in the fracas at [Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate] Frank Hsieh's [謝長廷] campaign office two days ago," Ku said, adding that such disruptive behavior will continue without proper legislative reform.

"We, the voters, should not allow the representatives that we elected to step out of line," he said.

Sijhou demolition suspended
　

CHANGE OF TACK: County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei said that the county government would budget NT$10 million to build a new Aboriginal community

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Saturday, Mar 15, 2008, Page 4
　

The Taipei County Government decided on Thursday to suspend the planned demolition of the riverside dwellings of a group of Aborigines in Sindian (新店), ending a weeks-long dispute over a relocation plan.

During a meeting with a group of Aborigines and activists, Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) promised that the government would not tear down homes in the Sijhou Township (溪洲部落), which resides on the banks of the Sindian River, before it finds a location to build a new community.

The meeting came after county officials forcibly demolished homes of a similar community in Sansia Township (三峽) on Feb. 29.

Aboriginal Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) said at the meeting that many people from the Sijhou Township do not have stable jobs and therefore cannot afford to live in a residential complex in Sansia, as the county government had planned.

May Chin suggested that the county government find another location to accommodate the Aborigines and allow them to take part in the planning of their new homes.

Chou promised that the county government would consult with Sijhou Township members by organizing meetings starting next week and build a community with distinct Aboriginal features.

Chou also said that the county government would budget NT$10 million (US$325,000) to build the new community.

However, Chang Chu-miao (張租淼), a spokesman for the Sijhou Aboriginal Community Self-Help Organization, said the government should respect the residents' wishes to stay in their current location.

"If the county government wants to help, it should respect the rights of Aborigines to choose where they live," he said.

"We hope the more than 200 residents can stay where they are now," Chang said, adding that the land belongs to the Aborigines, not the government, and that they would defend their ancestors' land.

Tibet: Now the debacle starts

Saturday, Mar 15, 2008, Page 8

The portents are bad: The day that the qualifying tournament for the Olympic baseball competition finished in Taiwan was the day that Beijing commenced its violent crackdown on Buddhist monks and other protesters in Tibet and Gansu Province after a week of protests.

Local sports fans may be delighted at the good fortune of the national baseball team, especially in light of its poor performance in previous contests. But for Taiwanese looking at the bigger picture, the thrill should be seriously dampened by the reports of a massive police mobilization, gunfire and burning of buildings in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

Pre-Olympics pressure against the Chinese government over its many ugly faces has focused on its funding and arming of Sudan's murderous government. This pressure is well earned, but in terms of sheer scale, the number of people that Beijing oppresses within its own borders has not received the attention that it deserves.

Until now.

It is difficult to see how Beijing can deal with the disturbances without angering or embarrassing its sympathizers in the West. Its inclination is to use total force to extinguish Tibetan expressions of dissent, but to do so threatens to conflagrate an already delicate domestic mood.

The opposite strategy -- a negotiated solution with Tibetan leaders in exile and religious figures in Tibet -- remains out of the question: Such a concession would be revolutionary and precipitate changes in other parts of the country that would be seen as a threat to the Chinese Communist Party.

The likely approach will fall somewhere in between. A media blackout and selected arrests in monasteries and elsewhere -- but also a concerted effort to minimize the use of violence in more conspicuous locations. The Chinese can afford to exercise restraint, because once the Olympics are over they can resume special treatment for dissidents at any level of violence they choose.

With the British government already expressing concern over the unrest in southwest China, it remains a matter of time before more conscientious governments in the West -- especially those in northern Europe -- begin to juggle the implications of recommending an Olympic boycott to the national Olympic committees.

As for the Tibetans, it is becoming increasingly apparent -- in no small part because of the Dalai Lama's more direct criticisms of Beijing in recent days -- that the Olympics might be their last chance to appeal to the world for something approaching dignified treatment by a government that wants to overwhelm, marginalize and denude them.

The situation is thus likely to worsen until Beijing faces the impossible dilemma of sacrificing either Olympic glory or its self-declared right to molest its national minorities.

There are five months until the Olympics. With this early outbreak of public anger against despotism, the time ahead is bound to increasingly rattle Olympic sponsors, frighten the Chinese government and unnerve even the most mercenary of International Olympic Committee bureaucrats.

For everyone else with a trace of conscience and a grasp of diplomacy, the truth is out: The Beijing Olympics debacle has begun.