DPP criticizes KMT government over stamp name shift
　

By Ko Shu-ling and Meggie Lu
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, May 30, 2008, Page 1

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday slammed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration’s plan to remove characters for “Taiwan” from the nation’s postage stamps, asking if the move was a bid to divert attention from the recent energy price hikes.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on Wednesday issued a statement strongly condemning the DPP government for “deviating from the law and rashly changing the name of the nation from ‘Republic of China’ to ‘Taiwan.’”

The DPP government printed 33 sets of stamps — seven of which have yet to be released — that bear the characters for “Taiwan” instead of “Republic of China.” The first set — a 228 Peace Memorial Day stamp valued at NT$5 per stamp — was released in February. The last of the sets — a ‘Taiwan Aborigine culture’ collection — was scheduled for release on Aug. 1.

Even though the ministry “strongly reprimanded the DPP’s decision to print the ‘Taiwan’ stamps, it agreed, in accordance to the Taiwan Post Co’s [TPC] suggestion, to issue the seven sets of stamps as scheduled.”

A last minute change, it said, would not only be costly, but could also hamper the release schedule and cause a stamp shortage.

Stamps issued after Aug. 1 would carry the words “Republic of China (Taiwan)” in English, a TPC official surnamed Yen said yesterday, not just the “Republic of China” as stamps issued before last February were labeled.

DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said it was a sign of progress that “Taiwan” was being used to identify the country and its state institutions.

Changing the stamps would only increase social costs, he said, adding the country would plunge into confusion the next time there was a transfer of power and the new government wanted to overhaul the stamps.

If the country wanted to see improvement, Cheng said, any change to government institutions must require public debate and go through proper procedures. If the authorities thought they could do whatever they wanted just because they were in power, it would create unnecessary conflicts, he said.

DPP Secretary-General Wang Tuoh (王拓) said a bigger priority for the government should be to stabilize commodity prices rather than changing the nation’s title on national stamps.

It would be unwise to use the incident to divert attention from rising fuel prices, he said.
　

‘Black disease’ threatens Green Island’s coral reefs

STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA
Friday, May 30, 2008, Page 2
　

The coral reefs north of Green Island (綠島), a popular vacation spot off the coast of Taitung where political prisoners were once held, are being threatened by sheets of black sponge that endanger marine life and the ecology around the volcanic island, an expert said on Wednesday.

Calling for immediate action to stem the spread of what he called the “black disease,” Allen Chen Chen (陳昭倫), an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Biodiversity Research Center, warned that the sponges were growing at a rate of about 50 percent a year.

The coral reefs off Kungkuan (公館), on the island’s northeast coast, are the most seriously affected, with 10.91 percent covered by the black sponge, Chen said in a recent study of the Green Island “black plague.”

ORIGIN UNKNOWN

The study found that the black sponges were filled with blue-green algae unlike any other bacteria group seen in local waters, Chen said.

Their origin remained to be determined, he said.

“One thing is certain, however,” he said. “The most severe damage has occurred near the most densely populated areas of the island,” said Chen, who heads a research team that has been commissioned to investigate the matter.

Apart from Kungkuan, the coral reefs off Chaikou (柴口), in the northern part of the island, Shilang (石朗), in the west, and Tabaisha Bay (大百沙灣), in the southwest, have also been affected, Chen added.

Green Island is surrounded by one of Taiwan’s major coral habitats. Chen said he had recorded 168 stone coral strains, six strains of hydrocorals, one organ-pipe coral strain, one blue coral strain and 27 strains of soft corals in the area.

HUMAN THREAT

The diverse coral habitat, however, is under threat from intense human activity, as more than 300,000 tourists visit the island every year.

A significant volume of wastewater is pumped into the sea, Chen said.

To prevent further anthropogenic damage to the coastal waters and the rich and diverse marine ecology supported by the coral reefs, the scientist suggested that a wastewater treatment plant be built on the island.

Nepal celebrates new republic
　

New Era: UN chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed the change, while Washington was cautious as it still views the former Maoist rebels as a terrorist group

AFP, KATHMANDU
Friday, May 30, 2008, Page 5
　

A policeman kicks a man as police disperse demonstrators urging King Gyanendra to leave the Narainhiti Palace in Kathmandu, Nepal, yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Nepal celebrated a new era as the world’s youngest republic yesterday after consigning its centuries-old monarchy to the history books and ordering god-king Gyanendra to quit his palace in two weeks.

In an unprecedented vote capping a peace accord between Maoists and mainstream parties, a new constitutional assembly voted just before midnight on Wednesday to abolish the 240-year-old monarchy and establish a republic.

Yesterday morning, the flag of the Shah dynasty was taken down from the main palace in Kathmandu, which will now be turned into a national museum.

“The royal flag was replaced by Nepal’s national flag inside the palace,” a palace official said on condition of anonymity. “The flag has been changed as part of the government decision to implement a republic.”

The new republic declared yesterday and today national holidays, as supporters sang and danced on Kathmandu’s streets after waiting all day for the vote.

The Maoists, clear winners of last month’s elections, waged a decade of war to overthrow what they view as a backward, caste-ridden structure that kept most of Nepal’s 29 million people living in dire poverty.

They have repeatedly warned King Gyanendra he faces “strong punishment” if he refuses to bow out gracefully.

“The Nepalese people have been freed from centuries of feudal tradition and the doors have now opened for a radical social and economic transformation,” Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara said after the vote.

The country’s press hailed the republic.

“Turning Nepal into a republic is the biggest achievement of the people in the history of this country,” wrote Kathmandu Post editor Prateek Pradhan in a letter to readers.

Many ordinary Nepalese are delighted to see the back of the dour, unpopular king as well as his son and would-be heir, Crown Prince Paras — notorious for his playboy lifestyle.

“There was no development under the monarchy,” said Prakash Karki, 26, a businessman, as he bought a newspaper. “There will be now that the people will run the country.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the vote, saying Nepalese “have clearly spoken for peace and change.”

The US, which continues to list the former rebels as a foreign “terrorist” organization, urged “forward political developments” in Nepal, US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said in Washington.

The vote in the 601-member assembly saw just four lawmakers oppose the declaration transforming Nepal into a secular republic.

“All the privileges enjoyed by the king and royal family will automatically come to an end,” the declaration states, noting that the day will be known as “Republic Day.”

The ultra-left Maoists won over a third of the seats in the assembly and are set to lead the new government, although many remain skeptical of a movement whose loyalists are regularly accused of using violence and intimidation.

And the ex-rebels face a difficult task improving life for a people weary of civil strife.

“Whenever I go out there’s a bomb blast, a strike or a demonstration. These are the daily worries,” said Seema Pradhan, 25, at her family’s neighborhood shop. “I hope they will be able to make things better.”

Is Tibet bad business for China?
　

By Adam Strangfeld
Friday, May 30, 2008, Page 8

When a Chinese security official recently accused followers of the Dalai Lama of organizing suicide attacks — merely the most extreme of a barrage of allegations against the “Dalai clique” — it was as though the Cultural Revolution were still raging. Indeed, particularly where Tibet is concerned, the increasingly sophisticated and pragmatic Chinese leadership seems more like a throwback to the Mao era, with its haranguing propaganda and coercive policies.

Do foreign investors have reason to be worried by all this?

While there is arguably a genuine possibility that the recent protests in Tibet will prompt the authorities to change course, early signs are not promising. So far, the regime has merely applied the same blunt measures that fueled Tibetans’ grievances in the first place. International pressure alone will not change this. Domestic pressure could, but any such opportunity has perished on the battlefield of a public-relations war.

On one hand, some international media painted a black-and-white (and not always entirely objective) portrait of the March violence as a brutal Chinese crackdown on peaceful Tibetan monks. On the other hand, official Chinese media have stoked domestic anger at perceived Western anti-Chinese bias. With nationalist sentiment aroused, few Chinese are asking why the violence occurred.

Of course, the Tibet issue has been around for decades, generally without posing serious problems for foreign investors. But the combination of the first serious unrest in Tibet in almost 20 years and the wider groundswell of criticism being directed at China ahead of the Beijing Olympics has sent businesses and investors scrambling to assess what it means for them, particularly in terms of reputational and ethical concerns.

The Tibet-related protests at several Chinese embassies around the world and during the Olympic torch relay merely provide a glimpse of what is likely to follow. Investors in China must consider their vulnerability to negative publicity and be confident that they can explain their position. Some have already been forced to do so, and many could conceivably be targeted in connection with ongoing campaigns to draw international attention to various human-rights issues ahead of the Olympics.

The most vulnerable firms are generally those with the highest public profile, those making the largest or most visible investments, those that are major sponsors of the Games and those with some specific connection to Chinese government policies in Tibet. The latter group includes extractive and construction-related companies operating in partnership with the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) itself. They face the greatest difficulties, both in terms of distancing themselves from government policies and in countering negative investor perceptions about the viability of operations there in the current climate.

Of course, foreign investment in the TAR is a drop in the ocean relative to that in China as a whole. Activists cannot possibly take aim at all foreign businesses in China, so most firms are unlikely to be specifically targeted or suffer reputational damage. It seems highly doubtful that the tide of international opinion will turn against China to the extent that investors in general are seriously expected to shun the market.

Nonetheless, where firms or industries are particularly vulnerable to reputational issues, image and ethics could be a significant factor in more marginal business decisions (particularly with rising costs and tougher labor regulations already causing some firms to look elsewhere).

Meanwhile, the most recent twist in the Tibet fallout serves as a striking reminder of how China’s newfound assertiveness and clout on the international scene is creating an increasingly complex challenge for foreign companies.

While Western firms investing in China must face the prospect of protest and criticism back home from pro-Tibet campaigners, some companies are coming under pressure in China itself. The big French retailer Carrefour has seen protests at its stores all over China by nationalist activists incensed by the protests that took place in Paris when the Olympic torch passed through the city.

In the current climate, many businesses will find it difficult to avoid becoming stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Adam Strangfeld is research director at Control Risks, an international business risk consultancy.
　

In China, parents’ grief turns to anger
　

Raw public outbursts have been taking place across northern Sichuan Province as grieving parents call for investigations into why so many school buildings collapsed during the May 12 earthquake

By Andrew Jacobs
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, DUJIANGYAN, CHINA
Friday, May 30, 2008, Page 20
　

Bereaved parents whose children were crushed to death in their classrooms during the earthquake in Sichuan province have turned mourning ceremonies into protest events in recent days, forcing officials to address a growing political backlash over shoddy construction of public schools.

Parents of the estimated 10,000 children who lost their lives in the quake have grown so enraged about collapsed schools that they have overcome their usual caution about confronting Communist Party officials. Many say they are especially upset that some schools for poor students crumbled into rubble even though government offices and more elite schools not far away survived the quake largely intact.

On Tuesday, an informal gathering of parents in Dujiangyan (都江堰) to commemorate their children gave way to unbridled fury. One of the fathers in attendance, a quarry worker named Liu Lifu, grabbed the microphone and began calling for justice. His 15-year-old daughter, Liu Li, had died along with her entire class during a biology lesson.
　

“We demand that the government severely punish the killers who caused the collapse of the school building,” he shouted. “Please, everyone sign the petition so we can find out the truth.”

The crowd grew more agitated. Some parents said that local officials had known for years that the school was unsafe but refused to take action. Others recalled that two hours passed before rescue workers showed up; even then, they stopped working at 10pm the night of the earthquake and did not resume the search until 9am the next day.
　

In the end more than 200 bodies were recovered from the school. “The people responsible for this should be brought here and have a bullet put in their head,” said Luo Guanmin, a farmer who was cradling a photo of her 16-year-old daughter, Luo Dan.

Sharp confrontations between protesters and officials began over the weekend in several towns in northern Sichuan. Hundreds of parents whose children died at the Fuxin No. 2 Primary School in the city of Mianzhu staged an impromptu rally on Saturday. They surrounded one female official who tried to assure them that their complaints were being taken seriously, screaming and yelling in her face until she fainted.
　

The next day, the Communist Party’s top official in Mianzhu (綿竹) came out to talk with the parents and stop them from marching to Chengdu, the largest city in the region, where they sought to prevail on higher level authorities to investigate. The local party boss, Jiang Guohua, dropped to his knees and pleaded with them to abandon the protest, but the parents shouted in his face and continued their march.
　

The protests threaten to undermine the government’s attempts to promote its response to the quake as effective and to highlight heroic rescue efforts by the People’s Liberation Army, which has dispatched 150,000 soldiers to the region. Censors have blocked detailed reporting of the schools controversy from the state-run media, but a photo of Jiang kneeling before protesters has become a sensation on some Web forums, bringing national attention to the incident.
　

One of China’s boldest magazines, the business journal Caijing (財經), used its main commentary article in its latest issue to call on the government to step up investigations of shoddy school construction. Xinhua, the official news agency, also issued a commentary saying a speedy official response is warranted.
　

The authorities in Beijing appear to recognize the delicacy of the issue. On Monday, a spokesman for the Education Ministry, Wang Xuming, promised a reassessment of school buildings in quake zones, adding that those responsible for cutting corners on school construction would be “severely punished.”

Local officials across Sichuan have also bowed to the pressure.

In Beichuan (北川), officials announced an investigation into the collapse of a middle school there that killed 1,300 children. Reached by phone on Tuesday, two provincial officials in Chengdu vowed a vigorous response, although they suggested that full-scale investigations should take a backseat to the needs of survivors.

“We are not officially investigating the quality problems in school buildings, but we definitely will, after we finish the temporary lodging for refugees,” said Tian Liya, the party secretary of the Sichuan Construction Bureau’s emergency department.

Gauging from the outbursts of recent days, any delay will only embolden infuriated parents. In their confrontation with Communist Party officials last Saturday, the parents encircled the vice secretary of the Mianzhu city government and called her a liar for her report on the destruction of the Fuxin school that failed to mention that 127 students had been killed.

“Why can’t you do the right things for us?” they shouted. “Why do you cheat us?” For the next 20 minutes they yelled and screamed in her face until she passed out and had to be carried away by an aide.

The next day, the parents directed their ire at Jiang. When his answers proved unsatisfying, they began their march to Chengdu. Jiang dropped to the ground several times and begged them to stop. “Please believe the Mianzhu Party committee can resolve the issue,” he said. They kept walking.

Three hours later, the police tried to intervene. During the ensuing struggle, the broken glass from the pictures of dead children left several parents bleeding. After a tense standoff, the marchers agreed to board government buses that brought them to Deyang, the county seat. There, they met with the vice mayor, who promised he would start an investigation the following day.

“I hope you can be free from this mood of sadness,” Zhang Jinming, the vice mayor, said before sending them away. “The government will make a research team and give you a satisfying result.”

The parents who lost their children at Juyuan Middle School say they have yet to hear from Dujiangyan officials. A few parents said they had been approached by teachers and told they would be well-compensated for their loss — about US$4,500 per child — if they would stop their increasingly vociferous public campaign.

“We don’t want their money, we just want this corruption to end,” said Luo, the farmer, as others nodded in agreement. Many parents said they felt insulted that no one from the school or the government had come to offer their condolences.

The only official presence at Tuesday’s gathering in Dujiangyan was a pair of tanker trucks full of disinfectant, which arrived just at the start of the ceremony. As the parents began lighting candles and incense, a worker directed his hose at the mountain of rubble. The strong smell of bleach drifted over the crowd. Then, perhaps sensing the potential for confrontation, the workers drove away.

The parents were told to group themselves according to their children’s classes, and as they lined up they numbly exchanged stories of loss. “When they pulled my boy out he kept begging for water but then he died,” said Wang Chaoping, holding a passport-sized photo of his 16-year-son, Wang Tinghai. “He wasn’t the best student, but he loved sports.”

Some parents came hugging framed photographs and dogeared achievement awards, placing them on the spot where their sons and daughters died under heaps of broken concrete. The men set off fireworks to chase away evil spirits as wads of paper money smoldered amid the rubble.

Then a dirge began playing over the loudspeaker, and all at once the women doubled over in agony, a chorus of 100 mothers wailing over the loss of an only child. The husbands wept in silence, paralyzed by the storm of emotion.

“We worked so hard to raise you, and then you left us so suddenly,” a woman screamed, pounding the ruins of the Juyuan Middle School with her fists. “How could you leave us to grow old alone?”

The parents whose children attended Juyuan were mostly farmers and factory workers, and the harshness of their lives, and their loss, was etched in their faces. Many, like Li Ping, 43, said they had lived frugally in order to pay obligatory fees for meals and a bed in the dormitory, which withstood the quake with nary a crack.

“I put all my hope in my one child,” said Li, who has been unable to work because of chronic liver disease. “They were supposed to support us in old age.” He started to well up but then stopped himself. “We’re not asking the government for money,” he said. “We just want them to tell us why they died.”