Stanton looks forward to Taipei AIT post
　

By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER, WASHINGTON
Friday, Jul 31, 2009, Page 1

William Stanton, the incoming director of the American Institute in Taiwan, said he was “honored and delighted” by his appointment and that he would work to maintain peace and security in the Taiwan Strait.

He will take over next month from Stephen Young following top-level consultations with the US State Department in Washington.

Stanton introduced himself to the Taiwanese press corps in Washington on Wednesday, made a brief statement and then took a series of questions on an off-the-record basis.

His statement revealed almost nothing about his professional plans and goals, but he stressed how much he enjoyed Chinese food and how he attended university in Taipei in the 1980s to learn Chinese.

“Although I last lived in Taiwan 22 years ago, I have many fond memories of my time there. My older daughter was born there and so you could say that she was 'made in Taiwan,'” he said.

“It is amazing to me to see the enormous progress that Taiwan has made. It is, of course, an economic miracle. My view is that the intelligence, the hard work and the determination of the Taiwanese people account for this fact. I am also truly impressed by the progress that Taiwan has made politically. When I left Taiwan in 1987, it was still under martial law. Now it is a vibrant democracy, a very energetic civil society and this is a personal achievement of which the Taiwanese people can be proud,” he said.

“The United States is also proud to the extent that we have been able to give the people of Taiwan support in achieving these goals. The success of our policies is based on the Taiwan Relations Act. Our commitment to these policies is firm and we will continue to do everything we can to strengthen ties between the United States and Taiwan,” he said.

He made no reference to published allegations that during his foreign service career, he has been seen in some quarters as overly influenced by Beijing.

Stanton said that the US-Taiwan relationship was built on shared interests and that he had “an awful lot to do when I get back to Taiwan.”

“I will try to listen very carefully to the people of Taiwan and to get their views on how we can continue to make progress,” he said. “I plan to meet with people from all walks of life — from political leaders to entrepreneurs and people from the cultural world and workers and students and get the best sense that I can of the views of the Taiwan people. I look forward to continuing contact with the Taiwan media.”

Stanton's most recent assignment was as deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Seoul, South Korea. Before that he was deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Australia.

He served two tours of duty at the US embassy in Beijing.

He is married to Karen Clark Stanton, who is also a foreign service officer. They have two daughters, Katherine, 22, and Elizabeth, 18.

KMT member quits to run in Yunlin
　

INDEPENDENT: INDEPENDENT: The father of former Chinese Nationalist Party legislator Chang Sho-wen plans to run in the Yunlin County by-election to clear his family’s name

By Mo Yan-chih and Jenny W. hsu
STAFF REPORTERS
Friday, Jul 31, 2009, Page 3
　

Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chang Sho-wen’s (張碩文) father yesterday canceled his KMT party membership to run in the Yunlin County legislative by-election as an independent.

The move came after the KMT failed to dissuade him from running.

Yunlin Irrigation Association director Chang Hui-yuan (張輝元) said in a written statement that he would run in the by-election as an independent candidate.

His daughter, Chang Yu-hsiuan (張鈺萱) yesterday completed the withdrawal process on his behalf at the KMT’s Yunlin branch.

In his written statement, Chang Hui-yuan said his decision to leave the party would give the KMT more freedom to finalize its candidate.

“Leaving the KMT is actually a big show of support for the party ... and I believe local supporters’ wisdom will be the final judge on such an unfair judicial system,” he said.

Chang Sho-wen, who won a legislative election in Yunlin County in January last year, lost his seat earlier this month after the High Court found him guilty of participating in a vote-buying scheme organized by his father.

Chang Hui-yuan, who was found guilty of vote buying in the first trial, registered with the KMT to run in the by-election on behalf of his son earlier this month.

The KMT later rejected his registration based on the revised version of its “black-gold exclusion clause,” which states that members who are found guilty of corruption at their first trial are not to be nominated for any election.

KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) talked to Chang Hui-yuan and Chang Sho-wen on Wednesday night, but failed to dissuade Chang Hui-yuan from running.

KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) yesterday expressed regret over Chang Hui-yuan’s move, but did not say whether the party would skip the primary to nominate the only registered hopeful for the by-election, Wu Wei-chi (吳威志), an associate professor at Yunlin Technology University.

The by-election will be held on Sept. 26.

In related news, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday that the Executive Yuan should consider holding local and legislative elections at the same time to avoid the phenomenon of “phantom voters” following the approval of upgrades and mergers involving two cities and four counties.

The legal code states that a person is eligible to vote in a certain district after being a registered resident in the area for four full months.

TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said after the upgrades and the mergers have been completed, elections for the local government seats and legislative seats would be held one year apart, which means people could take advantage of the legal loophole to vote in two different districts by simply switching their household registration within the required time.

“In the future, population distribution could vary depending on the election season. Taiwan will become a country of phantom voters,” he said.

Huang said that a responsible government should ensure the fairness and impartiality of its elections and demanded that the Executive Yuan look into the matter.

The problem of “phantom voters” has occurred before, especially in districts where election races are tight. Some candidates mobilize non-residents to build temporary nests in a voting district in an effort to garner more votes, Huang said, giving the example of Keelung, which in 2005 reported negative population growth, but somehow returned to positive growth last month.

Chen family’s bookkeeper pleads guilty
　

By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jul 31, 2009, Page 3

The former first family’s bookkeeper Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧) yesterday admitted to forgery and helping the family embezzle funds from the presidential “state affairs fund” in her final court appearance before the verdict will be announced in September.

Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) scheduled yesterday’s session to hear closing arguments from Chen Chen-hui, her lawyer and the prosecution.

When Tsai asked how she would plead, she pleaded guilty to all charges, including forgery and helping the former first family pocket government funds illegally.

She stands accused of helping former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) receive illegal reimbursements from the presidential “state affairs fund,” a government fund earmarked for official purposes to be used at the president’s discretion, by using falsified receipts from the former first family’s personal expenses.

Some of the receipts included wedding cookies for the former president’s daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) and a speeding ticket issued to his son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中).

Many involved in the “state affairs fund” case have blamed Chen Chen-hui.

The former first lady has denied wrongdoing by saying that she was told by presidential aides and Chen Chen-hui that because the rules regarding the fund had changed, she had to collect receipts to receive reimbursements.

Wu has also said that she trusted Chen Chen-hui and never asked questions or paid much attention to the monthly expense reports she gave to Wu and presidential aides to hand to the former president.

The two aides, former Presidential Office director Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓) and former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成), have denied wrongdoing by saying that because they were not accountants, they should not be held responsible for the fund’s reimbursement process. Ma and Lin said they would give their seals to Chen Chen-hui for her to use on their behalf in order to speed up the process and make it more convenient for the bookkeeper.

However, Chen Chen-hui told the court yesterday that she would often take the cash taken from the fund over to Wu at the presidential residence. There, Wu would count the money and store it in safes at the residence.

The former bookkeeper also said Ma and Lin were fully aware of the monthly expense reports she produced, and that they both read the reports and asked questions about them.

N Korea seizes stray fishing boat
　

ALL AT SEA:: Despite increased tensions on the peninsula, the rival Koreas have a good record of returning fishing boats that accidentally stray onto the wrong side of the border

AFP , SEOUL
Friday, Jul 31, 2009, Page 5

North Korea yesterday seized a stray South Korean fishing boat and its four crew members, ratcheting up tensions after a week of aggressive saber-rattling from the communist regime.

South Korea called for the immediate return of the crew and their 29-tonne squid fishing vessel 800 Yeonan, but there was no sign that the North was moving to release them, Seoul’s military and the unification ministry said.

The seizure of the boat follows threats by Pyongyang to retaliate against sanctions imposed after recent nuclear and missile tests and a warning of “all-out war” ahead of US-South Korean military drills next month.

The 800 Yeonan was towed by a North Korean patrol boat after it strayed into the North’s waters at 6:27am yesterday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff office said.

The South’s boat was presumed to have sailed off course owing to a faulty global positioning system and was being taken toward the North’s eastern port of Jangjon, it said.

“We immediately radioed to the North Korean navy, requesting the return of the stray South Korean fishing boat, but there was no response,” a spokesman at the office said.

The unification ministry also demanded that the boat and its crew be returned “as soon as possible” in a phone message to the North, spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters at a briefing.

“The North confirmed its reception of the message, saying it would check things out and get back to us,” another ministry official said.

Despite Pyongyang’s recently bellicose rhetoric, the rival Koreas do have a record of returning fishing boats that venture onto the wrong side of the border.

Two South Korean fishing boats — one in April 2005 and the other in December 2006 — accidentally strayed into North Korean waters, but were soon repatriated. Two North Korean boats were also promptly returned earlier this year.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have soared following the communist state’s missile and nuclear tests, which resulted in tougher UN sanctions and a renewed standoff with the US.

North Korea’s defense minister warned of “all-out war” at the weekend, ahead of the Aug. 17 to Aug. 27 Ulchi Freedom Guardian annual exercise between the US and South Korean militaries.

The drill “lays bare the black-hearted aim lurking behind ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘dialogue,’” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said.

Relations have deteriorated since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office last year, promising a tougher stance toward the North.

Pyongyang quit six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons program after the UN Security Council censured it for a long-range rocket launch in April. The North’s second nuclear test followed a month later.

The Security Council has since imposed tougher sanctions.

The US has urged the international community to continue to pressure North Korea to return to the six-party talks — made up of the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia.

However, North Korea, declaring the multilateral talks “dead,” this week reaffirmed its demand to deal with the US directly. Despite Washington’s categorical rejection of that bilateral approach, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday voiced support for North Korea’s call.

“While I believe the six-party talks still can provide a good way for solution through dialogue, if necessary there should be some other form of dialogue,” Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, told a press conference.

Embarrassing discourse

Friday, Jul 31, 2009, Page 8

A recent experience proved the spirit of Taiwan’s democracy is still alive and strong; unfortunately, polarization followed closely behind seeking to thwart its achievements.

Earlier this month, leading Taiwanese and foreign academics attended a symposium in Taipei to discuss Taiwan’s international status. I was lucky enough to be invited. From the opening remarks and personal introductions, both sides’ enthusiasm to learn from the other filled the room, creating an atmosphere of scholarship and goodwill.

The circle of professors, research fellows and political advisors from around the world conversed as a diverse yet collaborative intellectual body about Taiwan’s political climate, policies and agenda for the future. Ideas were presented, assessed and enhanced from different perspectives. This scene demonstrated the vibrancy and vitality of Taiwan’s democracy.

However, when the symposium moved toward discussion of Taiwan’s domestic politics — specifically, the friction between its two main political parties as the primary impediment in the advancement of its national agendas — the positive dialogue abruptly degenerated into baseless accusations and irrelevant misrepresentations.

The furor was incited by the following question, posed by a foreign academic: “How can the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party] and the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] move toward reconciliation?” Instead of continuing their collaboration, the Taiwanese panel began arguing among themselves over a response.

The foreigners watched, uncomfortable, perplexed and ultimately ignored as panel members presented their own critiques of parties and politicians. It was clear to me that the panel members were not listening to their guests or to each other.

I saw a room full of whiny schoolchildren desperately trying to redirect blame from themselves onto others. My appreciation quickly turned to embarrassment and most of all, frustration.

Had one foreign academic not boldly interrupted the dispute and requested a return to order, the Taiwanese likely would have continued their debate, wasting the opportunity to learn from their guests and embarrassing themselves further. While order was eventually restored, the outburst changed the tone of the symposium. It turned the foreign academics into disciplinarians rather than colleagues.

If Taiwan wishes to be taken seriously on the international stage, its leaders and opinion makers must go all-out to ensure the chaotic scene I witnessed is not repeated. They must not allow personal sentiments and party allegiances to consume progress or tarnish Taiwan’s international reputation.

Especially now, with its international status facing rising challenges, Taiwan’s leaders must learn collaboration and unity from within before they can expect to achieve the same abroad.

TERESA TARN
Taipei