Contractor of Taipei Dome cries foul
　

'ULTERIOR MOTIVES’: The chairman of Farglory said that the group did not violate any regulations and accused a former contractor of instigating a smear campaign
　

By Mo Yan-chih and Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTERS
Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 1

The controversy surrounding the construction of the Taipei Dome intensified after the contractor, Farglory Group (遠雄集團), ran an advertisement in several Chinese-language newspapers yesterday.

The ad suggested foul play was behind the Control Yuan’s recent issuance of corrective measures against the Taipei City Government, a move that could lead to suspension of the project.

In the statement, Farglory chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄) suggested there were “ulterior motives” behind the corrective measures implemented against the Public Construction Commission and the Taipei City Government earlier this month.

The Control Yuan ruled that the commission infringed on the authority of the city government by annulling decisions about the construction made by a city review commission on three separate occasions.

The Control Yuan said that there were 39 problems with the project, including the changing of subcontractors and the design of the stadium, as well as the expansion of the building from three stories to four to create more space for department stores.

The city government failed to refer the revised construction plan, which included changing subcontractors, to its review commission for approval in violation of the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects (促進民間參與公共建設法), the Control Yuan said.

Following the issuance of the corrective measures, which were released one day before the group’s new construction plan was to be reviewed, the city government called off the scheduled meeting.

Chao held a press conference protesting the measures.

He insisted that the group did not violate any regulation by changing subcontractors and accused architect Ricky Liu (劉培森), head of a former subcontractor, of instigating a smear campaign against him after Farglory ended its cooperation with him.

In the statement, Chao said that the group’s original subcontractors — Liu, Japan’s Takenaka Corp and Japanese architect Hara Hiroshi — pulled out of the project in September 2004 after the group rejected their “unreasonable” demands for “enormous profits.”

Since then, Liu has tried every means possible to persuade the Taipei City Government and the city council to nullify the bid for the construction project after Farglory was named as the preferred bidder and started contract negotiations with the city government, Chao’s statement said.

“It seemed that there was an invisible figure manipulating the Control Yuan’s investigation, as it was timed to coincide with the Taipei City Government’s meeting to review the project. This coincidence looked like a repetition of the drama in September 2004,” Chao said.

Chao described the Taipei Dome project as a major municipal project that would “benefit the public,” saying the city needed a world-class stadium for sports events. Chao expressed his disappointment over the delays.

“A construction project that Taipei residents have been looking forward to is being delayed indefinitely because of some individuals ... I will not participate in any public construction in the future,” he said.

Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄), the Control Yuan member in charge of the case, called a press conference in the afternoon to respond to Chao’s accusations.

“I will not allow anyone to harm the Control Yuan’s image and reputation,” Huang said, adding that the investigation into the case was prompted by “pure motives” and conducted to “fulfill [the Control Yuan’s] constitutional duty.”

The Control Yuan’s probe into the project stemmed from complaints filed by environmentalists who oppose the removal of more than 700 old trees, 169 of which were designated as “preserved trees,” to make way for the construction, which will occupy about 18 hectares on the former site of the Songshan Tobacco Factory in Xinyi District (信義). The Dome will feature an indoor 40,000-seat stadium, hotels, department stores, a shopping center and an office building.

Huang dismissed questions about the timing of the review, saying it was a long-held practice for the Control Yuan’s Education and Cultural Committee to meet on the Thursday of the second week of each month, which was when his motion to issue the corrective measures was passed.

The Taipei City Government, meanwhile, said it would consider annulling its build-operate-transfer contract with Farglory for the construction of the Dome if the contractor refused to cooperate and propose new subcontractors for the project.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday that the city government had stuck to the contract since it was signed with the company in 2006, but would review the project after the Control Yuan ordered the corrective measures.

“Although the city government has been executing the contract, we should examine the problems with the contract following the Control Yuan’s issuance of corrective measures,” he said during a question-and-answer session at Taipei City Council.

Hau said that the city government would ask the contractor to propose new subcontractors for the project before determining whether to annul the contract.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) yesterday blasted President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for initiating the project during his tenure as Taipei mayor, calling it a bad policy and urging Hau to halt the project.

Ball now in Ma's court on visit by Kadeer
　

SCREENINGS: DPP city councilors called on the Taipei City Government to show the documentary to show its support for free speech and human rights
　

By Flora Wang and Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTERS, WITH STAFF WRITER
Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 1

“There are too many films in Taipei City, and it is impossible for the city government to sponsor the showing of every film.”— Hau Lung-bin, Taipei mayor

A spokesman for Rebiya Kadeer yesterday confirmed that the exiled Uighur leader had accepted an invitation to visit Taiwan, adding that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) holds the key to whether the visit will materialize.

Kadeer is more than happy to participate in the Kaohsiung Film Festival and speak to the Taiwanese public, Nury Turkel, president of the Uyghur American Association, told reporters in Washington.

The invitation was issued by the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps and the youth group Guts United Taiwan following the Kaohsiung City Government’s decision to bring forward the screenings of The 10 Conditions of Love, a documentary about Kadeer, to Tuesday and yesterday rather than during the festival, which starts on Oct. 16.

The city government said the changes were made to address local hotel owners’ concerns that Chinese tourists might boycott the city in protest.

Asked if now was an appropriate time to visit Taiwan, Dilxat Raxit, a Sweden-based spokesman for the World Uighur Congress, which Kadeer heads, told Agence France-Presse that this would depend on Taiwan’s ability to carry out “flexible and active diplomacy.”

Kadeer fights for the rights of the Uighur ethnic minority in China. She has been living in Washington since 2005, after China sent her into exile. Beijing portrays her as a separatist and accused her of plotting the July 5 riots in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, a charge Kadeer has denied.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), on her way to watch the documentary yesterday, said the city government had no plans to invite Kadeer.

Chen said it was incorrect for the city’s tourism sector to jump to the conclusion that Chinese tour groups had canceled visits to Taiwan because of the visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama early this month and the screening of the documentary, adding that the tourism businesses should not “put all of their eggs in one basket.”

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday urged the government to stand up to China.

“The government should protest against Chinese bullying ... boycott of Kaohsiung tourism and [attempts to] interfere with the film festival. There is no reason not to allow Kadeer to visit,” he said.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) declined to comment on the invitation, saying the matter would be handled by the Mainland Affairs Council.

At a separate setting yesterday, DPP Taipei City councilors called on Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to show the documentary in the city as a gesture of support for democracy and human rights.

DPP Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) showed part of the one-hour documentary at the city council during a question-and-answer session and said the city government should join Kaohsiung City Government in showing the film.

“Taipei City should also support the screening of the documentary. Refusing to show the film is a denial of free speech and human rights,” Chuang said.

DPP Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) and Liu Yao-ren (劉耀仁) joined Chuang to press the city government into screening the film, and urged Hau to watch the film as well.

Hau said he welcomed the screening of the film in the city, adding, however, that the government would not sponsor it.

“There are too many films in Taipei City, and it is impossible for the city government to sponsor the showing of every film,” he said.

Chen asks US court to intervene to free him
　

PETITION: The Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization said it was sponsoring the legal action on behalf of the former president, demanding his immediate release
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 3

“His intent is to clarify that native Taiwanese people are not Chinese and should not be subject to any legal prosecution by courts of a Chinese government in exile.”— Roger Lin, Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) petitioned for the US to intervene as the “principal occupying power of Taiwan” to seek his immediate release and restore his civil and human rights.

Roger Lin (林志昇), a member of the Taiwan Civil Rights Litigation Organization, yesterday said his organization was sponsoring the legal action for Chen and demanding full respect for his civil rights and his immediate release from incarceration.

But Lin focused on Chen’s argument in the affidavit concerning Taiwan’s international status and dismissed speculation that the suit was aimed at resolving Chen’s legal problems.

“This is what I call the ‘Viagra effect,’” he said. “The drug was originally used to treat heart diseases, but most people pay more attention to its other effect — just like the suit is aimed at clarifying Taiwan’s international status, but most people look at its fallout.”

Chen has been in custody since December last year. He and his wife were handed life sentences for a string of charges last week. Chen has asked his lawyers to file an appeal.

Despite his repeated calls for the court to release him, the Taipei District Court overruled his most recent request.

Chen has decided to use international law and US constitutional law to resolve the legal problems concerning Taiwan’s status, while at the same time tackling his own legal problems, Lin said.

“His intent is to clarify that native Taiwanese people are not Chinese and should not be subject to any legal prosecution by courts of a Chinese government in exile,” Lin said.

In an English declaration provided by Lin, Chen said that during his eight-year presidency, the US executive branch often made decisions for the people of Taiwan without consulting them. These affected the lives, liberty and property of Taiwanese and the nation’s territory.

“I concluded that the machinery operating in the background was not the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act or any Executive Orders issued by the US Commander in Chief, but rather the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty,” he said in the declaration.

Under the peace treaty, Chen said it is clear that Taiwan was not awarded to the Republic of China and thus remains under the US Military Government until that government is legally supplanted.

His assertion is based on the argument that the US commander in chief did not make any announcement recognizing any civil government in Taiwan as supplanting the US Military Government after the 1952 treaty, he said.

Chen said the US is “the occupying power” under the customary laws of warfare because all military attacks against Taiwan in the World War II period were conducted by US military forces.

While some have called Chen “crazy” for putting forth this argument, Lin said, Chen’s accusers are the ones who are crazy.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei branch director Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林) said he supported the theory that Taiwan’s status was undetermined but that only the 23 million people of Taiwan should have a final say in resolving it.

Calling the corruption trial against Chen invalid and unfair, Huang said he hoped that once Taiwan’s status had been determined by a US military court, a new constitution could be written and Taiwanese who break the law could be tried under Taiwanese law.

Richard Hartzell of the Formosa Nation Legal-Strategy Association said Chen’s case was a very good approach, adding that many people had confused territorial control with sovereignty.

“[If] I have lived in this hotel for 60 years — it does not mean the hotel belongs to me,” he said. “Occupying territory is a foreign territory. Taiwan is not the 51st state, not a part of the US. It’s a foreign territory under the dominion of the United States.”

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday accused Chen of committing treason by referring to himself in his appeal as the former president of the “exiled ROC government.”

KMT Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said Chen must be mentally ill after spending so much time in detention.

Meanwhile, DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the party was surprised by Chen’s remarks and did not know when Chen had made them.

“The fact that Taiwan is independent and that the sovereignty rests in the hands of its people is not only the basis of a resolution on Taiwan’s future adopted by the DPP in 1999, but a fact that is recognized and accepted by all the people [of Taiwan],” Cheng told a news conference.

“What former President Chen stated is different from the DPP’s stance,” he said.

Taiwan High Court to select Chen case judges through random drawing today
　

By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 3

Former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) trial reaches the Taipei branch of the Taiwan High Court today, which will randomly select judges to preside over his case and hold a detention hearing on whether to keep Chen behind bars.

The High Court will hold a manual random drawing to select the judges. The court has 91 criminal court judges. Apart from 10 judges who are either critically ill, about to retire, have important administrative duties or are in the middle of other complex cases with a heavy workload, all others are required to participate in the random drawing.

Taiwan High Court spokesperson Wen Yao-yuan (溫耀源) vowed to ensure the selection is fair and transparent. The court has also opened up one of its courtrooms and the waiting area where the former president may sit during trial recesses, for photographers and cameramen to take photos.

The selection process will be closely watched because the Council of Grand Justices has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of the switching of judges in Chen’s case while it was at the Taipei District Court.

Last December, a panel of judges replaced Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) with Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) in the trial of Chen and 12 codefendants. The change prompted allegations of procedural flaws and political interference.

Once the High Court selects the judges, they will summon the former president and hold a detention hearing to hear both sides’ arguments on whether Chen should be kept behind bars. They must reach a decision before tomorrow, when Chen’s current term of detention is set to expire.

Chen has been detained since Dec. 30 last year.

The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, which is in charge of Chen’s case, on Tuesday issued more indictments accusing Chen and four others of embezzlement in a case involving classified diplomatic projects.

Although SIP Spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) yesterday denied the indictments had anything to do with the upcoming detention hearing, this is not the first time prosecutors have issued indictments immediately before a detention hearing is to be held.

On May 5, the SIP charged Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) with taking bribes and profiteering from former Taipei Financial Center Corp chairwoman Diana Chen (陳敏薰) and former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒).

Two days later, Chen Shui-bian’s detention hearing was held at the Taipei District Court. The court denied his request for release, as well as his request to be sent to hospital under surveillance.

Chen Shui-bian had told the court he was feeling physically unwell.

On Sept. 11, the district court found Chen Shui-bian, his wife and 11 codefendants guilty. The former president and his wife were sentenced to life in prison and fined a total of NT$500 million (US$15.4 million).

Kadeer is entitled to a visa

Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 8

The Kaohsiung City Government’s decision to bring forward the screening of a documentary on exiled Uighur Muslim activist Rebiya Kadeer — amid complaints by the tourism sector that Chinese tour groups were canceling hotel reservations — was not well-received in some quarters.

Despite Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) claim that the decision was made to prevent controversy over the screening of The 10 Conditions of Love from escalating, the move nonetheless suggests that concessions had to be made because of pressure from China.

A film festival, which serves as a platform for artists to showcase creativity and freedom of expression, should be independent and free from political interference.

Taking into account Chen’s record as an activist who served time for her involvement in the democracy movement, it is unsurprising that her government’s decision resulted in a mixture of anger and disappointment among some supporters.

It is too early to tell whether the decision will have a negative impact on her political standing. What is clear, however, is that Taiwanese of all stripes must hold fast to their democratic entitlements. Cross-strait “harmony,” whatever the benefits, should not come at this price.

The nation’s image as a defender of freedom of speech may have been affected by the decision, but if so, it is not too late to rectify that. One way to do so would be for President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government to grant Kadeer a visa.

Two civic groups — Guts United Taiwan and the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps — have issued invitations to Kadeer to visit Taiwan, which she reportedly has accepted.

Beijing’s reaction to any visit would likely be similar to its attempt to manipulate the Australian government after Kadeer was invited to attend the Melbourne Film Festival early last month.

Censorship and restrictions on movement are not a big deal in China — at least not for those who impose them. In Taiwan, however, they represent the fine line between creeping state control and a liberal society. Having tasted both in its troubled history, Taiwan should know the value of being steadfast on openness and avoiding illiberal conduct.

The embattled Ma administration now has a chance to prove that its talk about defending democracy is more than words.

Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said on Tuesday that a decision would be announced by tomorrow on whether Kadeer would be issued a visa.

Despite Beijing’s claims, Kadeer is not a terrorist, nor would her presence in Taiwan threaten national security. As such, there is no legitimate reason why the Uighur leader should not be permitted to visit Taiwan — unless Taipei is prepared to bow to external forces that would dictate what is permissible and what isn’t inside our borders.

Dignity is at stake

Thursday, Sep 24, 2009, Page 8

A moral crisis is erupting across East Asia and it will lead to a great deal of weeping and gnashing of teeth when it is over. Across the region, states are slowly aligning themselves with China, especially as doubts about the durability of Pax Americana grow in the wake of the Iraq War and the global financial crisis.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is being hailed as a watershed for Japanese democracy, but his desire for Japan to find its niche in a new and emerging East Asian economic order founded on an ill-defined set of East Asian values (but without abandoning the US alliance) amounts to acquiescence to Chinese domination of the region.

Hatoyama’s position and that of Japan more generally is not unlike Taiwan’s. China is an 800 pound baby gorilla and there seems to be little alternative but to placate it and take advantage of it. At the same time, everybody wants to be on good terms with the US, in case China unexpectedly throws a fit.

If Taiwan is too politically and economically weak to stand up to China on its own, Japan is too morally weak to provide leadership for a more liberal Asian order because of its imperial past. South Korea’s position is perhaps even more precarious, being completely surrounded by historical competitors. To curry favor with Beijing, she commits the minor indiscretion of temporarily detaining a Uighur activist.

Then there is President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After all the posturing as a genuine democrat over the years, one wonders what this man has actually ever stood for.

Perhaps former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a crook, whose actions did great damage to his party and people.

Ma, however, is starting to appear as a fawning mandarin who has never stood for anything other than being a mandarin. His rejection of the Dalai Lama’s attempt in December to visit Taiwan and then his grudging and apologetic approval of the exile’s subsequent attempt after Typhoon Morakot reek of cowardice and obsequious opportunism, with the consequence that Taiwan’s international position seems more diminished than ever.

The vituperation directed against the Dalai Lama by the KMT and then the attempt to prevent the film about Rebiya Kadeer from being shown at a film festival in Kaohsiung, on the grounds that Chinese tourists will boycott the city, are beneath contempt. If Ma, the KMT and the Chinese believe that an economic deal with China will be enough to satisfy Taiwanese aspirations in the long run, they are all in for a rude awakening.

East Asia is slowly and collectively turning away from liberal, democratic values and turning toward China, a train wreck waiting to happen. When the flood of liquidity released by the world’s central banks and governments (China’s foremost among them) filters down through the financial and property sectors into commodities and consumer goods in the coming months and years, China will be the least prepared for the social, economic and political consequences of inflation. If the US has a shocking fiscal crisis looming, China has a looming crisis of legitimacy. The Chinese have been praised by investors around the world for their robust reaction to the financial crisis, but the truth is that they panicked and overreacted because of their fear of unemployment and instability. They may have succeeded in delaying the danger by a few years, but the price is probably the dawn of a Great Stagflation.

For those around the world trying to take advantage of the Chinese bubble today, the inevitable question arises as to how they will know when to get out and what it is they may have sacrificed in the process. Dignity, like legitimacy and money, tends to be lost slowly, then all at once.

J. TAVIS OVERSTREET
Chiayi

Conceptual confusion

The recent screening of the film The 10 Conditions Of Love — initially scheduled to be shown at the Kaohsiung Film Festival — created some controversy over its rescheduling.

It is understandable that festival organizers and others would be irritated by Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) decision to reschedule the showing for the sake of potential tourism benefits from China.

Moreover, there are many who would point to the decision as illustrating Beijing’s tactics of political suppression — directly in Xinjiang, where it can more easily prevail by force, and indirectly in Taiwan, where “softer” means of coercion are more likely to succeed.

What has been consistently missing from your pages is penetration beyond this facile level of analysis.

The fact of the matter is that the hive ideology thriving in Beijing is being unwittingly aided and abetted by its very opponents here in Taiwan — especially in the south.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) represents, if it can be said to represent anything at all, the use of government power to shape society in reference to various political standards — e.g., “democratic,” “environmental,” “progressive,” “nationalist” and so on.

The communists in Beijing similarly represent government power to shape society in reference to other political standards, albeit with a numerically much greater degree of power at their disposal.

All three political parties — the DPP, KMT and Chinese Communist Party — operate according to the same basic principles of thought and action, although they of course have different strategic objectives in mind.

The tone-deaf chiming of the oxymoronic terms “democracy” and “freedom” in your pages and elsewhere muffles these other harmonics within which the term “freedom” has no place whatsoever.

It is high time you got somebody on your reporting or editorial staff who can integrate the concepts “democratic” and “communist” with regard to their essential difference from the concept “freedom.”

MICHAEL FAGAN
Tainan

Online farm game is the cream of the crop

Thursday, Sep 24, 2009,Page 15

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The popularity of social networking Web site Facebook is growing. It has spawned hundreds of games, among those the game Happy Harvest, which has become the favorite of Taiwanese users. In the six months of the game’s existence, a farming wave has swept the Internet as users get up in the morning to steal crops and fruit from their friends’ farms and become the kings of virtual farming.

Facebook users in Taiwan broke through one million in July, by far surpassing Plurk, another community Web site. Online farming, restaurants, pet shops, and fishing games have received an overwhelming welcome among Taiwanese users. Among the games, Happy Harvest has the most user-friendly interface which accounts for much of its popularity.

Happy Harvest is designed in a cartoon style. Users can plant crops, and raise chickens and dogs, and the harvest can be sold and exchanged for points to increase the attraction. Players can log on and sneak into their friends’ farms and steal vegetables and eggs. The more practiced a user gets in planting crops, the more virtual money they can make.

The Chinese version of the game often hangs, and Hsiao Li, who has used Facebook for more than two years, suggests that newbies consider running the game in English. “The interface is the same and the game is played in the same way,” he says. The system also often offers virtual farm money, “That makes it much more fun than just fooling around on the Internet,” says Hsiao Li.

Beginner A-tzu has only been immersed in the game for a month, but he is serious to the point that he sets the alarm for 6am every day, when he boots up the computer and goes farming. “If I sleep too late, my fields turn into a tourist farm where anyone takes whatever they want.” he says. He says he can use a virtual network to plant, water crops, exterminate vermin, harvest and sell his crop, and he can raise chickens and cows, and buy dogs to guard the farm. The whole process is much more interesting than electronic chickens, and seeing the results of his own hard work accumulate in the storage offers some kind of satisfaction in an otherwise boring daily life. (LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON)