Legislators promise beef amendment
　

RAW DEAL: A government protocol with the US may not mean much after new inspection procedures were announced and lawmakers agreed to legislate a ban
　

By Flora Wang
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 1
　

Legislators across party lines yesterday agreed to amend the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) by Nov. 17 to prohibit imports of “risky” beef products.

Although two versions of the amendment will not be reviewed until Friday, legislators agreed that the amendment should ban the import of bovine organs, spinal cords, brains, skulls and eyes as well as ground beef. They also strongly felt these products should not be imported before the ban takes effect, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said.

The Procedure Committee included two draft amendments on the plenary agenda for Friday: one from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) banning risky products from regions where cases of mad cow disease have been recorded, and a similar proposal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交).

Lawmakers reached the agreement after the DPP stalled yesterday morning’s plenary session at the request of DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and threatened to paralyze the entire session unless the legislature immediately passed the party’s proposal. DPP legislators occupied the speaker’s podium, making it impossible for the legislature to proceed with yesterday’s agenda, which included 40 bills.

The boycott also stalled a scheduled vote on Premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) Central Election Commission (CEC) nominees, which took place later in the day.

The Department of Health on Monday officially announced the relaxation of regulations on US beef imports, despite protests from legislators and a number of civic groups.

Under the terms of the protocol signed by the US and Taiwan, US bone-in beef, ground beef, bovine intestines, brains, spinal cords and processed beef from cattle younger than 30 months that have not been contaminated with “specific risk materials” (SRMs) will be allowed into Taiwan beginning next Tuesday.

SRMs are defined in the protocol as the brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age and older, as well as the tonsils and the distal ileum of the small intestine from all cattle.

But in response to criticism, the government on Monday said it would use administrative means to block the import of ground beef and bovine intestines.

The Executive Yuan accepted demands by the KMT caucus that all ground beef and intestine imports be thawed for examination (blocking the products by ruining them) and that any shipments mixed with bone-in beef be destroyed.

After legislators agreed to amend the food sanitation law, the 67 legislators present at yesterday’s afternoon session voted on the CEC appointments. Lai Hau-min (賴浩敏) was approved as the next CEC chairman by a vote of 65 to 2, while 66 lawmakers approved Liu Yi-chou (劉義周) as vice chairman.

The legislators also approved nine CEC members nominated by the premier.

Meanwhile, Assistant US Trade Representative for Public Affairs Carol Guthrie and US Department of Agricultural Director of Communications Chris Mather welcomed Taiwan’s relaxed beef policy but said the US was examining the other measures introduced on Monday.

“After over two years of extensive negotiations and scientific and technical exchanges, the US has been looking forward to an announcement from Taiwan authorities that Taiwan would fully open its market to American beef and beef products on the basis of the bilateral protocol we have negotiated,” they said in a statement late on Monday.

“We understand today that Taiwan also announced a number of other additional domestic measures regarding beef and beef products. We are currently reviewing these measures to ensure they allow Taiwan consumers the opportunity to enjoy the same safe American beef and beef products that American families eat,” they said.

Premier Wu brushes off US beef referendum
　

By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTERS
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 1

Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday rejected calls for a referendum on the government’s relaxed beef policy, while Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday pledged support for one in an open letter.

In an interview with the UFO Network radio station, Wu said a referendum would be inappropriate and there was no good reason for one. There is a risk that the matter of US beef imports would become “tainted by populism,” making a rational debate impossible, he said.

Civic groups have launched a petition to seek a referendum on whether the government should renegotiate its deal with the US.

Wu urged the public to trust in the Department of Health, the legislature’s role as a supervisory body, standards of international trade negotiations and the safety standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health.

Taiwan cannot “resort to referendums” on all matters or “we will stumble in our footsteps,” he said.

To stem the outcry over its beef policy, the government said on Monday that it would use administrative means to obstruct some imports.

“With the measures in place, there will be close to no chance of imports of ground beef and internal organs. For now we have only opened the market to one more US beef product — bone-in beef,” Wu said.

Also yesterday, Wu told reporters at the Ministry of the Interior that the Executive Yuan would send its beef protocol to the legislature for its reference.

“The [Rules Governing the Processing of Treaties and Agreements, 條約及協定處理準則] stipulate that once a protocol is approved by the Executive Yuan and is thus effective, it is to be sent to the legislature for its reference. We have great respect for the legislature,” he said.

His comment followed a statement by Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) a day earlier that the protocol was effective without legislative review.

Tsai, meanwhile, said in her open letter that she would back the actions of civic groups seeking a referendum, including any demonstrations. Tsai called for bipartisan support on the matter.

Tsai said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was “against the people” and that it was arrogant of the government to relax its beef policy without consulting domestic health experts or first submitting the deal for legislative oversight.

“The government has put on a facade of protecting public health ... with these technical measures, but we see right through them,” Tsai said, referring to the administrative measures announced on Monday. “The government could change its regulations at any time because it lacks the expertise needed for inspections and easily caves in to US pressure.”

The measures involved thawing certain US beef imports for inspection, blocking them in effect by causing them to deteriorate during the inspection process.

Tsai said she feared a “lose-lose” situation for Taipei and Washington in which consumers lose confidence in both governments.

The best option would be either to renegotiate or to ban the controversial products through legislation, she said.

Meanwhile, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) told reporters yesterday that he had applied for a permit to hold a demonstration in Taipei this weekend, with Internet users urging the public to take to the streets on Sunday morning.

Rare Taiwan-blunder PRC stamp sells

AFP, HONG KONG
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 1
　

A stamp that was pulled from circulation the day it was issued because it failed to show Taiwan as part of China fetched a record price at auction in Hong Kong on Sunday.

The rare 1968 stamp was picked up by an unidentified Asian buyer, who paid HK$3.68 million (US$475,000), a record for a Chinese stamp.

Six other smaller stamps of the same design were also sold for a combined HK$2.93 million.

Designer Wan Weisheng (萬維生), who watched the hammer fall, said he had feared he would be punished for his mistake.

“For a long time I was really worried that I would be jailed,” he said. “Officials told me that it was a really big mistake, but in the end nothing happened.”

Wan and other designers had been commissioned to make a series of stamps during the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long period of mass political and social upheaval in China starting in the mid-sixties.

His stamp features a worker holding The Little Red Book, a book of Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) quotations, and a red China map in the background.

On the map is written “The whole country is red” (Quanguo shanhe yi pian hong, 全國山河一片紅).

However, Wan left Taiwan uncolored, sparking a recall of the stamps just half a day after their release.

Xinjiang launches fresh ‘Strike Hard’ campaign
　

' ENSURE STABILITY ': The crackdown came one month after China’s national day last month, when security forces were used to maintain calm in the tense region

AFP, BEIJING
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 1

Police in China’s restive Xinjiang region have launched a fresh manhunt aimed at capturing fugitives wanted in connection with deadly ethnic violence in July this year, state media said yesterday.

The regional public security bureau’s “Strike Hard and Rectify” campaign, which began on Sunday, will run until the end of the year, the Xinjiang Daily reported.

“We must expand the scope of our work on capturing fugitives, do better to gather, analyze and research all intelligence and focus on cases and clues related to violent acts of terrorism,” the report said, citing Xinjiang police.

“We must strictly prevent violent acts of terrorism and ensure stability,” it said.

Violence between Uighurs and members of China’s dominant Han ethnic group erupted on July 5 in the regional capital Urumqi, leaving nearly 200 people dead, according to the official toll.

Last month, 21 people were convicted for their roles in the unrest, with 12 sentenced to death. Nine of the sentences were upheld in appeal hearings last week, while the other three reportedly elected not to appeal.

The US-based Uighur American Association, a court in Yili prefecture some 500km west of Urumqi, last week jailed 19 people for state security crimes, some linked to the July unrest.

Authorities have blamed the Xinjiang unrest on “ethnic separatists,” without providing any evidence.

But Uighurs say the violence was triggered when police cracked down on peaceful protests over a brawl in late June at a factory in southern China that state media said left two Uighurs dead.

Human Rights Watch said last month that they had documented at least 43 Uighurs, including children, who remain unaccounted for after earlier round-ups by security forces following the clashes.

The real number could be much higher, the group said.

China’s roughly 8 million Uighurs, who speak a Turkic language, have long complained of religious, political and cultural oppression by Chinese authorities, and tensions have simmered in Xinjiang for years.

China says it faces a serious terrorist threat from Muslim separatists in the region, but rights groups have accused Beijing of exaggerating the threat to justify its tight controls.

The new security crackdown comes one month after the 60th anniversary of the founding of communist China on Oct. 1, during which security forces maintained calm in Xinjiang, the newspaper said.

Ma compares himself to Obama
　

CONFIDENCE: While the US president has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize, Ma said several countries have recognized his own work to reduce cross-strait tensions
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 3

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday drew a parallel between himself and US President Barack Obama, who recently won a Nobel Peace Prize, saying that other countries’ support for his conciliatory approach to cross-strait policy has boosted his confidence in promoting peace in the Taiwan Strait.

Ma said he felt “gratified” that Obama had received the Nobel Peace Prize and that it signified the judging committee recognized his concept of peace.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Obama for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

The decision to hand Obama the prize stunned many and triggered a storm of criticism that the award was premature and a potential liability for him. Some critics have said that there was a risk the prize could backfire on Obama by raising expectations even higher and providing ammunition to his critics.

Ma said that since he took office in May last year, he has worked hard to reduce tension in the Taiwan Strait.

“The Taiwan Strait was originally a flashpoint, but now the peril has diminished dramatically, making the region safer than before,” he said.

The US, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, as well as countries in Southeast Asia and Europe have recognized and expressed support for the lessening cross-strait tension, he said.

This has given him more confidence in pushing for peace in the Taiwan Strait, the president said.

Ma made the remarks while meeting a US delegation led by Duane Miskulin, chairman of the American Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.

As he had promised during his presidential campaign to turn the defense force into a volunteer-based army, Ma said, he planned to recruit an all-volunteer military.

The ratio of recruits to conscripts rose to 6 to 4 this year, and he hoped to see the ratio increase to 7 to 3 by next year, Ma said.

He said he hoped to establish an all-volunteer military by 2015.

The Ministry of National Defense has also mapped out a plan to reduce the size of the armed forces from 275,000 people to 210,000 by 2015, he added.

Ma said an all-volunteer military would help improve the quality of the country’s armed forces and reduce unnecessary manpower.

“We hope to build an army that is small but strong and outstanding,” he said.

Minister backs NT$5 million video
　

By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 3

Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday defended the GIO’s plan to spend NT$5 million (US$153,600) to produce a new official national anthem video to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of China.

“The current official national anthem video was produced 10 years ago. It’s a shame that when people watch the video they are seeing scenes of what the country was like 10 years ago,” Su said.

He was responding to criticism leveled at the GIO by some lawmakers when they screened the GIO’s budget request in the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee on Monday.

Su said the new video would include footage that will advertise the country’s beauty, promote its achievements in technology, medicine and environmental protection, as well as showcasing Taiwanese people’s values and goals, while reflecting prosperity and pride in Taiwan.

Dismissing criticism that spending NT$5 million on a music video that lasts between two and three minutes was extravagant, Su said it was a reasonable price, as NT$2.8 million would be used to produce the video while the rest would be used to make and distribute 35mm copies of the video.

“Is NT$5 million too much? It cost NT$7.5 million to produce the national anthem video in 1991, NT$6 million in 1993, NT$4 million in 1995 and NT$5.8 million in 1996. It cost NT$1 million in 2001 merely to edit existing footage,” Su said.

Control Yuan impeaches former Chen Shui-bian staffers
　

By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 3

The Control Yuan yesterday impeached five former officials from former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) Presidential Office staff for their handling of his alleged misuse of the state affairs fund.

Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were sentenced to life imprisonment in September after being found guilty of corruption and embezzlement.

Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) said that things would not have happened the way they did if the five officials had stuck to their duties of advising the former president on how to use the discretionary fund and tightly regulating the practice of seeking reimbursement on expenses.

The five are former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成), former Presidential Office director Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓), the former first family’s bookkeeper Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧), former director-general of the Presidential Office accounting department Fon Shui-lin (馮瑞麟) and former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).

Admitting to using false receipts to claim money from the special fund, Chen Shui-bian insisted the money was spent on “secret diplomatic missions” — not for personal expenses.

“As important members of the presidential staff, what they did in helping the former first couple pocket public funds was tantamount to helping the wicked perpetrate wicked deeds,” Wang said.

Ma and Lin have been found guilty by the Taipei District Court of helping the former first couple embezzle money from public funds and were sentenced to 20 years and 16 years in prison respectively, and stripped of their civil rights for 10 years and eight years respectively.

Chen Chen-hui, who testified as a witness for the prosecution in the first trial, admitted guilt to charges including forgery, perjury, embezzlement and money laundering.

“Chen Shui-bian and Wu Shu-jen were not able to disrupt the system alone. It was because there was a group of civil servants who allowed themselves to be sidetracked by their superiors to disregard their responsibilities to the country and the government,” Wang said.

Control Yuan member Ma Hsiu-ru (馬秀如) said she hoped the impeachment would help restore discipline among civil servants working in the government’s accounting system.

“Since public funds are the hard-won possessions of the people, civil servants should realize that they are accountable to the public, not just to their boss,” she said.

Ex-legislator charged with urging people to free Chen
　

By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 3

Prosecutors yesterday indicted former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) for allegedly soliciting people to storm the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng (土城), Taipei County, to “rescue” detained former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

On July 10, the day of the former president’s last detention hearing at the Taipei District Court, Tsai and hundreds of the former president’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse to protest against Chen’s continued detention.

Outside the courthouse, Tsai allegedly shouted amongst the hundreds of protesters that if the court decided not to release Chen, they should rush into the detention center to “rescue Chen Shui-bian.”

He also allegedly solicited ­people to storm into the courtroom to “make the court shut down operations.”

Chiayi District prosecutors listed several instances in which Tsai, a former Chiayi legislator, allegedly obstructed the maintenance of public order by encouraging people to storm into the detention center, including on March 18, when he allegedly told a press conference that supporters of Chen should gather at the Taipei Detention Center and storm into the prison like the storming of the Bastille in France in 1789.

Prosecutors also allege that Tsai, through written messages, public speeches and the media, solicited others to commit crimes in order to cause damage to the detention center and the civil servants who work there in an attempt to help the former president escape.

Defense report lacking in vision
　

By Wang Jyh-perng 王志鵬
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 8

The Ministry of National Defense released recently its 2009 National Defense Report (國防報告書). Compared with last year’s report, it placed more emphasis on nontraditional security. It listed disaster relief and rescue as one of the military’s central missions, and stated that the structure of military forces will be adjusted according to strategy, tactics and equipment procurement.

However, with the number of forces being reduced as a result of plans to streamline the military and as the country faces more serious natural disasters because of a deteriorating global environment, a lack of effective planning will leave the military open to criticism.

In its assessment of the Chinese military, the report overemphasizes the hard power of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and overlooks its soft power. Speaking at the National University of Defense Technology in April, China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Guo Boxiong (郭伯雄) underlined the importance of establishing information-based troops, adding that to win an information war, China must train large numbers of highly skilled military personnel with new skills.

In July, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) announced a program to further reform the officer system. Thus, not only are there imbalances in hard military power between Taiwan and China, but the gap between the countries’ soft power is also gradually expanding.

The report shows a clear shift in warfare strategy. The focus now is not to allow the enemy to set foot on Taiwan and to concentrate limited national defense resources on the main troops. Developing asymmetric warfare capabilities and continuing the independent development of Tactical Shore-based Missiles for Fire Suppression or counteroffensive weapons are also cited as good strategies.

However, the report avoids most discussions on the US position on arms sales to Taiwan, although US policy seems to have moved from being “proactive” or “hopeful” to gradual conservatism. Faced with a new strategic triangular relationship, the ministry should consider new national defense strategies and policies to come up with feasible alternative plans to develop the necessary miltiary capabilities.

Enlisting, as opposed to compulsory service, is also a key issue. The ministry said this is the most pressing and complicated change in the military. Based on the concept of maintaining a lower number of soldiers in times of peace and more in times of war, reservists must still train young men for four months. This means that in the future, there may be fewer soldiers on active duty and more soldiers in the reserve. After this change, training mechanisms and methods may see great changes.

As for civil servants leading the military, the report expounded on the promotion and training of civil servants and released some data to support these comments. However, nothing was said about turnover, transfer or promotion rates among civil servants since the National Defense Act (國防法) and the Organization Act of the Ministry of National Defense (國防部組織法) came into effect in 2002, or why they still do not make up one-third of ministry appointments as stipulated in Article 15 of the organization act.

Surprisingly, asymmetric warfare was listed as a tactic that China may adopt in an attack on Taiwan. Asymmetric warfare is an action taken by a weaker side against a stronger side. When China denies or refuses access to the US, these are examples of asymmetric warfare. However, in any Chinese action against Taiwan, Beijing can make use of its economic and technological advantages — and this is not asymmetric warfare.

On the whole, the report seems to lack a concrete vision. Unlike the Quadrennial Strategy Review, the National Defense Report failed to provide a vision for national defense in the next 10 or even 20 years.

The ministry made some changes this year and this should be supported and encouraged, but there is still much room for improvement. Hopefully, in the future, it will be more open-minded and use more diversified modes of thinking and take a pragmatic view of new challenges.

Wang Jyh-perng is a reserve navy captain and a research assistant at the Graduate Institute of Strategy and International Affairs at National Chung Cheng University.

A switch in diplomatic strategy
　

By Bernard Chou 周志杰
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 8

Amid the controversy over government plans to impose a carbon tax, little attention has been paid to the news that some small island countries are in danger of being submerged beneath rising seas, creating a wave of “climate refugees.”

As early as 2001, the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu —one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — announced to the world that its people would eventually have to abandon its gradually disappearing national territory and evacuate en masse to New Zealand.

Tuvalu and other small island countries have never received much attention in international politics, but their continued existence is closely connected with Taiwan’s national security.

The global ecological crisis has forced countries around the world to reconsider the traditional way of thinking that puts national sovereignty above everything else. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a trend toward globalism, with sovereign countries collaborating and consulting to formulate international treaties and monitor their implementation.

Nations today seek multilateral solutions to global problems. However, before small nations have even had a chance to catch up with the tide of globalism, the most essential prerequisite for their existence as sovereign nations — their national territory — is already starting to sink beneath the surging waves.

In response, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) was formed in 1990, and 43 countries and territories have joined as members and observers. However, the key problems they face — ecology, sovereignty, migration, science and technology — are not something these countries, which lack resources and mostly lag behind in development, can hope to solve on their own. Hope can only lie with the technologically advanced and economically developed powers, most of which are big, continental countries.

However, the US’ continued refusal to be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, low expectations on reaching a global pact at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December and Australia’s strict immigration policies that effectively deny entry to climate refugees from Tuvalu and other places show that developed states are still the ultimate arbiters in determining the distribution of global economic resources, and that globalism still takes second place to national interests.

While big countries on the European, American and Asian continents may be apathetic, Taiwan, as a small island country, cannot afford to ignore this issue. The predicament faced by Tuvalu and other island countries as the ocean threatens to submerge their territories will probably be the fate of Taiwan’s offshore islands and coastal areas within a few decades.

That being the case, we need to do more research on climate change, rising sea levels and related issues. We can also make the National Science Council’s Sustainable Taiwan Evaluation System a focus of flexible diplomacy.

Taiwan is a small island country in both political and geographical terms, so doing something about rising sea levels and related problems is an urgent matter. Most of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies are developing island or coastal nations. Taiwan being perhaps the biggest and strongest among these small island nations, the government would be wise to help friendly countries find a solution, for their benefit and for our ours.

We need to strengthen our ability to monitor environmental changes in Taiwan and surrounding waters and work with friendly countries in drawing up a plan of action for the environmental security of island nations. We could facilitate technology transfers to friendly island countries and help them build up disaster response capabilities that are similar to our own. This would not just help our allies resolve practical problems, but would also establish a sense of belonging to a community with a common destiny and thus cement our friendship with our allies in a meaningful way.

In addition to seeking to join the UN Framework on Climate Change, the government should apply for membership in the AOSIS, making the alliance a platform for Taiwan to provide other island countries with technical assistance and expand its environmental diplomacy.

More than half the member countries of the AOSIS have at some time had diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and nine of them still do. Besides, participation in the AOSIS is not only open to sovereign states, and China does not qualify to join it, so China would find it hard to justify obstructing Taiwan’s membership.

After joining this multilateral alliance of mostly developing island countries, Taiwan could use its scientific, technological and economic strengths to raise the organization’s profile. Based on the AOSIS framework, Taiwan could join forces with fellow members and become a spokesman for small island countries on issues of environmental security and sustainable development, rather than being a pawn in the rivalry between different powers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Only if Taiwan’s geopolitical orientation and diplomatic strategy are adjusted can it overcome obstacles and succeed in its flexible diplomacy. The government would do well to take the opportunity of future visits by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to diplomatic partners in the South Pacific to propose a completely new model of environmental and economic assistance to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

If, on the other hand, we cling to the attitudes of a continental country and ignore the plight of small island countries whose land is threatened, then the international status of Taiwan, which relies on diplomatic relations for its survival, will sink out of sight along with its small island allies.

Bernard Chou is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and Graduate Institute of Political Economy at National Cheng Kung University.

‘Ass-shake’ diplomacy and gender contempt
　

By Lin Hsin-yeh , Cheng Kai-jung 林欣燁 鄭凱榕
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009, Page 8

During a political talk show on Oct. 19, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee member and Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) used the words “ass-shake diplomacy” to criticize Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) as “a woman’s liaison with China” and her trip to Beijing as “ass-shaking.”

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), who was also a guest on the talk show, protested against these inappropriate comments, but Hsieh did not stop his verbal attacks and said even nastier things on the nationally broadcast program.

The Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights (TAPWR) believes that verbal abuse referring to differences in physiology and gender highlights a misconception about gender that has long existed in Taiwan. This is based on the mistaken belief that verbal abuse does not constitute violence, as well as confusion between formal and substantive equality.

Violence is loathsome and terrifying not only because of the direct effects physical violence has on life and health, but also because it represents the power to control and endanger the freedom of its victims, their safety, existence and further development. Verbal abuse in essence represents the exact same deprivation of rights and psychological oppression that physical violence does.

Comments like “ass-shake diplomacy” emphasize the bodily characteristics of a certain individual or group to dismiss their positive qualities and the unique skills they employ in their social roles, as well as the public character that such roles should possess. Language that discriminates against gender by way of insults and denigration is an undeniable form of violence.

Hsieh’s comments were a clear attempt to use Chen’s physical characteristics as a woman to avoid commenting on her professional abilities as a politician or getting into a debate on public policy. This was not only an encroachment on Chen’s rights, but also dealt a blow to public deliberation on social policy issues.

In 2007, Taiwan ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a code for the protection of the rights of women. In its preamble, the CEDAW states: “Despite these various instruments, extensive discrimination against women continues to exist, recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity.”

The TAPWR therefore calls for recognition of the fact that verbal abuse is an outward expression of gender discrimination and violence in the home. If we want to enjoy the right to liberty, security and freedom from fear, then we should demand that political parties and the legislature abide by CEDAW to stop discriminatory remarks based on a woman’s physicality or their private affairs and that a system be set up to deal with these issues. Moreover, this system should take precedence over party concerns and should not be compromised in return for superficial verbal apologies or tolerance for such behavior.

Cheng Kai-jung is deputy secretary-general of the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights. Lin Hsin-yeh is a consultant at the association.