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Courts, not KMT, the arbiter

While the pan-blue alliance shouts and screams that the March 20 referendum is illegal, and even conspires with local government officials in an attempt to prevent the referendum from appearing on the ballot, the pan-blue camp forgets that it is not the body that decides what is legal and what is not.

The courts are charged with interpreting the laws to determine their meaning and constitutionality. Taiwan has a firmly established and generally effective and uncorrupt judiciary that was designed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). If the pan-blue camp genuinely thinks the referendum is illegal, then it is a simple matter to ask the courts to rule on the referendum well in advance of March 20 -- and a judiciary designed by the KMT certainly cannot be argued to have an anti-KMT bias.

The fact that the pan-blue camp wants to argue its case about the referendum in the press instead of in the courts can mean one of two things.

First, it could mean that the pan-blue camp knows the referendum is legal and that it would not prevail in a court challenge. Second, and more disturbingly, it could mean that the pan-blue camp thinks that its wishes and its goals are out of the reach of the nation's laws and democratic process.

This would indicate that the pan-blue camp is experiencing a recurrence of the dictatorial and undemocratic attitudes displayed by the KMT for so many decades, and differs from the Chinese Communist Party only in name.

Daniel McCarthy
Salt Lake City, Utah

A Frenchman regrets

As a French national living in Taiwan for more than a year, I would like to express my shame and anger following the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to Paris.

French President Jacques Chirac's declaration regarding the cross-strait issue was a political, economic, historical and, above all, moral mistake. Besides discrediting the courageous French position on the Iraq issue, it supports the past rather than the future. It's going for the illusion of small immediate benefits (a few contracts signed but yet to be honored) rather than defending a long-term friendship between two democracies -- generating a solid, long-term business relationship.

As one of the first real democracies in Asia, Taiwan must be supported as a political guide, an inspiration for the whole region. And forgetting our centuries-old principles and ideals out of cupidity or fear won't help France get back its position among Western nations. I know that this point of view is widely shared among the French people living here and loving Taiwan.

Vincent Cousin
Taipei

Stop market killing

Many avian specialists are of the opinion that the bird flu affecting many Asian nation is difficult for humans to contract unless poultry is improperly handled.

Looking at Vietnam's case, family members were killing birds in a very unhygienic manner. They were directly handling sick birds, although they were not aware at the time that the birds were ill. As a result, some of them contracted the disease and died. This incident clearly indicates that slaughtering sick animals in an unprofessional manner may increase the risk of infection.

Any person may contract the disease through mucous membranes or wounds and then fall sick. Such incidents happen daily in markets where poultry are slaughtered live. People selling poultry can easily contract any diseases the poultry might have.

For the sake of the public health in greater Taipei, such outdated methods of slaughtering poultry should be stopped. It is an insult that a developed country such as Taiwan still retains some of the most ancient methods of slaughtering animals in public.

In underdeveloped countries, people buy live chickens because they can not afford a refrigerator at home. We have all the latest household appliances. Storing food is not a problem.

I feel the time is right to impose a ban on slaughtering live poultry in markets, which is a good course to stop the spread of food-borne diseases once and for all. I hope that we all visualize the ill effects of ancient methods of killing live animals in public places and put an end to it for the sake of human health and public welfare.

Leon Lin
Taipei
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