Contrary to his image as a humble and gentle politician, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
In a city government meeting on disaster relief on Monday, Ma reminded city officials and military personnel to prepare for a Chinese military invasion. He seems to believe that tensions across the Taiwan Strait still exist and that Taipei, especially the Chungchen and Hsinyi districts, would be the primary targets of a Chinese attack in case of war.
Then, in a newspaper article published yesterday, Ma wrote that he had opposed the central government telling the public that holding a referendum and enacting a new constitution are universal values, as well as ways to love Taiwan and support democracy. In his article, Ma stressed that "Taiwan indepen-dence, referendums and writing a new constitution" have gradually evolved into a new holy trinity -- an infallible moral cult that cannot be challenged.
Why did Ma only mentioned the Chungcheng and Hsinyi districts while leaving out the Ta-an District, where many government officials reside? He also omitted other military districts that are equipped with the ability to counter a Chinese attack.
Moreover, aren't referendums and writing a new constitution universal values endorsed by democratic societies? Why are these two necessarily jointed with Taiwan independence? While Ma reproached the green camp for labelling others at will, he should not couple Taiwan independence -- a unique political ideal -- with the universal values of referendum and writing a new constitution. If the new holy trinity was really an infallible moral cult, as Ma has claimed, how could he question it himself?
Ma's argument reflects that many blue-camp leaders have yet to overcome the frustration of losing the election; they appear dazed and confused. They are still threatening Taipei residents by claiming that China may attack Taiwan by force if the green camp continues to rule. They cannot see the potential crises that may occur during the inauguration.
Not only have some people publicly vowed to assassinate President Chen Shui-bian (
Looking at the logic Ma has used, it is clear that he's still looking back at those unpleasant days in the past, and has forgotten about protecting the important national event in front of him. Democratic rule of law is the basis for this nation to survive. It surpasses the interest of any one political party. If the presidential inauguration is ruined, Ma's political career will also be ruined. Is this want he wants?
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations