Love him or hate him, it's hard to ignore Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (
But it was hard not to laugh at him on Saturday when Chiu accused the nation's prosecutors of being "tools of the government." Strange words indeed, coming from Chiu, as no one has benefited more from the prosecutors' willingness to investigate and follow up his nonstop allegations against the government than Chiu himself.
His allegations have been instrumental in getting former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Che-nan (
Chiu should consider himself fortunate that he lives in the Taiwan of the 21st century, as just 22 years ago such accusations could have seen him suffer the same fate as Henry Liu (
So how Chiu has the effrontery to accuse prosecutors of bending to the government's will is beyond belief. If that were the case then he would probably be residing in prison right now as a result of the criminal damage he caused when he incited a riot and led a sound truck to repeatedly ram the gates of the Kaohsiung Prosecutors' Office following the 2004 presidential election.
Prosecutors indicted Chiu more than two years ago for his part in the damage, which was captured on film. This, combined with the fact he was serving a suspended sentence for violating the Public Officials' Election and Recall Law (
But Chiu and his patrons at TVBS -- he admitted the relationship in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post -- take advantage of Taiwan's highly partisan political atmosphere to make slanderous allegations safe in the knowledge that little, if any, action will be taken against them. Any cry of political persecution brings back painful memories for too many people in Taiwan and ensures that legislators from both sides get away scot-free when making the most outrageous allegations.
It is all very well to hold endless press conferences exposing government corruption if one has the evidence to support the allegations, but one cannot cry foul when upon investigation these allegations are found to be untrue, or as was discovered in one of the cases uncovered by Chiu, based merely on his suspicion.
Chiu is an educated man, so even he must be aware that if he continues to make serious allegations against people based on his suspicions, sooner or later he is going to be held accountable for them.
Slander may not be as serious a crime in Taiwan as in other countries but all people, no matter who they are, should have to answer for their words. Otherwise, who will compensate the prosecutors for all their wasted time and energy? It is no wonder that they have finally gotten round to indicting him.
The problem with Chiu is that his modus operandi seems to be if you throw enough mud, then eventually some of it will stick. But in most cases it doesn't. And while his role in exposing corruption must be commended, Chiu also has to realize that the more groundless accusations he makes, the less people will take notice of him.
Hasn't he heard the tale of the boy who cried wolf?
When US budget carrier Southwest Airlines last week announced a new partnership with China Airlines, Southwest’s social media were filled with comments from travelers excited by the new opportunity to visit China. Of course, China Airlines is not based in China, but in Taiwan, and the new partnership connects Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 30 cities across the US. At a time when China is increasing efforts on all fronts to falsely label Taiwan as “China” in all arenas, Taiwan does itself no favors by having its flagship carrier named China Airlines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is eager to jump at
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised eyebrows recently when he declared the era of American unipolarity over. He described America’s unrivaled dominance of the international system as an anomaly that was created by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Now, he observed, the United States was returning to a more multipolar world where there are great powers in different parts of the planet. He pointed to China and Russia, as well as “rogue states like Iran and North Korea” as examples of countries the United States must contend with. This all begs the question:
In China, competition is fierce, and in many cases suppliers do not get paid on time. Rather than improving, the situation appears to be deteriorating. BYD Co, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by production volume, has gained notoriety for its harsh treatment of suppliers, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability. The case also highlights the decline of China’s business environment, and the growing risk of a cascading wave of corporate failures. BYD generally does not follow China’s Negotiable Instruments Law when settling payments with suppliers. Instead the company has created its own proprietary supply chain finance system called the “D-chain,” through which
RSS