Irony or blatant stupidity?
It was devastatingly embarrassing that former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) has reportedly admitted to asking for and receiving NT$63 million (US$2.1 million) in alleged bribe money.
However, to top off the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) weekly blunders, Jacqueline Liu (劉姍姍), the former director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City, Missouri, who abused her two Philippine maids and paid them only a fraction of the salary that was due them, was suspended from her duties for two years for seriously damaging the country’s reputation and on suspicion of allowing a Chinese national access to Taiwan’s national security information.
Two years suspension? Are you serious?
In most democratic and developed countries she would get several years in jail for serious human rights abuses and another 10 years or so for treason.
However, not in Taiwan, where the ruling party has a 60-year history of human rights abuses, and national security policy is bluntly violated on a weekly or monthly basis by signing agreement after agreement under the “one China” policy with China’s communist dictatorship.
Enough is enough!
Let us force Taiwan’s Chinese President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to resign not only as chairman of the corrupt and anti-Taiwan KMT, but also as president of “the Taiwan region of China” before “one country, two areas” becomes a reality!
Dan Luthi
Greater Taichung
Wake up to the arts
I want to throw the Taiwanese into a sad, imaginary world. I want to throw the Taiwanese into a world where art and culture are shunned. I want to throw the Taiwanese into a world where they become a horrible punchline for a joke where the setup is a country totally lacking in talent. I want to do this to make the point that Taiwan does have a lot to offer if people would just open their eyes, hearts and minds. We would all wake up and realize Taiwan has a lot to offer and embrace it wholeheartedly.
There exists a big problem. On Wednesday last week, the Taipei Times reported that the Taiwanese government cares nothing about the arts (“Under the gun,” July 11, page 12). It is no secret that Greater Taichung shut down the arts scene that was once vibrant there. It is horribly sad to hear Taipei is doing the same. If Taiwan is not ready to embrace art, what future does it have?
Oh, wait. There are other Asian countries that hate art. North Korea and China come to mind. I can probably Google a few more, but I think you get the point.
Oh, and lawmakers who cannot change the law on live music houses, my assumption is that your job title means you make laws. Not that you cower behind others that would rather hear noontime blue truck ads that are much more obstructive to peaceful living than going and enjoying the vibrant Taiwanese arts scene. Great job of making yourselves look like losers who have no clue of how to do the job of making laws. Despite being law-makers. (A fairly obvious compound word in English. I hyphenated it to help out).
Feel free to ask if you still do not “get it.” I will gladly explain this in terms that make sense. I will even avoid big words.
So, any questions?
Matt Bronsil
Changhua City
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