Focus on urgent issues
William Cox’s letter (Nov. 26, page 8) is obviously well meant, but illustrates several major problems with foreigners commenting on former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) medical issues. Such foreigners frequently err, as Cox does.
For example, Chen has a desk and does not write on the floor. Errors like that enable opponents to discredit pro-Chen foreigners as well-meaning fools who know little about Taiwan. Cox also appears to be unaware that prisoners in Taiwan are generally treated the same way as Chen is, and that, in fact, his incarceration is good by Taiwanese standards. For example, he was sent to one of the best hospitals in the nation for treatment, a privilege no ordinary prisoner would have received.
Few Taiwanese share this strange desire to help Chen. Most see him as, at best, a traitor to the pro-Taiwan cause; at worst, as a thief. Chen’s son recently admitted that their homes in the US were purchased with campaign funds. While converting campaign funds to personal use is legal, that money belongs to the Democratic Progressive Party on behalf of all people who worked to put him in power, as well as those murdered during the Martial Law era. Yes, Chen is a political prisoner. However, his incarceration might have been avoided had Chen behaved in a modest and ethical manner.
The truth is that the issues surrounding Chen’s detention are a minor issue not worth well-meaning outsiders’ time. Foreigners who want to help Taiwan should be focusing on more urgent issues that affect many lives, such as the forced conversion of farmland to industrial parks, the environment, carbon dioxide emissions, traffic, official corruption, human trafficking, the north-south divide, the plight of foreign workers, farmers, fisheries, urban livability, deepening democratization and so on.
If Chen comes up, it should only be as a minor poster boy for an urgently needed general program of prison reform. Taiwan-supporting foreigners, please stop wasting your time with a man who abused and betrayed your trust and whose case will merely divert your energy and impair your credibility as a speaker in Taiwan.
Michael Turton
Greater Taichung
Military not ready
The question of military readiness involves more than mere conscription. Daily discipline within the military needs to be rethought as well. My stepson is currently in service at Base X. Since he got out of boot camp, he has often had three-day weekends, and frequent five-day passes. How can the military expect to be ready if their soldiers are often absent and no one trains seven days a week, but only two or three?
On one occasion I attended an open day at a different base. The beds were made tightly, and the grass had been cut. However, the bathroom was a bizarre mess. One urinal was off the wall and lay on the floor in the middle of the room. In addition, there was a hose pipe wound and twisted all over the floor running from one of the bathrooms to the other. If there are problems visible to an outside observer, what are the invisible ones? I am not sure this army would be ready if an attack were to occur without two weeks prior notice.
Shervin Marsh
Luodong, Yilan County
Ma okay with ‘ineffectual’
The Economist caused a stir in Taiwan by referring to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) as an “ineffectual bumbler.” Ma has disputed the meaning of the word “bumbler” as a diversion to the critical point, which is that he is ineffectual.
That word means he is unable to produce a desired effect or that he lacks the ability or qualities to cope with a role or situation. On that point, Ma is silent. Apparently, he is quite comfortable wearing that shoe.
Robert Pennington
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Ma’s empty promises
In his opinion piece, Lu Shih-hsiang (“Ma turning a blind eye to will of Taiwanese,” Dec. 3, page 8) hit the nail on the proverbial head in stating that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in general, and Ma in particular, have done nothing but turn a blind eye and cold shoulder to all Taiwanese. This has been his history from the very beginning. Promises abound, but nothing comes to fruition, while under-the-table dealings with China by a myriad of official/unofficial spokespersons seem to never end. And all these are contrary to his once stated goals.
I realize what I am about to say might be deemed heresy/blasphemy, but the current state of affairs makes one wonder if the “esteemed” personage of Johnny Neihu might be coaxed from retirement to provide the “needle in the backside” of those so full of themselves they need not listen to the vast majority.
Tom Kuleck
Greater Taichung
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
It is being said every second day: The ongoing recall campaign in Taiwan — where citizens are trying to collect enough signatures to trigger re-elections for a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — is orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), or even President William Lai (賴清德) himself. The KMT makes the claim, and foreign media and analysts repeat it. However, they never show any proof — because there is not any. It is alarming how easily academics, journalists and experts toss around claims that amount to accusing a democratic government of conspiracy — without a shred of evidence. These
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
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