Nicaragua confirms friendship
It is with great astonishment that I came across an article about Nicaragua, written by staff reporter Shih Hsiu-chuan, and published in your newspaper on Wednesday (“Nicaragua envoy adds ‘China’ to ‘Taiwan’ at UN,” Oct. 2, page 3).
Pursuant to it, I am filing a request for clarification. I would like to inform you that all diplomatic allies of Taiwan refer to the Republic of China as “China,” being the only government of China we recognize, which is why our Foreign Minister Samuel Santos Lopez used this term while addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, having nothing to do with the intended allegations suggested by the article that his speech “raised eyebrows in Taiwan.”
More importantly, our foreign minister will be visiting Taiwan next week, following an invitation by the government of the Republic of China to attend the Double Ten celebrations of the 102nd National Day of the Republic of China. His visit is evidence of Nicaragua’s close and strong relationship with Taiwan, thus reassuring constant support for Taiwan’s participation in the international community.
Hoping this will clarify any doubts about the good intentions of Nicaragua, and that you will publish this note in your newspaper, I remain.
William Tapia
Ambassador of Nicaragua to the Republic of China
Save yourselves from Ma
Because he is incompetent, insensitive, ineffective, a pathological liar, unpopular, untrustworthy, abusing his power and violating the Constitution, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should be held accountable, as the Taipei Times advised. (“Ma should be held accountable, Oct. 1, page 8). However, one thing has become crystal clear: He will neither apologize nor step down.
The reasons are:
1. It is the Chinese mentality. Chinese think they came to Taiwan to take over and to rule Taiwan. They are the rulers. Looking around the central government, you see the great majority of high-level officials are Chinese.
2. Ma believes that he is the emperor — having taken the presidency of Taiwan and the chairmanship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — the ruling party.
With all the power and authority that he has, he can do and say whatever he wants anytime and anywhere. He can do no wrong. He believes that he is above the law. His authority cannot and should not be challenged. This should continue until his death. He believes that it is the tradition — just as with former presidens Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Even with the Wang appeal being denied twice by courts, Ma will continue to do whatever he likes, to deny any opposition and to fight with the people who are not with him. Any obstacles in his way will be removed at any cost mercilessly and ruthlessly.
Taiwanese will continue to suffer and to live miserable lives. It is time the Taiwanese wake up, do something and find a way to save themselves.
Ken Huang
Murrieta, California
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