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US group pressures Ma on TFD shuffle

Carl Gershman, president of the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), has written to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), calling on him not to interfere with the structure and policies of the highly respected Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).

It has been widely reported that the Ma administration intends to make major changes to the foundation’s governing board and to stop it from offering financial support to pro-democracy movements in China, Tibet and Cuba.

Sources in Taipei said the impending moves were triggered by complaints from Beijing at a time when Ma is making numerous concessions to improve cross-strait relations.

Gershman’s letter, sent last week, said: “It has come to my attention through reports in the press that broad changes are being proposed for the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. I am concerned that such an overhaul could well compromise both the Foundation’s independence and the quality of its work.”

While the NED may be the only organization to quickly react this strongly, a number of Washington-based groups — including Freedom House and the Formosan Association for Public Affairs — are known to be deeply concerned about reports of Ma’s alleged plans to interfere with and restrict the TFD.

Several members of US Congress are also worried about the situation, but have decided to wait until Ma officially makes his plans known before reacting.

Gershman said the TFD had enjoyed a close relationship with the 25-year-old NED since the TFD was founded in 2003.

He said in the letter that the TFD had “burnished” Taiwan’s reputation as a democracy.

“The TFD has been able to fulfill its promise over the last six years because of two attributes that have also contributed to the NED’s success,” Gershman said.

“The first is its independence and arms-length relationship to the government that have enabled it to carry out its mission free of political interference or control; and the second is a commitment to bipartisanship in its governance, so that no matter which party is in government, the operations and basic direction of the Foundation will remain constant,” he said.

The high quality of TFD’s work, Gershman said, has brought democrats throughout Asia together in a network and has had a strong regional impact, enabling Taiwan’s voice to be heard in key international forums.

“I am concerned that a major overhaul of the Foundation’s leadership would have serious consequences in terms of the continuity of work currently underway. But I am even more troubled by the negative message it would send to those who have regarded the Foundation as an expression not of one particular partisan point of view but rather as an expression of the commitment of the people of Taiwan to democratic solidarity,” he said.

“We hope that our fears are unfounded and that the Foundation will continue on a steady path. I believe this would greatly benefit Taiwan and would also serve the cause of democracy worldwide,” he said.

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