Supporters of Senator Barack Obama in Taiwan cheered their candidate’s victory yesterday and said his triumph means that the US has a better chance of regaining the respect of the international community.
Watching Obama’s acceptance speech from a restaurant in Taipei, Boston native Mark Szretter said he “couldn’t be happier.”
“He is the type of person like Kennedy who can say to the public, ‘Ask not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ He will give us the tough answers we need to hear and motivate us to take action,” he said.
Colin Hayes, an African-American from Chicago said Obama’s victory made him proud to be an American.
“Living overseas, I can see how what happens in America really does affect the rest of the world. I think we hit a point where the rest of the world really isn’t looking up to us in a positive way. Today symbolizes that we are moving toward a different course,” he said.
Sanza Bulaya, a French banker based in Taiwan, said he was very proud of the Americans for choosing a leader willing to listen to the voice of the people.
Kevin Wong, a Taiwanese-American, said he did not regret voting for Republican candidate John McCain and hoped that Obama would be humble enough to consider some tenets of McCain’s tax plan, and realize that he must be mindful of the views of those who did not vote for him.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
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