The reshuffle at the government-sponsored Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) reflects the current political distribution in Taiwan and it was carried out in a democratic manner, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) has told the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Ministry Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told a press briefing yesterday that Ou wrote a letter to NED president Carl Gershman who, along with some members of Congress, had expressed concern over the recent reshuffle at the foundation and asked President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) not to interfere in the foundation.
In the letter dated June 29, Ou said Article 8 of the foundation’s charter stipulates that half of its board members must come from political parties that occupy 5 percent or more of the seats in the Legislative Yuan and therefore, the TFD board changes after each legislative election.
Ou appealed to the US to respect the sovereignty and the rule of law of different nations. He also said he hoped that the NED, under Gershman’s leadership, would show similar deference to Taiwan’s due process.
Gershman wrote to Ma last month to urge him not to interfere with the foundation’s structure and the policies after it was reported that under Beijing’s influence, the Ma administration planned to make major changes to the foundation’s governing board and to prevent it from offering financial support to pro-democracy movements in China, Tibet and Cuba.
“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,” Gershman wrote.
While the NED was the only organization to react so strongly, a number of other Washington-based groups — including Freedom House and the Formosan Association for Public Affairs — are known to be concerned about reports of Ma’s alleged plans to interfere with and restrict the foundation.
Several members of the US Congress are also worried about the situation, but have decided to wait until Ma officially makes his plans known before reacting.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said