Defending against Chiu Yi
It seems the mudslinging tradition is alive and well in Taiwan. KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) recently held a press conference in Taiwan where he wrongly accused the Formosa Foundation and its honorary chairman, Wu Li-pei (吳澧培), of being involved in the alleged money laundering of which former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his family have been accused. Chiu’s claim is completely untrue and an absolute fabrication.
In a desperate act to vilify the Formosa Foundation and the important work that the organization has done promoting Taiwan’s democracy, Chiu has created a false controversy.
It is a matter of public record that this legislator has previously been sued for, and found guilty of, slander. In fact, Chiu has served jail time as a result of his slanderous comments and has a history of making unfounded allegations smearing innocent people and organizations. [Editor’s note: Chiu’s prison term was the result of his involvement in a physical attack on the Kaohsiung District Court and not slander. Chiu’s conviction for slander earlier this year resulted in a short jail term replaceable by a fine as per convention.]
Now he has targeted the Formosa Foundation with unfounded and outrageous allegations in an effort to promote his political agenda while we are forced to defend our reputation from these baseless attacks. Chiu’s behavior should be unacceptable to all Taiwanese and Americans.
We urge media outlets to check facts before reporting any of Chiu’s allegations as the truth. The Formosa Foundation, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization, has spent years working to educate the US public about the importance of supporting Taiwan’s democracy.
The organization has a hard-won and well-deserved reputation as an honest and effective advocate. Each year the Formosa Foundation trains students to become activists for democracy. The foundation has made a tremendous difference in the way the US Congress and the US public view Taiwan. It should be supported rather than be the victim of vicious lies.
Democracy, the old American saying goes, is a contact sport. You expect vigorous give-and-take and you allow for a certain amount of rhetorical spin. But blatant lies and smears are an attempt to undermine democracy. No one should tolerate politics based on fabricating allegations with complete disregard for the truth.
The Formosa Foundation demands that Chiu halt his slanderous comments and calls upon the media to act responsibly in publishing such falsehoods.
Terri Giles
Executive director
Formosa Foundation
Los Angeles, California
Corruption can be stopped
The answer to the question posed by your editorial “Does the corruption stop here?” (Aug. 22, page 8) is “yes” — if the government has the willpower and the courts are impartial.
The vast stolen assets of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have made the KMT the richest political party in the world and have set a bad example of corruption to parties and politicians in Taiwan. When Chen Shui-bian was president, he talked about reclaiming KMT assets, but only at election time.
This is a judicial case, not a legislative bill. After becoming president, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) correctly suggested nullifying the KMT’s assets, but KMT Chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) threatened to quit. Ma should follow up his suggestion.
When Ma was Taipei’s mayor, he pocketed US$7,000 a month from the mayoral special fund. As the court investigated the case, Ma hurriedly donated the money to charities. His acquittal set another bad example for the system.
Chen is being investigated for laundering money. He has said that he never intended to pocket the sum. He donated US$10 million of his campaign money to the Democratic Progressive Party while claiming to have used the rest for “international diplomacy” and other “public purposes.”
Only impartial investigations will reveal if he told the truth.
CHARLES HONG
Columbus, Ohio
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully
Taiwan is facing multiple economic challenges due to internal and external pressures. Internal challenges include energy transition, upgrading industries, a declining birthrate and an aging population. External challenges are technology competition between the US and China, international supply chain restructuring and global economic uncertainty. All of these issues complicate Taiwan’s economic situation. Taiwan’s reliance on fossil fuel imports not only threatens the stability of energy supply, but also goes against the global trend of carbon reduction. The government should continue to promote renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, as well as energy storage technology, to diversify energy supply. It
Former Japanese minister of defense Shigeru Ishiba has been elected as president of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and would be approved as prime minister in parliament today. Ishiba is a familiar face for Taiwanese, as he has visited the nation several times. His popularity among Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers has grown as a result of his multiple meetings and encounters with legislators and prominent figures in the government. The DPP and the LDP have close ties and have long maintained warm relations. Ishiba in August 2020 praised Taiwan’s
On Thursday last week, the International Crisis Group (ICG) issued a well-researched report titled “The Widening Schism across the Taiwan Strait,” which focused on rising tensions between Taiwan and China, making a number of recommendations on how to avoid conflict. While it is of course laudable that a respected international organization such as the ICG is willing to think through possible avenues toward a peaceful resolution, the report contains a couple of fundamental flaws in the way it approaches the issue. First, it attempts to present a “balanced approach” by pushing back equally against Taiwan’s perceived transgressions as against Beijing’s military threats
RSS