Yesterday, we ran a brief item in this space about Texas Governor and US presidential candidate George W. Bush headlined "Bush flunks foreign policy quiz."
No sooner had the paper gone to press than a friend in Washington e-mailed us a copy of humorist Art Buchwald's recent column about -- you guessed it -- George W. Bush and "that quiz."
Buchwald, who has been writing humor columns for the Washington Post for centuries, said he was not as disturbed as most Americans were that Bush didn't know the names of the leaders of Pakistan, India or Chechnya -- although he did know the name of Taiwan's president. ("Lee!" Bush replied to a TV reporter.)
"There is nothing in the US Constitution that says the president has to know who the leaders of those three places are," Buchwald said.
But the famous humorist did have an interesting suggestion for Bush's campaign team, writing: "What Mr Bush has to do is rewrite his briefing book. When a TV interviewer asks, `Who is the president of Ireland?' his response would be, `I can't tell you that, but I can tell you who the leader of Taiwan is. It's Lee Teng-hui.'
"`You have just won US$200. Would you like to go for $1,000?'
"`Yes, I'll try education.'
"`How do you feel about prayer in school?'
"`Lee Teng-hui.'
"`Now one more question. If elected, who would you appoint as the chairman of the Federal Reserve board?'
"`Lee Teng-hui.'"
Please send your story to
offthebeat@taipeitimes.com
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS