林保華評論

Greens unite, protect and besiege

By Paul Lin 林保華

Sunday, Oct 25, 2009, Page 8

The battle is on for the year-end mayoral, county commissioner and city and county councilor elections. The government’s plan to upgrade several cities and counties to special municipality status may have brought a certain level of disorder to the electoral process, thereby highlighting the importance of the year-end elections.

Balancing US, PRC comfort zones

By Paul Lin 林保華

Friday, Oct 16, 2009, Page 8

When Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was elected president, the immediate US reaction was to heave a sigh of relief because Ma’s pro-­China policies were expected to relax the tense cross-strait relationship. In practice, things have turned out slightly differently, as “pro-China” became “submit to China,” and this raised flags in the US, as can be seen from a series of recent events.

Ethnicity crucial to response to Morakot

By Paul Lin 林保華

Friday, Aug 28, 2009, Page 8

“High class Mainlander” Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英) has once again given us an earful of his preposterous opinions, this time in connection to the disaster relief effort in southern Taiwan. This man is not worth the effort and the ink, but a discussion about the effects on the disaster relief of the ethnic identification issue that he plays on is.

A disaster that could have been less painful

By Paul Lin 林保華

Saturday, Aug 15, 2009, Page 8
With flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot wreaking severe damage in southern Taiwan, experts must now consider how such a disaster could have been repeated 50 years after the notorious flooding of Aug. 7, 1959. Over the past two years, Taiwan』s ability to handle disasters has deteriorated. Compared with their disaster response measures last year, the incompetent bureaucrats in President Ma Ying-jeou』s (馬英九) government have made no progress.

First, Ma criticized the Central Weather Bureau for 「misleading」 the government last year, and he has done so again this time.

Fighting the communists amid talks with China

By Paul Lin 林保華

Sunday, Aug 02, 2009, Page 8

At the founding of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps last month, we used a slogan of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石): “We shall win against communism, we shall build the nation” (反共必勝,建國必勝).

A true experience of White Terror

By Paul Lin 林保華

Thursday, Jul 23, 2009, Page 8

At about 9pm on July 14, my wife received a phone call from the local section chief of the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice. He said there would be a report on the alleged arrival of pro-­Xinjiang independence activists in Taiwan in Next Magazine (壹周刊) magazine the following day and that according to information obtained from the bureau’s Kaohsiung office, the activists were in some way connected to me. The man first requested to visit us at home and then said he was already downstairs.

Chinese oppression of minorities

By Paul Lin 林保華

Sunday, Jul 12, 2009, Page 8

An ironic group to fight the CCP

By Paul Lin 林保華

Sunday, Jun 28, 2009, Page 8
‘The pan-green camp is embroiled in infighting, and the man on the street probably says that both sides in this party dispute are wrong. This has had a negative impact on the pan-green camp’s reputation and therefore benefits the KMT.’
 

Hong Kong carries the flame for Tiananmen

By Paul Lin 林保華

Saturday, Jun 06, 2009, Page 8

Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. For 20 years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has created a mass of lies about what happened and has used China’s economic development to cover up its murderous acts.

DPP needs plan to deal with China

By Paul Lin 林保華

Monday, Jun 01, 2009, Page 8

The issue of whether Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) should have visited China has caused debate within the pan-green camp. China’s existence is a fact that Taiwan cannot ignore. It is inevitable that Taiwan has to deal with China and that refusing to do so is not an option. The key issue is how Taiwan should go about it.

In defense of stupidity on Chinese agreements By Paul Lin 林保華 Friday, May 22, 2009, Page 8 President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) recently defended his China policies by asserting that they didn’t jeopardize Taiwan’s sovereignty and that Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Assembly (WHA) was the result of a “diplomatic truce.” However, Taiwan’s participation at the WHA is a typical example of how Taiwan’s sovereignty is being chipped away. With the WHO Web site referring to Taiwan as “China (Province of Taiwan),” the public needs to ask whether Taiwan’s sovereignty is really secure. In order to participate in the WHA, the government did not bat an eyelid at compromising Taiwan’s sovereignty. Dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and former presidents Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) could have gained entry for Taiwan into the WHA, but they did not. The only difference between Ma and the previous administration is a willingness to agree with the “one China” framework. Ma did what former presidents were not willing to do and called it an “ice-breaking” achievement. However, breaking the ice in this case is not worth bragging about. Accepting Taiwan’s status as a province of China is tantamount to recognizing a new “status quo” that Taiwan belongs to China. By accepting this, China will consider any future president who wishes to change that status as a troublemaker, and the US will also agree with this viewpoint. By that time, China will have the means to resort to force against Taiwan. If Ma feels “wronged” about Taiwan losing its dignity, why doesn’t the administration protest at international occasions by denying that Taiwan is a province of China? It is highly unlikely that China would have kicked Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) out of the WHA because it would not want to create an international scene. When Yeh arrived in Geneva, he asked to try out his seat at the venue beforehand. A clown of an official like this is even more embarrassing than former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (�?}), who participated in cross-strait talks with an air of triumph without knowing that he had already become a pawn in China’s “united front” tactics. Yeh did not care that Taiwanese journalists were issued press passes that displayed an ambiguous national status. Yeh likes to brag about his achievements and patriotism. However, his major achievement during the SARS outbreak at the Heping Branch of the Taipei City Hospital in 2003 was to protect Ma. So, it is now Ma’s turn to protect his servant. None of this has anything to do with patriotism. Even if they claim love for Taiwan, what they really mean is they love Taiwan as part of China. The Taiwanese students who spoke out against Yeh showed more patriotism than Ma and the minister. Not only did they heckle Yeh, but they also criticized WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍), who is from “Hong Kong, China,” for accepting Chinese government payments to serve as its puppet at the WHO. Because Ma and Yeh adhere to the “Taiwan, China” principle, they do not have the courage to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty, nor did they condemn China for covering up the SARS outbreak that took numerous lives back in 2003. It is clear that Taiwan’s sovereignty has been eroded, but our government is still bragging about its achievements. This reminds me of the spirit of victory of “Ah Q,” depicted by Chinese writer Lu Xun (魯迅). I regret this “spirit” because it is why Taiwan is in such a mess. Paul Lin is a political commentator. TRANSLATED BY TED YANG This story has been viewed 481 times.

History will declare ‘Mr’ Ma a criminal

By Paul Lin 林保華

Friday, May 15, 2009, Page 8

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which occurred in Beijing on June 4, 1989. The massacre has impeded the Chinese democracy movement for two decades, and activists who have continued the struggle have made little headway. Despite this, the movement for democracy must not be abandoned.

An overflow of PRC tourists, money

By Paul Lin 林保華

Friday, May 08, 2009, Page 8

Taiwan has been described as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” but now it seems to be sinking under the deluge of Chinese tourists attracted by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) China-friendly policies.

China expanding power base in HK

By Paul Lin 林保華

Wednesday, May 06, 2009, Page 8

The Constitution and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB, 政制及內地事務局) of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council held a meeting on April 18 in which pan-democratic legislators demanded that Stephen Lam (林瑞麟), Hong Kong’s secretary for constitutional affairs, explain Beijing’s plan to establish a “second power base” in the territory. Lam has long been known for his loyalty to Beijing.

A threat to the US and our values

By Paul Lin 林保華

Wednesday, Apr 08, 2009, Page 8

Memorials and discussions have been held lately to mark the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) on Friday. The Chinese government did all it could do to stop the US Congress passing a resolution offering support for the TRA and democracy in Taiwan. China’s United Front strategy did cause some problems, but in the end a resolution was passed that included the word “cornerstone” in describing the importance of the TRA to US-Taiwan relations.

Looking for the real Fan Lan-chin

By Paul Lin 林保華 Sunday, Mar 22, 2009, Page 8

‘If Fan is a Chinese living in China or somewhere else overseas, that person should step forward and save Kuo, a “Chinese compatriot.” Would the Chinese government agree and identify with Fan’s articles that are so full of ethnic hatred? The answer is yes.’

Although many facts point to Kuo Kuan-ying (郭冠英), the information division director of Taiwan’s representative office in Toronto, as the person who wrote several online articles insulting Taiwan and ethnic Taiwanese under the alias Fan Lan-chin (范蘭欽), Kuo has not owned up to the matter. This situation recalls questions about former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Diane Lee’s (李慶安) US citizenship. President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration and the KMT have handled the matter in the same way — handing out protection.

We can see that Kuo’s attempt at an apology was clearly fake, because he would have no reason to apologize if he wasn’t Fan and if he does not think he is a “high-class Mainlander,” as he has said. If Kuo is not Fan, then who is Fan, and why, with things having developed to this point, hasn’t this person come forward?

Important lessons from Hong Kong

By Paul Lin 林保華

Thursday, Mar 12, 2009, Page 8

Eliminate conflicts of interest in China talks

By Paul Lin 林保華

Friday, Feb 20, 2009, Page 8

LAST MONTH, TAIWAN’S exports dropped by 44.1 percent compared with the same period last year. This included a 58.6 percent decrease in exports to China and Hong Kong, twice the drop in exports to the US. This is the result of being overly reliant on China economically and vindicates former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) “no haste, be patient” policy.

What course will US-PRC relations now take?

By Paul Lin 林保華 Saturday, Feb 14, 2009, Page 8

US SECRETARY OF State Hillary Clinton’s first overseas trip since assuming office will be to Japan, Indonesia South Korea and China. She had originally decided to visit only Japan, with the other destinations added later. This shows that the US sees Japan as a top priority in Asia for its global strategy. After all, the US signed the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security with Japan in 1960.

As this affects Taiwan’s security, it should be good news. Clinton included China in her trip not only because the US cannot afford to ignore China but also because US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a Senate confirmation hearing that US President Barack Obama believed China was manipulating the yuan, drawing Beijing’s criticism.

Both former president Bill Clinton and his successor, George W. Bush, condemned China during their election campaigns. After taking office, however, they made an about-face, and US-Taiwan relations deteriorated. In contrast, Obama seldom expressed opinions on US-China relations during his election campaign. But the Democrats seem to be more concerned about the rights of the disadvantaged than the Republicans, so the Obama administration might be more critical of China.

West cannot sacrifice its ideals for PRC’s face

By Paul Lin 林保華

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009, Page 8

During the Lunar New Year holidays, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) visited Europe, where he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the EU headquarters in Belgium as well as Germany, Spain and the UK.