China's crackdown in Tibet, role in Xinjiang riot condemned 2012/03/04 20:37:54 |
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Taipei, March 4 (CNA) Human rights activists on Sunday condemned China's crackdown in Tibet and its role in a riot in Xinjiang, prior to the opening of China's National People's Congress, calling on Beijing to resolve its differences with China's ethnic minorities. |
我的一生人 林保華
目前分類:English (245)
- Mar 05 Mon 2012 00:08
轉貼:China's crackdown in Tibet, role in Xinjiang riot condemned
- Feb 26 Sun 2012 04:07
Learn from Hong Kong’s sad fate
Learn from Hong Kong’s sad fate
By Paul Lin 林保華
The provisional title of this article, “The sensitive issue of China-Hong Kong relations” would not be considered “politically correct” in Hong Kong. After 1997, when the British handed the territory back to China, Beijing decreed that a number of political terms would be used regarding the territory. For example, China-Hong Kong relations were to be known as “relations between Hong Kong and the interior,” because juxtaposing China and Hong Kong smacks of sympathizing with Hong Kong independence. Nor could one talk of the 1997 “transfer of sovereignty,” because in Beijing’s eyes, Hong Kong has always been a part of China: One could only speak of a “return.”
Even if the media in Hong Kong do not have to enforce these rules, such terminology is becoming ever more common. This is how Hong Kong is slowly becoming linguistically “Sinicized.” I beg your pardon — I should perhaps have said “interiorized.” This is one of the deep-seated causes of the tension that has broken out in Hong Kong of late between locals and visitors from the “interior.”
One issue that has recently highlighted these tensions concerns the introduction of the Hong Kong-mainland China driving scheme, allowing drivers registered in China to drive into Hong Kong. Many are concerned that Chinese drivers will not follow traffic rules, and some are also worried that it will lead to the adoption of China’s system of driving on the right. This last fear has led to criticisms that Hong Kongers are relics of British colonialism, though Japanese also drive on the left. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (王岐山) dismissed these concerns by saying that Chinese motorists would observe traffic regulations when they are in Hong Kong, and the government of the Special Administrative Region dared not refuse to accept them. Some Hong Kongers fear this is the beginning of the end.
- Feb 08 Wed 2012 02:08
HK-mainland row stinks of the CCP
HK-mainland row stinks of the CCP
By Paul Lin 林保華
Hong Kong has increasingly seen an influx of pregnant
mainland Chinese women giving birth in the territory to
gain residency rights. This influx has made it difficult
- Nov 13 Sun 2011 05:17
Su Beng is an example for Taiwan
Su Beng is an example for Taiwan
By Paul Lin 林保華
The “three little pigs” donation campaign of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) signifies a further awakening among the public and represents a turning point in Taiwan’s democracy movement.
Wednesday was the 93rd birthday of Su Beng (史明), one of the pioneers of Taiwan’s nation-building and democracy movements. The Su Beng Education Foundation organized a concert to celebrate the occasion and this is a good time to revisit Su’s contributions and provide them as an example that may be followed during the struggles Taiwan may face in the future.
Director and orchestra conductor Tseng Dau-hsiong (曾道雄) has praised Su as a “national treasure.” Here are a few thoughts about the “Taiwanese values” Su embodies:
- Nov 06 Sun 2011 12:23
Electoral tide is now turning in Tsai’s favor
Electoral tide is now turning in Tsai’s favor
By Paul Lin 林保華
Nan Fang Shuo (南方朔), a well-known commentator and someone President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called “big brother” as a child, recently published an article in the Hong Kong -Chinese-language Ming Pao Daily News. Will this article finally show Ma’s supporters in Hong Kong what he is really like?
In the article, Nan Fang Shuo says that because much of the Taiwanese media use polling data as a tool to influence voter behavior, he only trusts political polls conducted by Global Views Monthly magazine and National Chengchi University’s (NCCU) Center for Prediction Markets and its Exchange of Future Events. However, Global Views has been forced to stop polling and the NCCU polling center was shut down during last year’s elections for the five special municipalities at a time when tensions were at their highest. There is therefore good reason for concern over the coming months.
According to the most recent poll from NCCU, there was a sudden turnaround after Ma mentioned signing a peace accord with China, putting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the lead by 0.1 percent on Oct. 19. However, the next day, when Ma proposed a referendum on the matter, he led Tsai by 0.4 percent. As of that Tuesday, Tsai had been ahead of Ma in four out of the past seven days and on Monday she was ahead by 0.8 percent.
- Oct 30 Sun 2011 06:52
Peace agreement nothing but a trap
Peace agreement nothing but a trap
By Paul Lin 林保華
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has hit a snag in his re-election campaign with talk of a cross-strait peace agreement revealing his intentions to “replace independence with gradual reunification.”
No one is opposed to peace, but no one wants it to come at the price of having to serve under a new dictatorial regime. Are we to suppose that we can live in peace and security if we become part of China? When we talk about cross-strait peace, it is important to keep an eye on the differences between the system we live under and that in China.
In the final years of his presidency, former US president Bill Clinton became more pro-China in his cross-strait policy. However, during a visit to Taiwan in 2005, speaking in a private capacity, he said signing a mid to long-term peace agreement with China would be inadvisable for three reasons. First, he said, it is not really possible to set a term for peace, and that there could be no genuine guarantees. Second, it would be leaving the problem for the next generation. And third, when the agreement expired it would actually be an excuse for China to attack Taiwan.
- Oct 22 Sat 2011 09:58
Ma’s peace plan pleases his masters in Beijing
Ma’s peace plan pleases his masters in Beijing
By Paul Lin 林保華
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) finally revealed his real plans to the public when he recently said that he would be willing to sign a peace agreement with China.
On Sept. 12, Ma’s “Siamese twin” King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), executive director of Ma’s re-election campaign office, said during an international press conference in the US that after winning re-election, Ma might visit China.
He also said that he did not rule out Taiwan and China signing a peace agreement. Because his remarks drew a strong reaction in Taiwan, the next day Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi (范姜泰基) backed away from the comments and quoted a statement from Ma saying he did not have any plans to visit China, that “there is no urgent need for political negotiations” and that there is “no timetable for holding political negotiations with China.”
- Oct 15 Sat 2011 22:21
2011 10 15《綠色參考》 佔領華爾街蔓延78國;新頭殼被告及旺旺;扁案 什麼是實質影響力?台灣法輪功刑告共諜;南海大賽局又一章
2011 10 15《綠色參考》
(提供林保華等人的評論與綠媒以外的信息、評論。)
全文貼在我的部落格:
http://lingfengcomment.pixnet.net/blog
- Oct 15 Sat 2011 22:19
Moving identity issues forward
Moving identity issues forward
By Paul Lin 林保華
The pro-unification media have been having a field day with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) comment that Taiwan is the Republic of China. What they do not realize is that the DPP’s resolution on Taiwan’s future passed in 1999 clearly says that Taiwan, in accordance with the ROC Constitution, is currently called the Republic of China (ROC). Arguing about this all over again is merely a provocation against the solidarity of the green camp and insinuates that Taiwan is part of China.
Tsai said: “The government of the Republic of China today is in fact the government of Taiwan.”
The emphasis on “today” is quite significant here because if there is an ROC of today, then that means there was also an ROC of yesterday.
- Sep 19 Mon 2011 03:23
Ma’s puppet masters in cross-strait tug-of-war
Ma’s puppet masters in cross-strait tug-of-war
By Paul Lin 林保華
The way Taiwanese politicians have been cozying up to the US as exposed in the WikiLeaks cables is totally understandable. In the past, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was only able to survive thanks to US protection. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose ideals are close to those of the US, only avoided being affected by the strategies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by gaining US support. However, it is disappointing to see that the leaked cables seem to indicate that the US has had close interactions with the KMT, but not so much with the DPP.
This is not normal. The KMT does have longstanding historical links with the US, but the DPP’s ideals are more in line with those of the US, so why is there so little interaction between the DPP and the US? This is one of the reasons for some of the misunderstandings between Washington and the DPP during the DPP administration. However, the main reason was that after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, US president George W. Bush’s strategies changed and he had to sacrifice a little bit of Taiwan in order to please China.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) visit to the US is aimed at starting a new era in the party’s relationship with the US to improve Taiwan-US understanding when dealing with relations between Taiwan, China and the US in a way that pays attention to national interests and does not sacrifice universal values.
- Sep 06 Tue 2011 08:04
‘Three noes’ destroying the so-called ‘status quo’
‘Three noes’ destroying the so-called ‘status quo’
By Paul Lin 林保華
As Typhoon Nanmadol threatened Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had other things on his mind, such as what to do about Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). He thought invoking the so-called “1992 consensus” could silence Tsai and the Taiwanese who oppose unification. Apart from banging on about how much he was engaged with the preparations for Nanmadol’s landfall — ignoring the more considerable contributions of others — he called on Tsai to comment on his “three noes” policy: “no unification, no independence and no use of force.”
Tsai need not bother answer his questions, because I can answer them for her. Ma’s “three noes” threaten the “status quo.” Not only do they fail to maintain it, they conspire to obliterate it and perhaps are already doing so.
Let’s look at “no unification” first. On June 10, 2009, Ma announced his intention to stand again for chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The following morning, he gave an interview with CommonWealth Magazine during which, according to an article that appeared in the Chinese state-sponsored media outlet China Review News (CRN) a week later, he singled out the “no unification” part of his three noes. CRN quoted him as saying that “no unification” did not necessarily preclude the option of unification. Apparently, even as he was taking up the post of KMT chairman, Ma was preparing to scrap “no unification.” Perhaps he was respecting the dying wish of his father, Ma Ho-ling (馬鶴凌), inscribed on the latter’s urn: “Replace independence with gradual unification.”
- Aug 14 Sun 2011 07:57
Who really profits from government stock buy?
Who really profits from government stock buy?
By Paul Lin 林保華
A number of big firms on Wall Street — and likely politicians in cahoots with them — took advantage of the recent US debt ceiling showdown, pressuring the US government to unleash a third round of quantitative easing. The firms managed to profit from this, while also stirring up the global market.
It is common for stocks to fluctuate and the trick is knowing how to ride the fluctuations to make money. This risk in stock markets means it is important for investors in Taiwan to be cautious and not rely on the state-owned National Stabilization Fund (NSF) to intervene and prop up the Taiwan Stock Exchange every time the waters get choppy.
The TAIEX shed 464 points on Aug. 5, and US markets suffered later that day, too, because of the combined actions of major international players. Who knows, the decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the US’ credit rating may have been coordinated. It is difficult to say.
- Apr 25 Mon 2011 17:13
Internal fights must not distract DPP
Internal fights must not distract DPP
By Paul Lin 林保華
The three Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential primary candidates recently took part in a political debate, which was subject to further scrutiny in an opinion poll about the candidates’ performances. These were internal debates, and where there is debate there are necessarily differences of opinion, which is not a problem as long as the opinions are substantiated by fact. Also, the three candidates are from the same camp, necessitating a certain amount of self-restraint in the debate. Green camp voters are now more discerning and sophisticated, and they are aware of the influence that their votes have in restraining the behavior of politicians.
Although one shouldn’t necessarily support only one candidate, neither should one support all three. Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), for example, has very different political views from DPP presidential hopefuls Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Hsu has two major components to his policy: cross-strait relations — large-scale investment in and engagement with China — and social justice, centered on assisting disadvantaged groups and addressing wealth disparity. Surely Hsu is smart enough to realize these two policies are incompatible.
Although Taiwanese businesses have been quite conservative about investing in China, we are already seeing a huge decrease in government tax revenue, higher unemployment and a growing poverty gap. Can Taiwan really take much more of this increased investment and enagagement?
- Nov 27 Sat 2010 01:35
It is time for the next generation to stand up
It is time for the next generation to stand up
By Paul Lin 林保華
The disqualification of taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) from the Asian Games, just as campaigning for the special municipality elections was heating up, has opened the eyes of the younger generation in Taiwan.
This was not an isolated incident: at the Tokyo International Film Festival, a Chinese official abused Taiwanese in order to curry favor with the powers that be in Beijing.
Asian Taekwondo Union vice president Zhao Lei (趙磊) might have abused Taiwan for his personal advantage, but such behavior is condoned by Beijing under the banner of nationalism.
- Nov 22 Mon 2010 07:33
True happiness has a green face
True happiness has a green face
By Paul Lin 林保華
One of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) campaign slogans, “proven in government,” has been confirmed by a survey carried out by the Chinese--language magazine CommonWealth, which shows the DPP’s approval rating is higher than that of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) pretty much across the board. The electorate has shown they approve of what the DPP is doing, and the party is now rebounding.
In the campaign for the five special municipality elections, the DPP candidates have refused to be provoked by the KMT’s smear tactics, insisting instead on comparing their political competence with their KMT counterparts. This has President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who also acts as KMT chairman, panicking and running around campaigning like a man possessed. It looks like the DPP have struck the right chord.
Two weeks ago, the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps traveled to Kaohsiung and Tainan. The pan-green camp is in power in both these areas, testimony to the fact that its leaders are, indeed, “proven in government.” If they weren’t, the polls wouldn’t be showing the KMT trailing them.
- Oct 16 Sat 2010 09:46
Sensitive spots dampen Ma’s dream
Sensitive spots dampen Ma’s dream
To the excitement of democracies and democracy activists around the world, Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), the well-known, currently imprisoned Chinese dissident, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week. In democratic Taiwan, however, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) merely offered a hollow statement saying the award was of historic significance.
In contrast to the US president, the German chancellor, the Japanese prime minister and others who called on the Chinese government to free Liu and allow him to receive the prize in person, Ma needed more than 24 hours to consider his response. Not until the evening after the prize was awarded did he issue a statement expressing a “hope that Liu Xiaobo will be released and allowed to regain his freedom as soon as possible.”
He also said: “I believe the Taiwanese public would be highly appreciative of the Chinese initiative” if Liu were to be released.
- Oct 03 Sun 2010 13:16
China’s blustering is insubstantial
China’s blustering is insubstantial
By Paul Lin 林保華
Relations between China and the US, which went through a period of tension following the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan, have begun to relax somewhat. The main reason for this is that Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) is readying the itinerary for his visit to the US this autumn, and such a glorious journey must be given top priority.
China’s earlier threats to the US have not had the desired effect, so the time has come to end the bluster.
As for the US, if it were not for the sinking of the Cheonan and China’s challenges through claims of core interests, the US would not want to get involved in a game of tit for tat. Now that China has decided to give it a rest, the US is happy to follow suit.
- Sep 28 Tue 2010 07:29
Diaoyotais incident a litmus test
Diaoyotais incident a litmus test
By Paul Lin 林保華
Monday, Sep 27, 2010, Page 8
Taipei Times
During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese took pride in standing alone against the evils of imperialism, revisionism and anti-revolutionary behavior. Caught up in the moment, I fear they let it go to their heads. There was a song, very popular back then, that went something like this: “The wind is blowing from the east, the war drums are starting to beat, who shall cower should we meet? We do not fear the American imperialists, it is they who fear us!” As to who fears whom now, the current dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) is a useful litmus test.
- Sep 20 Mon 2010 00:36
China’s acting skills on full display
China’s acting skills on full display
By Paul Lin 林保華
Sunday, Sep 19, 2010, Page 8
On the morning of Sept. 7, a Chinese fishing vessel collided with a Japanese coast guard patrol boat in the waters off the Diaoyutais. The fishing vessel and her crew were detained by the Japanese coast guard, igniting new tensions between China and Japan. What are we to make of this event?
- Sep 12 Sun 2010 02:59
Ma selling out country and party
Ma selling out country and party
By Paul Lin 林保華
Sunday, Sep 12, 2010, Page 8
Sept. 3 was Victory over Japan Day in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published an editorial claiming the victory was a result of the leadership and efforts of the CCP, which represented the will of all Chinese in the anti-Japanese war effort. Neither the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nor the Republic of China (ROC) were mentioned.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had no choice but to make a clarification the next day, and say that victory in the eight-year war was achieved under the leadership of the ROC government, led by the KMT regime, and that this is historical fact. In particular, Ma said Chinese President Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) statement five years ago that the CCP and the KMT together led the resistance against Japan “was closer to the truth.”