US needs to keep China in check

By Paul Lin 林保華
The third generation of the Kim dynasty is now in power in North Korea. When the 29-year-old North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, took over the helm two years ago, observers were wondering whether he would be able to consolidate his power, and there were rumors that he was about to introduce reforms.
He has now rid himself of his uncle Jang Song-thaek, who was seen as his political regent, in a manner reminiscent of how “class enemies” were ferreted out during struggle sessions during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Jang is said to have been executed. It has been an eye-opener to see Kim display the ruthlessness that should have been expected by the “third red generation.”
China’s third red generation is yet to take the stage, but the second generation is putting on a brilliant show with their power struggles.

Political violence divides nation

By Paul Lin 林保華
Unless there is some irregularity, a political party’s national congress is never postponed. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ninth congress, for example, was postponed for 13 years while the Cultural Revolution ran its course. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) 19th congress was scheduled to take place on Sunday, but earlier this week was suddenly rescheduled. The reason for the change was that something irregular had happened.
It has been reported that the congress will instead be held on Oct. 26 and the venue will be changed from National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei to the Chungshan Building on Yangmingshan. Even though the KMT is escaping to a mountaintop, it still has to pay its respects to the party’s founder.
When the party’s Evaluation and Discipline Committee revoked Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s (王金平) membership on Sept. 11, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) attended the meeting in person to oversee proceedings and to address the committee, while choking up and shedding crocodile tears.

Wang case linked to Ma-Xi meeting

By Paul Lin 林保華
Military leaders in developing countries sometimes launch military coups when the national leader is overseas. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) is not a national leader, but he is the head of the legislature in a democratic country. During Wang’s trip overseas, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) seized the chance to get rid of him; an action not so different from a coup.
Why did Ma deem it necessary to employ such a cheap trick to consolidate his dictatorship? It was to help his push for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Is a “Ma-Xi meeting” of great importance? Of course it is. If Ma wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize, he needs a significant breakthrough. Let us take a look at some recent events that might be related to the meeting:
On June 28, the Special Investigation Division (SID), apparently recorded a telephone conversation between Wang and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘). Since Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) is very sensitive to political issues, it is highly unlikely that he waited until Aug. 21 before reporting this to Ma.

Taiwanese youth bolstering protest
By Paul Lin 林保華

On Saturday evening, on the way to Ketagalan Boulevard, was the sight of masses of people wearing white T-shirts who were there to hold a vigil for the late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘). The last speaker from Citizen 1985 — the activist group that organized the vigil — called for a show of hands by those who were participating in a demonstration for the first time. About 70 percent of the people held up their hands.

You could call it the Jasmine Revolution. You could call it the Taiwanese Spring. Either way, Taiwan’s civil movement has entered a new phase. The sheer number of people present that evening — estimated at 250,000 — was unprecedented, but more importantly, the vast majority of them were young.

Contact with several members of Citizen 1985 leaves the impression that they are sincere, irreproachable and passionate; that they truly want to create a new reality, a free future, in this tragic world; and that they are in this neither for fame nor gain. These people are the nation’s future generation. If this movement continues in this way, it will not only show the world Taiwan’s independent existence, it will also have an inestimable impact on the civil movement in China.

Emperor Ma sells out Taiwanese
By Paul Lin 林保華

Completely ignoring the struggles of Taiwan’s small and medium-sized enterprises, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration rashly signed the cross-strait service trade agreement. It wants to destroy Taiwan’s grassroots economy to accomplish Ma’s great unification cause. This is why he does not have the patience to explain the agreement and why he used the label “groundless rumor” to dismiss the public’s concern.

Innumerable examples show that Ma is deceptive by nature.

His biggest deceit was the “6-3-3” campaign promise and the “Ma will turn things around” slogan from his 2008 first presidential election campaign.

‘Ming Pao’ misguided on row with Philippines

By Paul Lin 林保華
With the exception of Taiwanese and Philippine

media, Chinese media outlets have been the most

interested in the shooting of a Taiwanese

President’s scandal-hit aides reflect deception
By Paul Lin 林保華

The allegations of bribery against President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) trusted aide, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如), have dealt a blow to the president, making him a target of widespread criticism.

One of the “nicer” comments made was questioning why those in Ma’s inner circle, such as Lai, former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿), were inconsiderate and ungrateful to Ma for the concern and promotions he gave them throughout their careers, and instead hurt him by getting involved in corruption scandals. Observers with this point of view see Ma’s disgraced aides as “disobedient.”

The reason for the officials’ actions is rather simple: For example, Lai was in charge of Ma’s office as KMT chairman and served as his lawyer, which gave her access to confidential information. Without such knowledge, she would not be able to defend Ma or his cohorts in court.

KMT stars rise from nuclear deliberation
By Paul Lin 林保華

The anti-nuclear movement has put huge pressure on President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). Apart from the public protests, factions have also begun forming inside the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), giving rise to four heavyweights in the party.

Originally, Ma, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) were the KMT’s political stars. Among them, Hu is beginning to fade due to ill health, making it unlikely he will remain at the top. The party’s legislators are afraid of Ma’s party discipline and simply cooperate, making them unlikely to become new leaders. Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) is maybe the only KMT lawmaker who could dare to challenge Ma, but when it is time to vote, she obediently lowers her head and votes as required.

The new heavyweights, then, are to be found in the national and local governments.

Xi-Lien talks push for unification
By Paul Lin 林保華

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平), the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), will soon take over as Chinese president. Lien Chan (連戰), on the other hand, is a former vice president of Taiwan and a former chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) who now carries the title of “honorary chairman.” Consequently, people are wondering why the up-and-coming Xi gave a relative has-been like Lien such a grand reception when he headed a delegation from Taiwan to Beijing earlier this week.

The leadership lineup that emerged from the CCP’s 18th National Congress in November is putting greater emphasis on “united front” work, while weakening the role of the party’s Central Politics and Law Commission.

The main target of the CCP’s united front tactics is, of course, Taiwan, which has not yet been brought into the fold.

Diaoyutais: Ma rocking the boat?
By Paul Lin 林保華

According to reports in the Taiwanese media, a group leaving Taiwan in the early hours of Jan. 24 for the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, where they intended to declare Taiwan’s sovereignty over the islands, were escorted by Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) ships for the whole journey.

According to the CGA report, “while en route, they [coast guard ships] encountered interference from official Japanese ships, which ended with the two sides firing water cannons at each other. In addition, our coast guard vessels encountered official Chinese ships in the waters around the Diaoyutais for the first time. To avoid concerns that the two sides cooperate in the protection of the Diaoyutais, they were forcefully expelled.”

The Chinese ocean surveillance ships did not leave the area, so while Taiwan’s coast guard vessels and the Japanese ships where pounding each other with water cannons, they sat behind the Taiwanese ships as support.

Stakes high for Xi over Diaoyutais
By Paul Lin 林保華

The lead story of the Jan. 14 edition of the Chinese-language newspaper PLA Daily reported that a document released by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff Department outlining military training for the Chinese army demanded that, this year, China’s entire military and armed police should heighten their state of alertness and prepare for war.

The PLA’s bellicosity can be attributed to the fact that the stance of new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkakus in Japan, has been much stronger than that of his predecessor, Yoshihiko Noda, especially in terms of military deployment.

However, Noda’s attitude was weak and this is why he was always being attacked. For example, China has conducted several military drills based on capturing islands, while Japan canceled a US-Japan joint military drill scheduled for Nov. 5 last year to the great displeasure of the US.

Injustices give rise to student movements
By Paul Lin 林保華

While the main cause for the Chinese Nationalist

Party’s (KMT) collapse during the Chinese Civil

War was its battlefield losses, the party also

Published on South China Morning Post (http://www.scmp.com)Home > Han Suyin loved China but turned a blind eye to its excesses

Emulating Hong Kong would best suit China
By Paul Lin 林保華   Taipei Times  2012.11.10 

The appearance of so-called “dragon and lion”

flags, derived from the one used when Hong Kong was

a British colony, on protest marches has provoked an

NHI proposals are a slippery slope
By Paul Lin 林保華

Taipei Times

On Oct. 11, the Cabinet approved a draft amendment designed to extend National Health Insurance (NHI) coverage to Chinese students studying in Taiwan. In principle this is a good thing, but the timing of this decision is questionable and the motives behind it are highly dubious.

Including Chinese students in the NHI program has nothing to do with human rights. As to whether it is right that Chinese students should be treated in the same way as other foreign students needs to be considered in light of key historical factors.

Politics behind Diaoyutais reaction
By Paul Lin 林保華

Taipei Times

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sold millions of square kilometers of territory — in Siberia to the north, the Aral Sea and Pamirs in Mid-Asia, Outer Mongolia, the Mt. Changbai, the lands below the McMahon Line in the south, Jiangxinpo between China and Myanmar, Laoshan between China and Vietnam, and a number of islands in the South China Sea. Beijing has been quite content to cede territories in the past, but it is encouraging large-scale anti-Japanese demonstrations for the tiny Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkakus in Japan. Clearly, there is some kind of agenda behind all this.

As the Chinese saying goes, “If the upper beam is not straight, the lower ones will warp.” If those in charge have a certain agenda, those at the bottom will follow.

Activists call on Ma to speak on China repression

Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Paul Lin, president of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps, center, is joined by director Yang Yue-ching, right, and Taiwan Friends of Tibet chairwoman Chou Mei-li as he talks at a press conference yesterday.

Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

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.

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