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
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‘When it comes to judicial independence and respect for the media, the Taiwanese government is lagging far behind Hong Kong, despite Hong Kong having already returned to Chinese rule.’ |
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.
Ma’s spending won’t stop the rot
By Paul Lin 林保華
Friday, Jan 16, 2009, Page 8
Talk about a “February crisis” began in China. Since the Lunar New Year falls in late January this year and because of the large number of companies that have closed or are closing as a result of the economic crisis, next month may begin with a wave of unemployment sweeping across China causing social instability.
In addition to sending the unemployment rate into a double-digit percentage, the economic crisis is also affecting the middle classes, who have acted as a buffer between China’s privileged and lower classes. Their addition to the ranks of unemployed will have a direct impact on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) rule. The upshot of this is that since November the CCP has done its best to help the middle classes ride out the storm by propping up the stock market and the real estate market. These attempts include trying to push the Shanghai composite index to somewhere between 2,400 points and 3,000 points to help the middle classes who entered the market that reached its height of 6,124 points around the time of the CCP’s 17th national congress in the fall of 2007.
Hu’s speech just more of the same
By Paul Lin 林保華
Friday, Jan 09, 2009, Page 8
On Dec. 31, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) gave a speech in Beijing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan.” The basic spirit of the speech was the same as 30 years ago and was aimed at getting Taiwan to surrender to China.
A curious Chinese definition of ‘partner’
By Paul Lin 林保華 Friday, Dec 26, 2008, Page 8
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) recently visited Japan. According to reports, he managed to allay concerns among Japanese officials that Taiwan is moving closer to China at the expense of relations with Japan. Japanese politicians also demonstrated support for Taiwan becoming an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA).
Wu felt he “accomplished everything that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) told me to do.” Just what did Ma tell Wu to do?
If all Ma told Wu to accomplish was to get support for Taiwan to become an observer at the WHA, then he did not really achieve much. Japan would have given its support even if Wu hadn’t gone there.
Questions on why the police came to my home
By Paul Lin 林保華
Sunday, Dec 21, 2008, Page 8
On Dec. 12, the Judicial Reform Foundation, the Humanistic Education Foundation and other organizations gathered at Liberty Square in front of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall in support of Huang Yi-ling (黃怡翎), Tseng Hung-wen (曾虹文) and Lin Yun-tzu (林芸姿), all victims of police brutality during the visit of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林). The organizations also criticized the police for abusing their power.
If only our president were more like Sarkozy
By Paul Lin 林保華
Saturday, Dec 13, 2008, Page 8
Ignoring Chinese complaints, French President Nicolas Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama in Poland last Saturday. Sarkozy was also the first sitting president of the EU to meet the spiritual leader.
A reflection of the state of Taiwan in its arts By Paul Lin 林保華 Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008, Page 8
It has been an eventful autumn for Taiwan. In addition to concerns over the economy and deteriorating living standards, it is worrying to see that aspects of Taiwanese consciousness are being washed away.
Because of this, the awakening of Taiwanese culture seems to be filling in the gap left by the disappearance of the political manifestation of Taiwanese consciousness.
The films Cape No. 7 (海角七號) and 1895 have been successes not only because they were produced locally, but because the movies are products of Taiwanese culture.
The Chinese government’s abrupt decision not to allow Cape No. 7 to be screened in China reveals the hypocrisy of statements made by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), because it shows the desire to keep the Chinese public from getting to know Taiwanese culture and history.
More groups must join ‘Ing’ as she faces ‘Ying’
By Paul Lin 林保華
Sunday, Nov 23, 2008, Page 8
Although Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) has left Taiwan, the tension between the government and the opposition remains. Not only are there wounds that need healing, but Taiwan must also continue to move forward.
Taiwanese should not fight among themselves
Paul Lin
Taipei Times
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008, Page 8
