林保華

Fix KMT first, then Constitution
By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2014.12.20
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) has announced his bid for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship. Since he is the only candidate, his election is certain. Chu’s proposal for constitutional change is progress of sorts compared with how President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is clinging to an outdated Constitution to protect himself.

Chu should be more focused on amending the KMT charter than the Constitution, because without a normalized political party, how would he be able to engage in a project as major as a constitutional amendment? Furthermore, given the problems with the party charter, there is no legitimacy behind Chu’s run for the chairmanship.

Sensing the good within the KMT
By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2014.11.15

Following the debate between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) and independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the gap in support for the two men has grown. Apparently, the Lien family’s strategy of galvanizing its traditional core base by playing on pan-blue versus pan-green tensions has failed.

Polls have consistently placed Lien’s support rate at 30 percent or below. This is his core support base. It would make more sense for them to attract floating votes of the light-blue persuasion or the moderate swing vote. Trying to buy up voters with policy issues or instil a sense of crisis is no longer effective and could cause an even stronger counter-reaction.

China gives Ma a dressing-down
By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2014.11.6

In the run-up to the APEC summit in Beijing, the propaganda machine of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has kicked in. The Global Times ran an editorial that read like a thug putting an underling firmly in their place.

The editorial said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) should remember that he is only in charge of the area of Taiwan, and that his performance in government leaves much to be desired, with his popularity ratings having dragged along the ground for a long time now.

Oil scandal reveals dirty politics
By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2014.10.31

The tainted oil scandal has highlighted the collusion between government officials and big business.

In the case of Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團), it does not only seem to have had access to the president, but Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) was apparently “summoned” by the firm to a meeting at the Ting Hsin headquarters in Taipei 101, where he met with China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中).

Hidden forces court conflict in HK
By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2014.10.21

Three weeks ago, China’s Xinhua news agency reported that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Political Bureau, or politburo, decided in a meeting on Sept. 30 that the Fourth Plenary Session of the CCP’s 18th Central Committee would be held in Beijing from yesterday through Thursday.

On Sept. 22, the Hong Kong Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao, which is generally well-informed about such matters, reported that the CCP Central Committee’s Fourth Plenary Session would be held in Beijing over two days starting on Monday last week. It added that, in addition to the big issue of strongly promoting government in accordance with the law — as had been announced quite a long time ago — personnel adjustments would be on the plenum’s agenda.

HK protests a peaceful revolution
By Paul Lin 林保華
taipei Times  2014.10.11

Hong Kong’s “umbrella movement” has had such a great momentum. Indeed, the movement has surpassed any previous large-scale street demonstration in Hong Kong or Taiwan.

First, it has not been the case that the majority of protesters are just there during the daytime, going home to bed at night. They have continued their protest through the night. Second, they have paralyzed transportation and interfered with business activity, placing the government under intense pressure. Third, despite being exposed to tear gas and pepper spray by police, they have learned to adopt guerrilla tactics, dispersing only to return when the coast is clear.

HK, Ko offer hope for democracy
By Paul Lin 林保華
Taipei Times  2014.9.29
On Monday last week, university students in Hong Kong launched a one-week boycott of classes in protest of Beijing’s refusal to allow fully democratic elections in the territory.

While the Chinese government claims that it will not be shaken and although it has been getting its lackeys in Hong Kong to use all sorts of threats, 13,000 people still took part in a rally to launch the strike. This number was more than originally expected, with even high-school students joining in, making this the biggest boycott of classes that Hong Kong has ever witnessed.

Unity needed to topple rich elites
Taipei Times
By Paul Lin 林保華
I have always been skeptical that the 2016 presidential election would bring about a change of government for Taiwan. Former American Institute in Taiwan chairman Richard Bush recently said at a seminar in Washington that the US government always expresses its views on Taiwan’s presidential elections and that it is set to do so in 2016. Given this, the Nov. 29 nine-in-one local elections are very important and Taiwanese really need to show their determination.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) used its national congress to put on a show of strong unity. Regardless of whether that unity is real, KMT infighting never gets to the point where party members lose their tempers with each other in public.

Taiwan and HK united in resisting China
Taipei Times  2014.9.14
By Paul Lin 林保華 
In June this year, Beijing released a white paper entitled The

Practice of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ Policy in the Hong Kong

Ma’s dirty work stains China ties
By Paul Lin 林保華

Despite the American Institute in Taiwan’s denials of US involvement in the case involving former Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), the nature of the circumstances in which the allegations of leaking confidential information to China have emerged only makes sense if the US had played a crucial role.

Of course, countries involved in espionage do not go around broadcasting their clandestine actions unless they are, for example, trying to secure the release of an agent who has been caught. Given the circumstances, several questions have arisen.

First, MAC Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) initially said that he had been informed of Chang’s alleged transgressions by an “outside source,” and it was this information that instigated the case. Who was this outside source?

Eviction of pro-Beijing influence
Taipei Times  2014.8.7
By Paul Lin 林保華
The recent news regarding the closure of the two-year-old Hong Kong news Web site House News shocked many, as it had been getting 300,000 visits per day.
Whether in Taiwan, Hong Kong or even the rest of the world, people are faced with China’s use of its huge financial power to influence the media and distort universal values.

PRC hackers preparing for Internet war with US

By Paul Lin 林保華
This year marks the 120th anniversary of the beginning of the First Sino-Japanese War and the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. It is also the 64th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. Trying to build a new international order following China’s rise is creating a multitude of problems and a warlike atmosphere.
The import of the hacker attacks on Hong Kong media outlets and the Web site for Hong Kong’s online “referendum” on “true universal suffrage” must not be underestimated. It is almost certain that this was the action of Chinese hackers, because the organizations that were attacked had no quarrel with ordinary people, but challenged China’s authoritarian rule. The attempts to resist the incursions have sparked an Internet war.
Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, a US Internet services company trying to help Hong Kong’s civic society, is personally watching over defensive operations and has finally succeeded, earning the gratitude of many Hong Kongers.

‘Lai effect’ accents evolving views

By Paul Lin 林保華
During his visit to Shanghai last week, Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) broke out of the constraints imposed by China on its relations with Taiwan by openly talking about Taiwanese independence and the 1989 Tiananmen Square student movement. Lai dared to do so because he adheres to Taiwan-centric values and has always been concerned about human rights issues.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has done many things to sell the nation out, leading to the outbreak of the student-led Sunflower protest movement. As young people in Taiwan take matters into their own hands and come forward to salvage the nation’s prospects, Lai has had the courage to seize the opportunity by speaking out in China, confident that there is a strong current of public opinion to back him up.
The Sunflower movement has led the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to reflect and reconsider. Former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) decided not to stand for another term, and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) quit as a potential DPP candidate for Taipei mayor. Meanwhile, Lai has stepped forward into the limelight.

Why China is concerned by Taiwan’s Sunflowers

By Paul Lin 林保華
In the middle of last month, the Hong Kong-based Chinese-language Trend Magazine (動向) featured an article that questioned whether Taiwan will become an Asian version of Crimea and highlighted the problems China faces.
First, cross-strait relations are problematic because talks about economic issues cannot get started and the two sides do not agree on political issues. China has long-term plans for its national security policy, but it has concerns over setting definite plans for cross-strait relations.
Second, China is not worried that the student movement might lead to a revolution in Taiwan, but it is terrified that the nation’s student and civic movements could spark copycat protests in China, which could cause the sudden collapse of its politically inflexible regime. The political anxiety that comes from guarding against internal implosion has greatly weakened China’s ambitions for unification.

Soong and Ma played off against each other

By Paul Lin 林保華
While President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was

mourning the death of his mother, Beijing

announced the invitation of People First

Sunflowers could unify dissenters

By Paul Lin 林保華
Since the beginning of the Sunflower movement, pro-unification media have linked it to the promotion of Taiwanese independence.
In an attempt to shift the focus, they said that the banners and flags hung outside the Legislative Yuan during the demonstrations by pro-independence organizations were put up there by the students.
By doing so, they tried to stir up the unification-independence issue in an attempt to cause a confrontation between the pan-blue and pan-green camps. The student leaders handled the issue with great caution and the media were unable to create any sensational headlines regarding their position on the issue.

Fast shows Lin’s fierce dedication to democracy

By Paul Lin 林保華
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin Yi-xiong (林義雄) began a hunger strike on Tuesday to demand that the government stop construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮). Lin has put his life on the line to rid the nation of nuclear power in a heroic and honorable way worthy of the highest praise.
This nation is small, densely populated, surrounded by water and in a seismically active zone. It does not need nuclear power. Why does the government keep on acting as though it is desperately needed? How can the government guarantee that there will never be a problem with atomic power after the disasters of Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima Dai-ichi in 2011? In the event of an accident, where are residents and visitors expected to go?
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) insists on building nuclear plants. Apart from his policies aimed at helping large corporations make money, his daughters live overseas and have foreign passports. Ma has his own airplane and can escape a disaster at any time. This is why he remains unswayed, regardless of whether those against nuclear power account for the majority in opinion polls or how many people take to the streets in protest.

DPP growing up due to Sunflowers

By Paul Lin 林保華
There is resentment among supporters of the pan-green camp with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for failing to live up to expectations.
Yet while the DPP has not achieved its full potential, it is maturing. This is why, under the influence of the Sunflower movement, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) announced that he was withdrawing from the DPP chair elections.
Sometimes, taking a step back makes it easier to resolve problems. This is true not just for Su, but also for the DPP and even for Taiwan as a whole. Of course, this all depends on the party’s future performance.

Students must protect gains from president
By Paul Lin 林保華

The students involved in the Sunflower movement have announced they will be leaving the Legislative Yuan with honor and taking their battle to the outer perimeters of the building. Their decision is understandable.

However, while the student movement has achieved certain results, it is still quite far from its goals and if it mishandles the situation now, it will lose what gains it has achieved.

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is utterly shameless and controls the Chinese National Party (KMT) caucus. It is thus possible everything will go back to how it was before. If that happens, the student movement will have to start all over again and will take on a much more radical form, or a “revolution.”

Cross-strait relations need radical reassesment

By Paul Lin 林保華
The 500,000-strong protest on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard on Sunday last week ended peacefully. More people participated than ever; but the police clearly understated the numbers — reflecting President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) real attitude. As expected, the Presidential Office was quick to issue an indifferent response.
The speech given by protest leader Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) clearly stated the movement’s aims. He said it was not just about occupying the legislature, but also about initiating reflection on the nation’s constitutional and democratic system and redefining cross-strait relations. These ideas show great foresight.
After a decade of observation, it is clear that Ma is incapable of reflection and thus constitutional reform is out of the question. He is an extremely selfish, power-hungry political hack who is good at dissembling. He is incapable of running a nation and has no intention of implementing reform.