Very busy recently with other stuff, so not a lot of time for blogging. Unfortunately, things seem to be heating up once again. My thoughts on recent news in Taiwan:
ECFA Progress
This is probably still one of the most important issue Taiwan faces now. But for a few weeks it's side tracked by other incidents in Taiwan (Kou Racist statement...etc)
I think this editorial sum up the fear a lot of people have on Ma's ECFA policy: LINK
It's my observation that the concerns are domestic. The US think tanks etc don't seem to be concern at all. There are of course people in the US expressing the concern, but there are those in the US expressing very optimistic view. But the concern from Taiwanese seems to be more one sided. I think this is no without good reasons, because in the past Ma has done to many of these "saying one thing and doing the opposite." In another words, his credential is very low in a lot of people's mind now, domestically.
Despite this, Ma still pushes very hard for ECFA. His government even fake the survey to do this (come on, 70%?!, that's ridiculous comparing to survey done by others). This action makes me even more suspicious...who is backing him up? and what does he want to achieve by forcing things through?
Loose Screws
Recently there are a lot of loose screws news in Ma government. One official went on dating during office hour using official car, and later didn't receive any punishment what so ever. Just a simple "no next time" and that's it. Other loose screws including national security adviser's wife going to China to sell her books and fruit punch processors. Again, there was no punishment. There are others but I cannot recall them all right now. All these activities break the law and regulations...but none receive any punishment. The good thing is that these incidents show that some Taiwanese news media is still operational and doing their jobs of "supervising" the government. The bad thing is that the Rule of Law, which is already not very strong, seems to be degenerating into the Rule of Emperor Ma...
The Anti-Democracy Waves
There seem to be a trend now for business and entertainment people from Hong Kong and even Taiwan itself to devalue Taiwan's democracy, praising China's authoritarian rule and advocating the old "Greater China" idea. The most recent one is Jackie Chan (that's right, the so called "international" star, Jackie Chan). After his stupid remarks, he was attacked by media and politicians alike, from both Taiwan and Hong Kong. Of course, he probably still felt very satisfied because obviously his master, Chinese government, gave him great praise for his "patriotism" and "wisdom." Plus, he still gets to live outside of China...so does he care? Nope. Of course, after this incident, his newest movies box office hit the bottom...in fact, it seems no body in Taiwan watch it. The news report I read said 1 theatre in KS city only sold 2 tickets in 1 week...well, I don't know which 2 fools actually went to see it, but that's still very impressive. I hope that movie can make the record of the least watched movie in Taiwanese history. This is also not the first time that Jackie Chan insults Taiwan...I think this is the 3rd time. Not only this, he also defends Chinese government's action in Tibet before I think.
But on the other hand, I think Jackie Chan is just a small potato...there are bunch of other influential people in Asia who will not hesitate in praising Chinese rule, including the owner of 旺旺 corporation. Of course, it's their freedom to express their opinion, but it's also our freedom to voice our disagreement loudly and boycott their products.
==========
Overall I am very optimistic about Taiwan's future...but now Taiwan seems to be facing a big crisis, but I hope it can prevail.
ECFA Progress
This is probably still one of the most important issue Taiwan faces now. But for a few weeks it's side tracked by other incidents in Taiwan (Kou Racist statement...etc)
I think this editorial sum up the fear a lot of people have on Ma's ECFA policy: LINK
It's my observation that the concerns are domestic. The US think tanks etc don't seem to be concern at all. There are of course people in the US expressing the concern, but there are those in the US expressing very optimistic view. But the concern from Taiwanese seems to be more one sided. I think this is no without good reasons, because in the past Ma has done to many of these "saying one thing and doing the opposite." In another words, his credential is very low in a lot of people's mind now, domestically.
Despite this, Ma still pushes very hard for ECFA. His government even fake the survey to do this (come on, 70%?!, that's ridiculous comparing to survey done by others). This action makes me even more suspicious...who is backing him up? and what does he want to achieve by forcing things through?
Loose Screws
Recently there are a lot of loose screws news in Ma government. One official went on dating during office hour using official car, and later didn't receive any punishment what so ever. Just a simple "no next time" and that's it. Other loose screws including national security adviser's wife going to China to sell her books and fruit punch processors. Again, there was no punishment. There are others but I cannot recall them all right now. All these activities break the law and regulations...but none receive any punishment. The good thing is that these incidents show that some Taiwanese news media is still operational and doing their jobs of "supervising" the government. The bad thing is that the Rule of Law, which is already not very strong, seems to be degenerating into the Rule of Emperor Ma...
The Anti-Democracy Waves
There seem to be a trend now for business and entertainment people from Hong Kong and even Taiwan itself to devalue Taiwan's democracy, praising China's authoritarian rule and advocating the old "Greater China" idea. The most recent one is Jackie Chan (that's right, the so called "international" star, Jackie Chan). After his stupid remarks, he was attacked by media and politicians alike, from both Taiwan and Hong Kong. Of course, he probably still felt very satisfied because obviously his master, Chinese government, gave him great praise for his "patriotism" and "wisdom." Plus, he still gets to live outside of China...so does he care? Nope. Of course, after this incident, his newest movies box office hit the bottom...in fact, it seems no body in Taiwan watch it. The news report I read said 1 theatre in KS city only sold 2 tickets in 1 week...well, I don't know which 2 fools actually went to see it, but that's still very impressive. I hope that movie can make the record of the least watched movie in Taiwanese history. This is also not the first time that Jackie Chan insults Taiwan...I think this is the 3rd time. Not only this, he also defends Chinese government's action in Tibet before I think.
But on the other hand, I think Jackie Chan is just a small potato...there are bunch of other influential people in Asia who will not hesitate in praising Chinese rule, including the owner of 旺旺 corporation. Of course, it's their freedom to express their opinion, but it's also our freedom to voice our disagreement loudly and boycott their products.
==========
Overall I am very optimistic about Taiwan's future...but now Taiwan seems to be facing a big crisis, but I hope it can prevail.
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