The phrase "rat running across the street" (
Chen obviously has more than his share of faults and really has no one to blame for all this but himself. However, it has got to the point that so many people want to jump onto the bandwagon to bring him down that there just isn't enough sensational dirt to go around. After unsuccessful attempts to raise public interest in their crusade, the anti-Chen accusers are becoming more and more frivolous -- the latest and perhaps most absurd accusation forcing an investigation into the receipts used to claim reimbursement from a Presidential Office expense fund.
No one doubts that it is wrong both legally and ethically to be reimbursed for an expense that one doesn't incur or to which one is not entitled. However, if you seek to take the high moral ground, there is no stopping your enemy from trying to outbid you and demanding even higher standards. The truth of the matter is that the practice of getting cash reimbursements with forged receipts is so common in Taiwan -- especially among members of the Legislative Yuan -- that whoever hurled the first stone against Chen for irregularities in receipt reimbursements has inadvertently given his enemies a lot of ammunition.
Therefore, it was not surprising that almost immediately after the probe into the "receipt scandal" began, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers began to question Taipei Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
This is not to mention that the so-called "irregularity" associated with expense reimbursements in the Presidential Office derives from a lack of details in the receipts submitted. The Presidential Office has claimed that the details of the spending cannot be disclosed on confidentiality grounds. It is not going to be easy to refute that argument. While the general public demands a lot more transparency from the Presidential Office and often places it under close scrutiny for highly justified reasons, it has to be admitted that some degree of confidentiality is necessary for at least some spending. At the very least, a gray area exists regarding what kind and level of disclosure should be expected from the Presidential Office.
One question that the general public -- and surely the DPP -- is likely to ask is why didn't the Ministry of Audit catch this mistake or irregularity in the past? According to the Presidential Office, its practice was no different in previous years and no one ever said a thing. Does that mean the Ministry of Audit has not faithfully fulfilled its duties in the past, both during Chen's presidency and the reign of his predecessors?
In the weeks to come, it can be expected that this morality campaign is likely to reach new heights. DPP lawmakers have already condemned Ma for the impropriety of some KMT lawmakers in drinking at a hostess club in China. We can safely assume that Taiwan's "moral majority" can see through all this.
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to