Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (
But further investigation into the circumstances in which the comments were made also help to discredit election promises made by Ma and his party to Aboriginal people.
The Aborigines of Sijhou Community (
Community leaders pleaded with the KMT's standard bearer after the Taipei County Government gave villagers until the end of the year to vacate the area -- for their own safety, they were told, because their houses are situated on a flood plain.
However, community leaders suspect the real reason behind the KMT-controlled county government's move is that a vast swath of the river bank has been earmarked for a 4.65km-long riverside park stretching from Hsiulang Bridge (
The Aboriginal community has been offered, as compensation, an "apartment complex constructed especially for Aborigines" where they will enjoy reduced rent. But leaders are worried that this will have a devastating effect on their traditionally communal lifestyle.
The Aborigines' concerns seem to have fallen on deaf ears with both the county government and Ma, despite their loyal support for the KMT at election time.
They are not alone, as the owners of small businesses and coffee shops in Bitan face a similar fate. They were ordered to pack up and leave when the county government decided to make the renovation of the popular riverside spot part of its plans.
Many of the traders, who have worked on the site for decades, are unhappy.
They say it will be difficult to afford to stay in the area when work is complete. They fear the government's plans to make the area more "upmarket" will squeeze out small businesses in favor of chain stores and larger operators.
Herein lies Ma's problem.
The KMT, in its bid to win back power, has spent countless hours and millions of dollars to ensure the legislative and presidential election campaigns remain focused on the only thing that the KMT can be proud of from its decades of authoritarian rule: improvements to the economy and standard of living.
The party's election message has been all about how it intends to stick up for the "little guy" in the face of the growing threat posed by the global economy. However, the reality in Sindian and many other locations in recent years paints an entirely different picture.
Put aside the faux concern for the common man, the donning of a farmer's hat and the blue plastic flip-flops, and the message to the stallholders of Bitan, the lepers of Losheng Sanatorium, the artists and residents of Treasure Hill (
Roughly translated, this means: If you stand between the KMT and the path of development, your livelihood isn't so important after all.
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
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Actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) on March 13 posted an Instagram caption after the opening of Tiffany’s Taipei flagship store two days earlier that read: “Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China.” We know that Yeoh knows Taipei is in Taiwan, not China, because the caption was posted following comments she made — in English — in which she said: “Thank you to Tiffany for bringing me to Taipei, because I do love this country very much.” Her remarks and the subsequent Instagram caption were reported in Taiwan, in Chinese and English- language media such as Radio Free Asia, and overseas,
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