Chang’s political barrow
I refer readers to Chang Ling-chen’s (張麟徵) piece (“Give up the UN bid, it’s hopeless,” Aug. 27, page 8).
I’m not sure which particular political barrow Chang is trying to push, but what I am sure of is that I’ve rarely read such rubbish in my life.
“Now that Beijing has given an inch by showing its willingness to cooperate on the diplomatic truce, Taiwan wants to take a foot.”
Excuse me? Just what political space or opportunities for cross-strait collaboration (as indicated in this nonsensical statement) has Beijing so far offered up since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) came to power?
Sure, China and Taiwan now exchange a few more hundred tourists a day but so what? This is hardly the panacea for what some people see as Taiwan’s ailing economy.
Again, in Chang’s assertion here, we see a certain debasement of reality: “Taiwan should not only take its own interests into account and try to push China around.”
Excuse me? Which country is the most populous in the world, with a massive economy, huge arms spending and currently holds all the diplomatic bargaining chips?
Which country has so far not been the willing political partner the KMT wants it to be?
I’m definitely no fan of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) foreign policy, but as far as I can see it’s been him and Taiwan doing all the heavy-lifting so far in this relationship.
Free visa anyone?
Really, if Taiwan were to simply wait obediently and subserviently in the diplomatic shadows hoping to feed on the scraps China discards, as Chang seems to suggest, the average Taiwanese had better start tightening their belts.
KARL HABY
Taipei
Why is A-bian still on TV?
Cao Changqing (曹長青) was right on the money when commenting on the scandal in which former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) finds himself embroiled (“Wipe off that blood and start again,” Aug. 26, page 8).
I hate watching local news at the moment, because most of the “news” is about Chen and his family.
I don’t really care if his daughter lost her temper. I’d probably lose my temper too if it were me.
And I don’t care if the son missed, or didn’t miss, student orientation.
I thought as soon as Chen wasn’t president any longer, I wouldn’t have to hear about him anymore.
I was so wrong.
I often wonder if the Chicoms will be happy with anything less than his death.
Cao was brilliant when he said that the real hero is the one who can stand up again after the fight, regardless of whether the blood is his enemy’s or his own.
I hope that Chen is able to stand upright in the end, after the Chicoms have found a bigger victim to pursue.
If so, he will be a greater man than he was as president.
Shervin Marsh
Lotung, Ilan County
Pan-greens need new coach
Though I appreciate reading about the past corruption of the KMT, I believe there is an attitude that exists among certain pro-independence individuals and groups that should be vigorously challenged.
Politics is often played like sports.
Just like with any professional team, you will have a group of hardcore fans that stick with their team through thick and thin.
I personally admire the loyalty and doggedness of many of these people.
The pro-independence movement in Taiwan is going through a bad season and desperately needs a new coach to lead it forward.
The previous coach has been saddled with allegations of shady financial dealings. Instead of cleaning house, some fans are questioning the fairness of the allegations made against the embattled coach.
Some are saying the league itself is corrupt and the coach was simply engaging in the same kind of corruption that previous coaches and athletes have been accused of in the past.
I am not sure what the past coach did or didn’t do, but what is the point of trying to rationalize defeat?
The franchise had a good record in the 1980s and 1990s but stumbled when the previous coach took over the organization.
Yeah, there are problems with the league and the referees.
But are we going to use these problems to explain away the failings of the new coach as well? Let’s hope not.
WILLIAM HOYLE
Taichung
Chen is an amateur
I chuckle when I read President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) comments on former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) financial scandal, which Ma said reminded him of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose regime was marked by corruption (“Ma breaks silence on Chen scandal,” Aug. 18, page 3).
It truly puzzled me that Ma could be so ignorant of his own country’s history, which has been so well documented, especially the fact that his beloved Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under the control of his beloved dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) — including his close clan — were so corrupt that they lost China to Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) People’s Republic of China.
In June 1948, Chiang wrote in his diary that the KMT had failed, not because of external enemies, but because of disintegration and rot from within (“Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for China,” by Tom Bethell, in Hoover Digest No. 1, pages 184-189, 2007).
When Chiang’s wife Soong Mayling (宋美齡) came to the US for more handouts in November 1948, president Harry Truman simply ignored her. By then Truman knew the bulk of US aid to Chiang, meant to bolster his forces in fighting the red menace, had disappeared into the pockets of Chiang’s inner circle.
Truman said to a reporter during an interview: “They are all thieves, every damn one of them … They stole US$750 million out of the US$3.8 billion that we sent to Chiang. They stole it, and it’s invested in real estate … some right here in New York.” (The Soong Dynasty, by Sterling Seagrave, pages 433 and 437).
More puzzling or amusing were comments by KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), who said, “No one can hide the truth forever” (“No gloating over Chen scandal,” Aug. 21, page 3).
But doesn’t Wu know that the KMT has been hiding its illegal party assets for more than 50 years and has refused to disclose the source of the funds for fear that party authorities might ultimately have to return the money it had stolen?
It is well documented that the KMT has been practicing crony capitalism for decades.
This is a system in which the party rewards its well-connected members.
Doesn’t anyone wonder why so many top KMT officials have been able to accumulate so much wealth — far beyond what public servants usually make — so quickly?
They fled from China to Taiwan and enriched themselves with a lavish lifestyle after getting here.
It is not just Chen’s money trail that needs to be investigated. Investigators should focus on top KMT officials as well, such as former chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who own a number of expensive properties in the US.
KRIS LIAO
San Francisco
Keep it real, Taiwan
I read the article by David Pendery (“On a more apt history of Taiwan,” Aug. 28, page 8) with interest and wish to offer some provocative words of encouragement to Taiwan.
A highly intelligent economist once told me that “the state of a nation’s economy is based on how many transactions take place each day.”
I did not understand what he meant at the time, but I am beginning to realize what a powerful statement this really was.
As the credit crunch begins to wipe unimaginable sums of money off the books and into the ether, we all have to ask ourselves what we are doing wrong.
This must be a wake-up call to examine where we place our trust in the future.
The true value of money is based on trust and the value we give to things.
When the stock markets crash, nobody gets the money.
So who did we trust to lose all our money?
Millions of transactions took place in the US that were based on a lie: “You will be able to pay this mortgage back. Trust me. I’m an expert.”
The people selling the mortgages in vast numbers were not really to blame, as they clearly weren’t experts, but just relied on what they had been told in training.
They were soldiers, and those soldiers were not there to think, but to do.
It’s much easier to kill people if somebody high up tells you: “It really is for the good of the country.”
Western civilizations (I use the term paradoxically) have conducted business like this for centuries, but it is fatally flawed — as companies like De Beers have found.
Sadly, when you have people like Donald Trump writing books titled Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life, you can see a lot more change is needed.
Business transactions are based on trust, but if the transaction is lopsided, one side gets short-term financial gain and the other side gets angry.
A few people do get very rich — those who can kick ass!
Now, look at the success of microbanking, which is sending a humanitarian and economic message to us all.
It doesn’t have a credit crunch, it does business with a long-term benefit for all parties and consequently the whole of society.
You do need giant companies such as Boeing to manufacture and produce engineering marvels like aircraft, but in countries that have given up much or their microeconomy, there is an awful lot of trust resting in a few fallible hands.
Taiwan has a wonderful microeconomy that it should cherish with all its heart — it keeps transactions real.
If your idea of success is having a McDonald’s in every town, think again.
This makes a few people very rich, but it does not keep whole populations trading.
Now you can begin to see the real value of the tofu stand in the night market: It’s precious and much healthier than social security payouts.
Don’t look to the West, Taiwan. Look at what you already have.
It may well become the envy of others in the future.
PETER COOK
Taichung
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