The Asia Times last week featured a mix of pro-Blue themes though balanced by some thoughtful analysis, from Ting-I Tsai, a "freelance writer" here.First the Blue Theme....
Analysts are certain that Chen, who has lost much public support after the exposure of corruption scandals involving his son-in-law and close aides, can no longer play his old trick of diverting public attention by provoking China with pro-independence moves, such as drafting a "new constitution" for the island. Thus, during the remaining two years of his office, the situation in the Taiwan Strait will likely remain stable.
"His old trick" is a bit of judgmental nonsense that should have been spotted and expunged by the editor. More worrisome is this comment.....
Thus, during the remaining two years of his office, the situation in the Taiwan Strait will likely remain stable.
....a wrongheaded bit of nonsense. First, it assumes that Chen is to blame for instability, as if other actors, such as China, Japan, and the US, don't exist. Second, by blanking out China, it makes the reader forget that the source of the problem is China, not Chen. The missile and military build-up are destabilizing, but the author neither points that out nor holds China to account. The situation in the Straits cannot remain stable as long as the Chinese military build up and the threat to Taiwan continues. Naturally the next quote is from pro-KMT analyst Emile Sheng, whose citations often appear in anti-Chen pieces. The rest of the article offers a variety of viewpoints, including this thoughtful one from Antonio Chang:
"Taiwan has a premier with substantial authority. The government is functioning as usual, without A-bian [Chen's nickname], and we should take this chance to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of the presidential system, cabinet system, and the semi-presidential system," said Antonio Chiang, former deputy secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council.
I can't emphasize this enough: the legislature has too much power, and the Presidency is weak. That needs to be rectified through a major Constitutional overhaul.
(hat tip to Wulingren's That was my advice too! Wulingren has an excellent blog; check it out)
[Taiwan] [Chen Shui-bian] [DPP] [KMT] [PFP]
but Chen is the only party that uses antagonization for personal political profit....
ReplyDeletewhere are the posts on the pro-green themes?
The standards of journalism in Taiwan have deteriorated markedly in recent decades. Because of the ruthless censorship policy during the infamous Chiang Dynasty, Taiwan's journalism schools fail to produce reporters who can write unbiased articles.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Chen Shui-Bian stinks, James Soong and Ma Ying-Jeou suck more. They will sell out Taiwan to Red China without any hesitation.
If you don't like Taiwan, why don't you go back to Mainland China? I wonder if you will be allowed to ridiucle President Hu Jintao on the Tienanmen Square :-)
Peace!
What pro-Green media themes can you identify in the international media, TOS? It would be delightful to see some pro-democracy, pro-Taiwan stuff.
ReplyDeleteMichael
Ting-I Tsai now has a post in the LA Times, to which I linked. It has some of the same issues that you mention here. I just quoted the part about Chen's upbringing, but even there, he is depicted as being competetive and untrusting even as a child.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and thanks for the link on your blog. I'll go look at the LA Times piece.
ReplyDeleteMichael