Media Problems in the AP on Ma Indictment

Peter Enav of AP filed an article last night on the Ma Ying-jeou indictments....it mostly covers ground I covered in the post below. I just want to highlight this all-too-common annoyance:

The indictment could well put a damper on chances for a thaw in Taiwan's perennially troubled relations with China. Beijing is believed to have high hopes that a Ma victory in the 2008 presidential elections would help lead the way to eventual reunification of the rivals, which split amid civil war in 1949.

Taiwan did not split with China in 1949. It was not part of China in 1949, but was administered jointly by the ROC and the US under UN auspices, sovereignty at that time belong to Japan and would until 1952. Rather, the KMT and the CCP split in 1949. This claim that Enav makes is totally common in the media, and totally wrong. Let's not even get into the use of Beijing's terminology, unification.....

I just loved this:

Chang added that Ma gave contradictory explanations to officials investigating how the money was handled.

Remember when the prosecutors said Chen Shui-bian gave conflicting explanations? That little tidbit from the prosecutor has to be deliberate.

[Taiwan] [China] [Chen Shui-bian] [media] [corruption] [Ma Ying-jeou]