Newslets (09.02.10, Tue)

I am trying to start a new style of info sharing that I call "newslets". Essentially a style of news briefing, its contents will be mainly the current events found in news media or forums written in Chinese. That is, the materials less likely reached by English readers. It also gives me a chance to share as many topics as I want in as less time as possible. Each 'newslet' will have short intro no more than one or two paragraphs. Link(s) of the source will be provided but English description may or may not be available.

Ma government open door for China to control Taiwan's internet (09.2.10)-- Executive Yuan announced a draft amendment to the Act for Promoting Private Participation in Public Construction (促進民間參與公共建設法部份條文修正草案), aiming at: (1) internet and media is included in this act, and (2) allow China to invest. It looks like that Ma Ying-jeou is inviting China to control Taiwan's internet, at a time when China just established its internet control with its Golden Shield project.(促參引陸資 立委批後果不堪設想)

Historical drop in import and export (09.2.10)-- Ministry of Finance reported that Taiwan suffered drops in export and import on January by historical high of 44.1% and 56.5%, respectively, comparing to those of last year. The export to China and Hong Kong, the baskets Ma Ying-jeou has thrown all eggs of Taiwan in, also dropped by a historical 58.6%. (上月出口衰退44％ 史上最大 )

Premier Liu's brother under investigation (09.2.10)-- for alleged violation of Public Officials' Conflicts of Interests Prevention Act ( 劉兆凱利益迴避案 監院函送法部 ).

IDFs fly without blackboxes for 17 years (09.2.9)-- One of Taiwan-made fighters (IDF) crashed in October last year (2008). The investigation led to a discovery that the record on the blackbox, supposedly 12 min 45 sec long, is completely blank. Further investigation revealed an astonishing fact: the blackboxes of ALL IDFs have never been functioning in the past 17 years, the whole life that IDF has been on service. It seems that the airforce has been lazy on routine check of their weapons.

Even more unbelievable is that the army already knew the blackbox in another IDF, crashed in April, 2004, was blank, but a full exam on all blackboxes of IDF has never come to their minds. Should we be worried? (瞎飛了17年！ IDF黑盒子紀錄不全)

Taiwan Premier Liu will NOT apologize for police violation of civil rights

The first demand the students made in the current protest against Taiwan police violation of civil rights during Chen Yunlin's (陳雲林, Chairman of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, China) visit is that President Ma and Premier Liu should apologize.

Premier Liu, in response to a question he was asked in Legislative Yuan (to apologize for the police misconduct), said toady,

道歉？劉揆：挺兩天就過去了
劉揆回說，立委在立法院要他道歉，「我就沒有，這種事挺兩天就過去了」，意外說出真心話。

"I didn't apologize. This kind of thing, you just wait for a day or two and it will pass."

With a slip of words, Premier Liu reveals what he really has in mind about the student protest.

So Premier Liu obviously denies any police wrong doings under his and Ma's administration.

If President Ma has any wee bit of sense of guilt about ripping Taiwanese off the right of free speech and the right of walking on the street freely without the fear of police brutality, he would have asked Premier Liu to apologize before he does.

So the mentality of Premier Liu and his determination to ignore student's request signal the direction Ma's government is gonna take to deal with the student protest -- just ignore it. Not only is President Ma not gonna apologize, but also, neither National Security Bureau Director Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) or National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) will step down (the 2nd demand of the protest).

To the innocent students participating the movement, it's probably their first fight for fears of losing human right they have been enjoying since they were born (thanks to those students who stood up to fight for that before them).

Unfortunately, facing a President and a government willing to sacrifice the human right of his people in order to please an official from China, I am afraid the goal of the current protest is too far to be reachable.

Do kids and grandkids of these innocent students still have the freedom of arranging a sit-in protest without being ran over by tanks like what happened in Tiananmen Square Massacre launched by China government in 1989 ?

May God have mercy !