tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49351364575802999302024-03-13T16:21:57.970-07:00Tairadical 台份子Because there's more to Taiwan than just food and travel.Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-51124056251847253122014-10-29T20:31:00.001-07:002014-10-29T20:31:25.605-07:00RE: China Post "Taipei voters forced to choose between bad and worse"The author of <a href="http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/taiwan-issues/2014/10/30/420608/Taipei-voters.htm">this piece</a> couldn't be more off-base. In fact, he (or she, but I will continue to use "he" for the sake of simplicity) is buying exactly in to what the hardened politicians of the KMT want him to: the mud-slinging, nonsensical babble that does nothing to teach voters about the candidates or their positions, and does everything to make sure voters stop caring enough to actually get out and vote.<br />
<br />
You see, voters are not stupid; they vote relatability, trust, and of course - policy. If the author of this editorial compared the policy platforms of these two candidates he would have written an entirely different story. You can and should examine a candidate's background to get a sense of how much we relate to them and how much we trust them, but to do so at the expense of all context and political issues is irresponsible.<br />
<br />
Notably, in looking at Ko's background, the author has left out some key information. For example, did the author mention that Ko Wen-je has been diagnosed with the syndrome formerly known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome">Asperger's</a>, and said many times that he regrets that <a href="http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/about_asds/aspergers_syndrome_social_and_emotional_issues">his filter is not always at 100%</a>, and that he is trying his hardest to improve his own views on the things people have criticized him for? No, of course not, because this article is about mud throwing. As long as the mud isn't thrown at Sean Lien.<br />
<br />
The author of this piece is clearly a very deep blue supporter who tries to maintain an air of "impartiality." Well I can tell you right now, that's a facade and it's quite easy to see through if you know anything about Taiwanese politics and these two candidates. Here's some key points:<br />
<br />
Ko's party (well, the party he would be in were he not an independent) supports him only "halfheartedly," while Lien has "possibly the most solid backing any election has ever seen" from his party. This is very far from the truth, as Lien has been unable to secure support from a number of KMT bigwigs, while Ko, on the other hand, is well liked by the DPP and the DPP folks tried to recruit him to run as their candidate - hardly "halfhearted."<br />
<br />
The third to last paragraph is really telling (emphasis mine):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 23.466667175293px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is not news that Lien has been serving as the butt of too many campaign jokes since the announcement of his mayoral bid. His website was hacked, words twisted and campaign commercials lampooned; <b>all his campaign team did</b> was succeed in making him look like a puppet, confused and annoyed at his tangled strings.</span></span></blockquote>
So there you have it folks. Sean Lien is actually a very intelligent, well-spoken candidate with a solid platform and it's would be well liked by the people of Taipei, <i>if only his campaign team didn't go around screwing everything up</i>! I think the more intelligent readers among us will be able to surmise: perhaps it isn't just his campaign team that's screwing everything up.<br />
<br />
However, the biggest errors in this piece are actually the errors of omission. First, in the Lien camp, Lien's policies have from day one been unable rouse the crowds. He started out with some ideas for expanding Easycard (of which he's the former CEO - go figure) into nightmarkets - a sure loss with vendors who don't want to pay for the machines or hand over a cut of their slim profits to Easycard. Later, Lien decided it would be good move the city government into the area around Taipei Main Station to encourage redevelopment in that area. In other words, Lien is totally out of touch with the needs of his constituency (he has admitted this implicitly through his "<a href="http://www.stormmediagroup.com/opencms/news/detail/471bbbd1-3eda-11e4-8fd6-ef2804cba5a1/?uuid=471bbbd1-3eda-11e4-8fd6-ef2804cba5a1">working stay</a>" campaign strategy; Ko has even pointed out - "isn't it strange that Mr. Lien is struggling with learning how to be a normal, everyday, working man while I'm struggling to learn how to be mayor?")<br />
<br />
On the other hand, let's look at <a href="http://kptaipei.tumblr.com/">Ko's policy positions</a>: Ko wants to make Infant Care more accessible by training more professional nannies. He wants to make sure there are high quality bicycle lanes throughout the city that let bikes ride without being in the way of both pedestrians and cars. He wants to add more government housing at below-market rates to help push down the enormous Taipei real estate bubble. He wants to turn the website of the mayor's office into a forum for voters to share their opinions and ideas openly with one another, make formal proposals, and discuss how to improve the city, so that "everyone can be the mayor" (one of his campaign slogans). <i>These</i> are the reasons why Ko is polling ahead.<br />
<br />
I, for one, refuse to buy into the mud slinging "spitting war" as it's called in Chinese. The vitriol that comes from the KMT and their cronies against Ko Wen-je is beyond ridiculous, and luckily, the voters are not playing into their design. Sure, let's look at the background of these candidates, so we know who we're getting into bed with; but that doesn't give us leave to neglect looking at their policy platforms - because that's what we'll have to live with the morning after. So for the author of that China Post editorial who can't seem to figure out why Ko is pulling ahead in the polls - I've got some news for you - it's because voters can relate to him as a normal guy with normal flaws, but one who is serious about keeping their best interests at heart. What's that old saying between candidates? <i>May the best man win.</i>Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-70979606569287789922014-10-29T05:33:00.002-07:002014-10-29T05:33:52.079-07:00Lien Campaign Hires Known Plagiarist for TV Spot While Accusing Ko P of Organ Harvesting in ChinaThe <a href="http://www.taipeihope.tw/">Lien campaign</a> and the KMT cronies behind it seem to be rapidly running out of good ideas. Recently, they put out a new TV spot (they put out TV spots weekly and run them on a large number of stations during prime time every day, vs. the <a href="http://kptaipei.tw/">Ko P campaign</a> which has put out zero TV ads and <a href="http://tsjh301.blogspot.tw/2013/07/2014-taipei-mayor.html">continues to lead polls by 15-20%</a>), and the advertisement was quickly recognized by some netizen sleuths as a remake of a California Lottery ad campaign from a year or so ago.<br />
<br />
Of course, Mr. Lien claims zero knowledge of the advertisement, and his spokesperson Alex Tsai claims that the original did serve as "inspiration" but it's not plagiarism. The director in question, Fan Ko-chin, is a known plagiarist who was first outed last year in the big inflatable yellow duck scandal, where he sold <a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/12/25/2003579774">counterfeit yellow duck merchandise</a> to make an extra buck off all of the press around the duck.<br />
<br />
The netizen sleuths thankfully made a nice Youtube compilation of the Lien campaign ad synced frame for frame to the original California Lottery ad. Here's that remix:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/U2UEpzCqckY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And the original:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vxeD05jwzxE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Is it plagiarism? Should Sean Lien and his campaign be held responsible, at the very least for being aware of the possibility that people would make such a claim? Let me know what you think in the comments!</div>
<br />
As if that weren't enough, it has "mysteriously come to light" that Ko Wen-je has been colluding with the Communist Chinese, anti-Falun Gong, organ harvesting mafia to import organs from China to Taiwan. Of course, there is <a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/10/29/2003603180">absolutely no truth to these accusations</a>, but when you're running out of ideas, I guess you just go with what you've got! What'll be next from the KMT? In the coming weeks, don't be surprised if we find out that Ko Wen-je is responsible for the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa.<br />
<br />
Good grief!Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-15186097331257220762014-10-17T22:45:00.004-07:002014-10-17T22:45:50.717-07:00Summary of Forward Taiwan’s Complete List of Immigration Reform Proposals<div class="MsoNormal">
The following proposals with the full text of proposed amendments to the law can be found on <a href="http://www.forwardtaiwan.com/our-proposals/">Forward Taiwan</a>'s website. Here I've provided a brief summary of all proposals, please check the Forward Taiwan PDF (<a href="http://www.forwardtaiwan.com/s/20140501-Immigration-Reform-Proposals_en.pdf">English</a> | <a href="http://www.forwardtaiwan.com/s/20140501-trn_Immigration-Reform-Proposals_zh.pdf">Chinese</a>) for details and an explanation of the benefits associated with each change.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b>Statistics:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.75pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.75pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Taiwan<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>South Korea<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Japan<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Hong Kong<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Singapore<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Shanghai</b><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.75pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Permanent Residents (% of pop.)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.75pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;">0.04%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;">0.008%</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: lime;">0.328%</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
?<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: lime;">10.004%</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;">0.001%</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.75pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Professional Workers (% of pop.)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.75pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;">0.118%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;">0.094%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #ea9999;">0.112%</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: lime;">0.987%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: lime;">6.143%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 66.8pt;" width="89">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: lime;">0.71%</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Overview and Summary
of Issues<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Residence Rights:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Proposal<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Current
Situation<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Set a target of 200,000 (0.87%) foreign professionals (FPs)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
No target for number of FPs<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Recognize lawful marriages and civil unions in foreign jurisdictions<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Unrecognized<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow for gaps in ARC continuity for Permanent Residence (PR)
applicants as long as the 183 day requirement is met<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Gaps in ARC continuity reset the PR clock<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow a university degree as an alternative requirement for spouses
and children of PRs to obtain work rights<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Same work rights for spouses and children of PRs as for non-resident
foreigners, i.e., heavily restricted<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Quota and point system immigration to take effect after Taiwan attracts
at least 100,000 FPs<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
No quota system or points system in place<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Count aggregate income of PR and PR’s spouse for monetary
requirements towards PR spouse’s own PR application<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Already counted this way for spouses of TW nationals; only individual
income currently counted for PR spouses (who are often dependents and don’t
have enough income on their own for PR)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow change of residence and employment to be reported online<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Already allowed for TW nationals; FPs must report in person at NIA
office<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow FPs to engage in activities not specified on their ARC (i.e.,
performing arts, unpaid volunteer work, rallies and assemblies)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Not allowed; deportable offense<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Employment:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: -.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Proposal<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Current
Situation<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Specify in the law that all provisions of the Labor Standards Act
apply to all FPs<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Unspecified; Results in confusion about which labor laws apply to FPs<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Loosen restrictions on FPs employed in the Culture and Innovation
industry (visual arts, music, performing arts, exhibitions, handicrafts, TV
& radio, design, etc.)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Heavily restricted or unavailable for FPs<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow PR dependents the same work rights as dependents of a TW
national<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Must secure own work permit; often not possible due to work permit regulations<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow FPs to leave employment without being sanctioned<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Leaving employment without notice may leave FPs ineligible for a
future work permit<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Remove two-year work experience requirement<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Two-years post-university work outside of Taiwan in a related field
is required for FP work permit<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Adjust FP minimum salary requirements to be more competitive with local
salaries and other advanced countries, i.e., Singapore<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
FPs must have a salary that is more than double the average
entry-level worker’s salary in Taiwan<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Eliminate or scale business capital requirements for hiring FPs with
the size of the company<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
High capital requirements to employ FPs favors large businesses and
prevents small businesses from accessing international talent<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Reduce operating expenditure requirements for foundations to employ
FPs to 1,000,000 NT in the past three years; reduce membership requirement to
30 members<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Foundations must have operating expenditure of 5,00,000 NT in the
past 3 years to employ FPs; membership requirement of at least 50 members<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 3.25in;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Reduce or eliminate capital requirements for start-ups bringing in
managers/directors, or employees<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Same capital requirements as for large, established enterprises<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Nationality:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Proposal<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Current
Status<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Remove requirement to renounce foreign citizenship to naturalize<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Must renounce original citizenship as part of the naturalization
application process; success of application is not guaranteed<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Allow dual nationals to teach at public schools and universities<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Dual nationals are not allowed to teach in public schools and
universities since they are government employees and dual nationals may not
hold any government office<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Living in Taiwan:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Proposal<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Current
Status<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Equal access to credit<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Banks are allowed to discriminate against foreigners on the grounds
that they are more likely to leave Taiwan and not repay credit<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Deferred retirement benefits (pension) for teachers and university
faculty<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Pension must be paid as a lump sum; significantly reduces deferred
compensation<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Require businesses that use TW ID numbers to also allow using ARC
numbers<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 233.75pt;" valign="top" width="312">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Many businesses require TW ID numbers (i.e., booking tickets or
making online purchases) and do not accept ARC numbers<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-33619867165882585162014-10-16T21:03:00.002-07:002014-10-17T21:40:58.684-07:00中華民國國籍法:人道危機<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">理論與實踐上,中華民國國籍歸化與喪失的制度都非常清楚:在台灣歸化的外國人必須先放棄自己的國籍(<a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0030001">國籍法第</a></span><a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0030001">9</a><span lang="ZH-TW"><a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0030001">條</a>、</span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0030022"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">國籍法施行細則</span>第8條</a></span><span lang="ZH-TW">),卻要歸化其他國家的台灣人選擇不放棄中華民國國籍,意即雙重國籍(國籍法第</span>11<span lang="ZH-TW">條)。多數台灣人對於「外國人申請歸化」的過程不熟悉,但仍必須注意到這場人道危機。</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="ZH-TW"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">首先,中華民國國籍法違反聯合國的減少無國籍狀態公約條件。按照</span>1961<span lang="ZH-TW">年的公約規定,放棄國籍應在先持有有他國國籍的條件下才能執行。但中華民國國籍法第</span>9<span lang="ZH-TW">條規定:「外國人依第三條至第七條申請歸化者,應提出喪失其原有國籍之證明。」換句話說,在申請中華民國國籍的歸化過程當中,並在持有中華民國國籍之前,申請者必須先放棄原來的國籍。如果歸化的過程因為任何原因不能通過,該人會變成無國籍人士:無法離開台灣或在別的國家入境、無法在台灣工作或申請居留證、工作許可、也無法享受任何國家的法治保護。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">在<a href="http://www.unhcr.org/45d324428.html">台灣有數千位所謂「無國籍人士」</a>是因為國籍法第</span>9<span lang="ZH-TW">條而產生,大部分與自己的家人甚至於自己的孩子們無法見面。這些痛苦的無國籍人士將為台灣帶來弊端,這是由台灣立法院造成創造的,也只有台灣立法院能夠化解的人道危機。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">另一方面,中華民國國籍法鼓勵外國人申請歸化基於他們原來國家的經濟以及社會發展進度,卻不考量對台灣的忠誠度。長期在台灣或「愛台」的北美或西歐人們不會申請歸化,因為必須負擔的代價(美國或歐洲的護照)高昂。從</span>1982<span lang="ZH-TW">年起,只有少於</span>30<span lang="ZH-TW">位的北美和西歐人士在台歸化,但來自東南亞的發展中國家(印尼、菲律賓、緬甸、泰國、越南、柬埔寨)有超過</span>11<span lang="ZH-TW">萬人士在台歸化。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">這是台灣人想要的制度嗎?這種只基於經濟狀況而不考量忠誠度做決定的制度?我對台灣人是否會支持這樣的系統抱持高度懷疑。該怎麼辦呢?很簡單:廢除中華民國國籍法第</span>9<span lang="ZH-TW">條。根據大多數已發展國家,根據聯合國人道公約,根據台灣對自己的人民認同:允許歸化之公民持有雙重國籍,打敗這場人道危機!</span></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">廢除第9條,我要當台灣人!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW">相關團體與更多移民改革建議:<a href="http://www.forwardtaiwan.com/our-proposals/">向前台灣</a></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW"><a href="http://tairadical.blogspot.tw/2014/10/roc-nationality-law-whats-wrong-and-why.html">English Version</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2014/10/18/2003602327">Taipei Times Editorial</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ZH-TW"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.5120010375977px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.tahr.org.tw/node/1302">台灣人權促進會</a></span></span></div>
Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-31556948827233146982014-10-16T17:12:00.001-07:002014-10-17T21:40:34.879-07:00ROC Nationality Law: What's Wrong and Why It Matters<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The current situation regarding naturalization and loss of nationality
in Taiwan is very clear, both according to the law and in practice: non-nationals
wishing to acquire ROC nationality are required to first renounce their current
nationality, while current nationals who acquire a foreign nationality may (but
are not required to) apply for renunciation of ROC citizenship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These requirements are spelled out in the law:</span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">"</span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">An
individual who applies for naturalization shall submit ... a document
certifying stateless status</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">" (<a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0030022">Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act, Article 8</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">"</span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">With
the permission of the MOI, a national of the ROC may lose his/her nationality
[if] he/she ... acquires the nationality of another country voluntarily</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">"
(<a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0030001">Nationality Act, Article 11</a>)</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In other words: if you are born an ROC national, you can
lose your nationality only with the permission of the Ministry of the Interior,
that is, only through application and after obtaining a different nationality,
and furthermore, such requests may be denied; while if you are a foreign
national who wants to obtain ROC nationality you are <i>required</i> to lose your original nationality, regardless of the
nationality laws of the country of origin and Taiwan’s own nationality law as
it relates to natural born ROC nationals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In practice, the vast majority of nationals here are unconcerned
about this discrepancy in the Nationality Act, because for the most part
Taiwanese nationals know that they can be dual nationals without losing ROC
Nationality. However, they should be concerned. Here’s why:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Firstly, the ROC Nationality Law goes against the UN
Conventions on the Reduction of Statelessness. The 1961 UN Convention requires
that loss of nationality should be conditional upon the prior possession of
another nationality. However, ROC Nationality Law requires the certificate of
stateless status to be submitted with the application for naturalization; i.e.,
a person must become stateless without prior possession of (or assurance of
acquiring) another nationality. This results in the horrible situation where a spouse
who divorces during the naturalization process, but after already renouncing
their original nationality, is left in the ROC as a stateless person. This is exactly
what the UN Convention seeks to stop, as these people are left without the
protection of any government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/45d324428.html">many thousands of these victims</a> who are stuck in
Taiwan without being able to return to their country of origin; many are not
even able to reunite with their own families or children. These people are not
good for Taiwan socially or economically, and yet it is Taiwan’s own
nationality laws that continue to exacerbate this small scale humanitarian crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What's more, ROC nationality law runs counter to the common will of the Taiwanese people. Would Taiwanese prefer to have more
low-wage, low-education blue-collar workers from Southeast Asia, or would they
prefer to have more high-wage workers, business owners, and highly educated
entrepreneurs from countries that have close relationships with Taiwan? Would they prefer to have people choose Taiwanese nationality based on economics, or based on loyalty to Taiwan? Unfortunately, the nationality law works in direct opposition to what the
Taiwanese people want. It prevents those highly educated, high-wage workers
from living permanently in Taiwan, while at the same time encourages low-wage,
low-education workers to live here permanently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">An American or European citizen with long-term plans to stay
in Taiwan would certainly like to obtain Taiwanese nationality for the many
benefits it confers: the right to pay into the pension fund, to apply for low
interest home mortgages, to sponsor family members with the right to work in
Taiwan, the right to travel between both home countries at any time and for any
amount of time, the right to vote and participate in politics, etc. However,
almost no Americans or European citizens are willing to give up their original
nationality to get those benefits. In the past 30 years, less than 30 American
and European nationals have given up their nationality to take that of the ROC.
That’s less than 1 per year. The cost of giving up an American (or European)
passport is simply too high.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other side of this argument, for foreigners from
countries that are less well-off than Taiwan, notably countries in Southeast
Asia, losing their original nationality is a very small price to pay to get all
of the benefits that ROC nationality has to offer. These nationals are more
than happy to renounce their original nationality, which confers no or little
right to work or travel in other countries, a poor education and health care
system, and few social services, in exchange for the ROC nationality that gives
them a comparatively better lifestyle. In the past 30 years, more than 110,000
individuals from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, and
Cambodia have obtained ROC nationality because they felt that losing their
original nationality was a small price to pay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Is this the system Taiwan wants? To encourage people to
decide whether or not to obtain ROC nationality based on whether ROC
nationality is subjectively "better" or "worse" than their original nationality? Under the
current system, nationals of any country that is relatively “worse” than Taiwan
in terms of the economy and social/political stability would be happy to
exchange their nationality, while nationals of any country that is relatively “better”
would not. Or, do the Taiwanese people want a law that allows people to acquire Taiwanese nationality based on loyalty to Taiwan, regardless of conditions in their home country?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The solution is clear. Here’s a proposal for amending the
nationality law of the ROC: treat foreign nationals wishing to acquire ROC
nationality the same way ROC nationals expect to be treated when obtaining a
foreign nationality. In other words, remove the requirement to submit a “document
certifying stateless status” from the nationality application, and allow other
countries to determine when and if nationality should be revoked based on the
acquisition of Taiwanese nationality. That’s it. Remove Article 9 from the
Nationality Act, and the associated terms in Item 1, Article 8 and Item 2,
Article 9 of the Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act. Together, these 3
short paragraphs have caused many broken hearts, a small-scale humanitarian
crisis, and have actively worked against the desires of the Taiwanese people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Repeal Article 9. Let us become Taiwanese!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 15.6933336257935px;">(A shorter version of this article will be printed as an editorial in tomorrow's Taipei Times, October 18, 2014. Edit: <a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2014/10/18/2003602327">Here's the Taipei Times editorial.</a> Also, for more detailed information please check out <a href="http://www.forwardtaiwan.com/">Forward Taiwan's</a> comprehensive list of proposals on immigration reform.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://tairadical.blogspot.tw/2014/10/blog-post.html">中文版本</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tahr.org.tw/node/1302">Taiwan Association for Human Rights</a></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-36158393354912422682014-10-13T13:43:00.001-07:002014-10-13T22:15:30.782-07:00The Liens: A Modern Day Dynasty<div class="MsoNormal">
The Liens</div>
<ul>
<li>Lien Te-cheng (?)</li>
<li><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%A3%E6%A9%AB_(%E6%AD%B7%E5%8F%B2%E5%AD%B8%E5%AE%B6)">Lien Heng</a> (1878-1936)</li>
<li><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%A3%E9%9C%87%E6%9D%B1">Lien Chen-tung</a> (1904-1986)</li>
<li><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%A3%E6%88%B0">Lien Tsian</a> (1936-)</li>
<li><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%A3%E5%8B%9D%E6%96%87">(Sean) Lien Sheng-wen</a> (1970-)</li>
</ul>
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Lien Te-cheng was from an immigrant family that originally came from Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province. He once admonished his son, Lien Hong, for not reading up on his Taiwanese history books, saying "if you want to be seen as a Taiwanese, you must know how Taiwan works." Lien Hong took this seriously, and ultimately wrote his own treatise on Taiwanese history called "Comprehensive History of Taiwan" that brought the Lien family to fame for generations. An article in the Taipei Times from 2004 entitled “<a href="http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2004/02/06/2003097679">The book that built the Lien family</a>” is really a must read (it's only two pages, go on) for an overview of what happened here.</div>
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Suffice to say, Lien Hong's tome was little more than an early version of Chinese history propaganda, and modern scholars have criticized much of Lien Hong's work as wrong if not outright fabricated (check Lien Heng's Wikipedia article linked above). From the Taiwanese colonial period, to the story of Wu Feng (a Han Chinese who "civilized" the Taiwanese aboriginals), to plagiarism, and even to getting the origin story of the name "Taiwan" completely wrong - Lien Hong's work was not doing much in the way of helping his family be seen as very "Taiwanese."</div>
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As if that weren't enough, Lien Hong wrote an editorial supporting the Japanese colonial government's pro-opium policies in the pro-government daily of the time (the equivalent of today's People's Daily in the PRC) in spite of massive public opposition, as he made money from the opium trade. After realizing that he was not finding much of a warm welcome after publishing these two propaganda pieces, Lien Hong retreated back to China in 1931, where he was welcomed by the KMT for contributing such an important work of Chinese history.</div>
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Lien Chen-tung, with a recommendation from his father Lien Hong, obtained a position in the government (KMT), and after the war was sent to Taiwan and appointed as Chairman of the Taipei State Council. He was criticized as a traitor for abandoning Taiwan until after the war, and for using his father's book to impress government officials to secure his own political promotions. In 1953 after being promoted to Unit Director at the KMT's central office, Lien Cheng-tung used his own clout in turn to obtain a position at NTU in that very same year for his own son, Lien Tsian, who was only able to secure admission into military school after his examinations. Lien Cheng-tung went on to hold nearly 30 different positions throughout his tenure in the KMT, including Minister of the Interior, Secretary General, Executive Councilor, and National Strategist and Adviser to the President. Importantly, he was also heavily involved in land reform, and ensured that Lien Tsian would have a prime piece of real estate (farmland, at the time) in downtown Taipei, currently the site of the Yongsheng building on Zhongshan N. Rd.</div>
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Lien Tsian, after returning from his studies and a short teaching stint in the US, married a recent Miss China winner and became the Director of the Political Science Department at NTU for six years, until he was appointed as Ambassador to El Salvador for three years. On his return to Taiwan, he went through at least 20 different government and public-private roles, including such varied responsibilities as Minister of Transportation, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Executive Yuan, Vice President of Taiwan, Chairman of the National Policy Research Foundation, and Chairman of the Foundation for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities.</div>
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And now, of course, we come to Sean Lien, a man who claims that he was born and raised in Taipei, but was actually born in Tainan - the lies and half-truths start right from the very beginning. Sean, unlike his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather, has little-to-no political experience, having spent most of his time thus far gallivanting around the world, managing hedge funds at Morgan Stanley, starting financial companies that mysteriously collapse leaving investors broke, and taking credit for popularizing Easycard.</div>
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What's interesting about Sean Lien's course of events is that some facts simply remain unclear: how is it that someone who, under his own academic strength in the university entrance examinations, was only admitted to middle-ranking Fu-jen University, was later able to gain admission into not one, but two of the best law schools in the US, Columbia and Harvard? What's more, having studied law, hw is it that Sean Lien was able to go straight into finance without any certifications or studies, and was then appointed as the CEO of Easycard immediately upon return to Taiwan? His actual business dealings are no less clear and rife with "coincidences" (i.e., <a href="http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2588884">scandals</a>) to which he claims complete and total lack of involvement despite being at the center of the storms, while it would seem that he knows almost nothing about the decisions being made in his mayoral campaign - to date, whenever the campaign has made any missteps, Sean Lien has been the first to come out pointing fingers at campaign staff.</div>
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In fact, we could go on for days about the mysteries surrounding Sean Lien. Like how, for example, he is constantly showing up in photos driving different fancy cars around town, but <a href="http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20140910/466956/">claims he doesn't own a single car</a>; or, despite living in <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%8F%E7%9B%9B%E5%B8%9D%E5%AF%B6">Dibao</a> (the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/2iacma/taipeinew_taipeis_affluent_neighborhoods/cl0e2nk">most expensive condo in Taiwan</a>), he doesn't own a single piece of property; or, despite how he claims that his success is his own and not his father's, he owned his first home at the age of 18 - <i>in San Francisco</i>!</div>
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Or, we could talk about the <a href="http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2014/10/14/419394/p2/Prosecutors-to.htm">recent tainted oil scandals</a> that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Taiwan_food_scandal">actually started last year</a>, and how the Liens are close family friends with the Weis, the owners of the company at the heart of the scandal. And I don't just mean that they're close in that they live near one another (they do though, the Weis own 9 units in Dibao, the same condominiums that Sean Lien calls - or rather, doesn't call - home), but to the point that Lien Tsian (Sean's father) acted as officiant at Wei family weddings.</div>
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<br />
And Sean, for all of his talk about humble upbringings and lack of a car or house to his name, has a father who owns more than 1,000 pings (that's almost an acre) of real estate in Taipei City, and has an estimated net worth of over 20 billion (with a 'b') NT - nearly three quarters of a billion US dollars - a fortune that started off with government subsidized Chinese propaganda and opium profits, both of which were severely damaging to the Taiwanese people.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I digress. What I wanted to show here is a pattern, and I think that pattern is clear enough. For five generations, the Liens have been using and abusing the Taiwanese people for their own financial and political goals, and the people of Taipei now have the ability of stopping this dynasty dead in its tracks. Sean Lien and his forefathers, going back at least 5 generations, have considered themselves Chinese and been unable to find a real place in Taiwanese society, apart from as members of the <a href="http://www.civil-taiwan.org/roc-exile.htm">government-in-exile that is the ROC</a>.</div>
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Many of these facts about Sean Lien's murky background are just starting to come to light as he is scrutinized by the Taiwanese electorate in the run-up to the elections. The vote is on for November 29th - we'll find out soon enough whether the people deem him worthy of "continuing the legacy." Let's sure hope not.</div>
Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-74975231977173573032014-10-11T11:14:00.000-07:002014-10-13T11:14:27.563-07:00Open Letter to 柯文哲: Bike-Friendly Taipei<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">親愛的柯</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">P<span lang="ZH-TW">,未來台北市長</span>:</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">我是一位長年住台的外國人,來自美國紐澤西。雖然我沒有投票權,但我非常高興看到您這麼親民的一個候選人,絕對能夠贏得這次選戰。日前我和未婚妻在觀看您的</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">PTT<span lang="ZH-TW">鄉民有約專訪中,聽到您提到關於</span>40<span lang="ZH-TW">米以下道路的自行車問題尚未有解決之道,我寫這封信是為了針對您最近提出的</span></span><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">「柯</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">P<span lang="ZH-TW">新政」</span>#23<span lang="ZH-TW">:自行車專用車道</span></span></b><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">,提出建議。</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">我拜訪過世界上約</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">40<span lang="ZH-TW">個國家,體驗過各國的交通,其中我曾經住過荷蘭近</span>2<span lang="ZH-TW">年的時間,天天享受荷蘭的自行車專用車道美麗的規劃。大家應該知道荷蘭自行車很強,可他們應該不知道的是:</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular";">一,</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">荷蘭的自行車規劃是</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">1970 <span lang="ZH-TW">年代才開始設計,而在那之前荷蘭的市區交通問題和其他國家一樣,比方說目前的台北市。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular";">二,</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">荷蘭的路沒有特別寬,也沒有台北的路這麼寬,而荷蘭市區的人口密度和台北市區密度都落在同一等級</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">---5<span lang="ZH-TW">千至</span>1<span lang="ZH-TW">萬人</span>/<span lang="ZH-TW">平方公里。如果荷蘭能做得到,那台北市也能做得到</span>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">荷蘭自行車統計數據顯示,用心設計自行車專用車道就<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_the_Netherlands">能達到</a>:</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">自行車佔各類通勤交通工具</span><b><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">高達</span><span style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">35%</span></b><span style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222;"><b><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">超過</span><span style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">50%</span></b><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">的市民天天騎自行車</span><span style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222;"><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">自行車佔所有市區車次的</span><span style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>25-30%</b></span></li>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">柯</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">P<span lang="ZH-TW">目前提到的政策不會成功,也不會解決台北市面臨自行車的問題。荷蘭這</span>50<span lang="ZH-TW">年的經驗顯示一些基本規劃必要的因素,否則自行車與車、行人會有衝突。有四個最大的必備要素:</span></span><br /><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 42pt; text-indent: -24pt;">
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular";">一,</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>難度低</b></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">:自行車需要一個平坦的柏油路面,不應該用磚石,也需要減少上下坡道、停、讓、與其他交通類別混合路段等「不方便」的問題。</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular";">二,</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>完整的路網</b></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">:如果自行車只能用到最大的馬路或少部分的路網</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">(<span lang="ZH-TW">自行車道連結性</span>)<span lang="ZH-TW">,市民因不確定目的地是否有自行車規劃而不會用到自行車。路網不夠完整形同於沒有路網一樣。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular";">三,</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>標誌與障礙</b></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">:和其他的路面</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> (<span lang="ZH-TW">汽車、人行道</span>) <span lang="ZH-TW">需要不同的顏色、不同的高度、而各種路面之間需要具體的分類障礙,例:短的水泥護欄。</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular";">四,</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Black","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>保護式叉口</b></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">:不管路邊的自行車專用車道設計多好,叉口設計不清楚或不保持自行車的安全感就不會成功。保護式叉口是自行車最重要的一個因素,而經過具體的障礙、標誌等再加上一些想像力就能夠設計一個完整安全、方便、愉快的騎自行車經驗。對於這一點,請看</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.protectedintersection.com/">這個網站的影片</a></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">。</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">請注意影片</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;"> 0:40-0:45<span lang="ZH-TW">:停車位與自行車專用車道隔了一條</span>15cm <span lang="ZH-TW">高的水泥護欄,而水泥護欄在禁停路段會直接凸出來</span>(<span lang="ZH-TW">綠色植栽部分</span>)<span lang="ZH-TW">,阻止車輛暫停台灣「原來的紅線」,同時會保護停止的車輛與最外一層的自行車車道與人行道。</span></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">請注意</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;"> 1:10-1:20<span lang="ZH-TW">: 這兩條路的十字路口面積並沒有改變。只有延長自行車專用車道直到十字路口裡面,讓左後方的汽車駕駛看到等待的自行車,同時縮減汽車轉彎半徑使汽車駕駛減速慢行。</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">以上說明就如圖片(紅色為自行車專用車道)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 24px;">:</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--62Rv6LK6fU/VDwWBRm3pnI/AAAAAAAACMg/oAU46zj7WJs/s1600/junction-design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--62Rv6LK6fU/VDwWBRm3pnI/AAAAAAAACMg/oAU46zj7WJs/s1600/junction-design.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sustainability.org.il/home/bike-news/Junction-design-in-the-Netherlands-0214">Source</a></td></tr>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">記得,</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Black', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;"><b>如果以上四個重點不完整設計,荷蘭的經驗已經一清二楚:自行車使用者會覺得不方便,也不會選用騎自行車</b></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">,就像前幾年敦化南路自行車專用車道大失敗,到最後直接被去除</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">。</span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">最新的信義路自行車專用車道規劃算是往對的方向邁進 </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">(<span lang="ZH-TW">自行車道與汽車道分隔較開</span>)
<span lang="ZH-TW">,但還有許多尚未解決的問題,例如:自行車道上的障礙物</span> (<span lang="ZH-TW">路燈桿、變電箱</span>…<span lang="ZH-TW">等</span>)<span lang="ZH-TW">、自行車與行人共用路段、自行車專用車道突然消失或連接方式不明、路網不完整、而更重要的是完全沒有考慮到保護式叉口的任何規劃。</span></span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Black', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>我的主張</b></span><span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">:選取市區的某個小地方做示範,設計一個完整的自行車經驗,讓台北市民親自體驗到自行車安全、方便、愉快的歡樂。他們一旦看到這種完整的設計,市民通通會被說服了。但是,如果台北市繼續做不足、不適當的自行車規劃,自行車永不會變成台北市重要交通工具之一。</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Sans T Chinese Regular', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">對自行車使用者來說,台北的路比阿姆斯特丹大多了,缺少的只是一個創造力與政治執行魄力。如果需要的話,我很樂意協助您規畫此份政見甚或是未來台北市完整的自行車發展計畫。</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">希望以上提議有所幫助,如果有需要也歡迎回信討論。</span></div>
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<span lang="ZH-TW" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans T Chinese Regular","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">謝謝,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Noto Sans T Chinese Regular, sans-serif;">安詠</span></div>
Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-58106567386211232152014-09-25T10:56:00.000-07:002014-10-13T10:59:20.818-07:00Ma vows to establish formal cross-strait relations during his final 2 years in office, modeled on East-West Germany<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.8999996185303px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="color: #404040;">The following is my translation of the full article in Chinese, which can be foun</span>d <a href="http://www.dw.de/%E9%A9%AC%E8%8B%B1%E4%B9%9D%E5%BC%BA%E8%B0%83%E6%94%B9%E5%96%84%E4%B8%A4%E5%B2%B8%E5%85%B3%E7%B3%BB%E5%86%B3%E5%BF%83/a-17941159">here</a> on the Deutsche Welle's website or <a href="https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Gossiping/M.1411616381.A.58E.html">on PTT</a> in traditional characters.</div>
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<strong>Ma Ying-jeou Resolute in Determination to Improve Cross-Strait Relations</strong></div>
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(Deutsche Welle - Chinese) Although the policies of easing relations with China have faced strong opposition in Taiwan, President Ma remains insistent on continuing to push the relationship forward. In a recent interview with two German reporters, Ma Ying-jeou expressed his intent to examine the relationships between East and West Germany that ultimately resulted in reunification. He said that efforts are currently underway in Taiwan to gain a more thorough understanding of German history.</div>
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<strong>Establishing Offices for Cross-Strait Relations</strong></div>
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Ma Ying-jeou anticipates that offices will be established to deal with cross-strait relations before the end of his final two years in office. He emphasized that this did not establish official “diplomatic relations,” because the offices would not constitute Embassies. He also expressed his hope that he will be able to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit scheduled to take place this November in Beijing.</div>
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Over the past six years as President, Ma Ying-jeou has remained committed to easing relations with the People’s Republic of China. In just the past few years, after more than 60 years of mutual hostility, three direct links have been re-established (air and sea transport, and postal services); and a number of bilateral agreements such as ECFA (the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement) have become the cornerstone for Ma’s expansion of cross-strait economic relations. The mainland is currently Taiwan’s largest trading partner, while Taiwan itself is currently the largest holder of investments on the mainland.</div>
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Nevertheless, the way forward is hotly debated in Taiwan. Last year, opinion polls showed President Ma Ying-jeou’s favorability ratings fall to 9%. In March of this year, the conflict intensified as university students occupied the Legislative Yuan for more than 3 weeks in protest of the CSSTA (Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement), and were not willing to give up their position until the President of the Legislative Yuan, Wang Jin-ping, agreed to put the pact back on the table for further review.</div>
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Despite powerful resistance, President Ma Ying-jeou sees improved relations with the mainland as the only way forward. In his interview with the German papers, he expressed his opinion that, without such improvements, Taiwan’s mobility will be severely restricted. Regarding the student protests, Ma said that he didn’t see them as have any lasting influence on Taiwanese politics, but nevertheless, he conceded that future plans for improving cross-strait relations should be explained more clearly to the public.</div>
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<strong>Drawing on Germany’s Past</strong></div>
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President Ma Ying-jeou expressed his belief that the bilateral relations between East and West Germany can be used as a model for strengthening ties across the strait. Dialogue between the two sides led to the signing of the Basic Treaty in 1972. Ma Ying-jeou feels that this “was an excellent step in the right direction.” He believes that it would be possible for the People’s Republic of China to open an office in Taiwan, similar to the way the Federal Republic of Germany opened an office in the German Democratic Republic in 1974.</div>
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At the same time, President Ma Ying-jeou pointed out that the relationship between the two Germanys cannot be directly applied to the relationship across the Taiwan Strait. He emphasized that Taiwan does not recognize the “two-state solution” that applied in Germany, and that the relationship between Beijing and Taipei is neither a relationship between two different countries, nor is it a matter of internal affairs for either. He stated that the relationship across the Taiwan Strait is “unlike any other relationship in history.”</div>
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Since the KMT established its governance of Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has regarded Taiwan as an inalienable part of Chinese territory and threatened to take Taiwan by force should Taiwan unilaterally declare formal independence. The government of the Republic of China, from its seat in Taipei, makes a claim identical to that of Beijing, seeing itself as the representative of the whole of China.</div>
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Taiwan has a population of 23 million. The Taiwanese government views itself as the founder of the first Chinese Republic and defender of the Constitution of the Republic of China. Under pressure from Beijing, diplomatic recognition of Taiwan as a country has become ever less common with only 22 countries currently taking such a stance, all of which are relatively minor. The Federal Republic of Germany has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but has established the “German Institute Taipei” to represent German interests on the island.</div>
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Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-89826298798365895552014-04-27T11:31:00.000-07:002014-04-27T11:55:37.308-07:00Nuke 4 - The story of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant leading up to the 427 protestsThe protests against Nuke 4 have started again in earnest, and recently you may have seen banners, flags, or signs like this pinned up around town:<br />
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<a href="https://gcaa.neticrm.tw/sites/gcaa.neticrm.tw/files/u3/538619_10151354833064311_1870514956_n_1_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://gcaa.neticrm.tw/sites/gcaa.neticrm.tw/files/u3/538619_10151354833064311_1870514956_n_1_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course, we all know about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster">Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster</a> that happened back in 2011, but even Japan has recently said that they will <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ee7c4f2-9dd6-11e3-83c5-00144feab7de.html">reconsider nuclear power</a> going into the future. So what's the problem with the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant, or as it is commonly known: Nuke 4 (核四 hésì)?</div>
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The story of Nuke 4 goes back to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis">oil crises</a> of the mid-to-late 70s, at which point three nuclear facilities were already operational: Nuke 1 (Jinshan NPP) and Nuke 2 (Kuosheng NPP) both on the North coast of New Taipei City, and Nuke 3 (Maanshan NPP) at the southern end of the island, in Kenting. After the crises of '73 and '79, an energy diversification policy was announced in 1979, and plans for Nuke 4 were first announced in 1980, and protests started almost immediately. Citizens in Kungliao, the site in New Taipei City where construction was started in 1982, started protesting over environmental concerns in 1985 and the construction was temporarily halted.</div>
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In 1991, DPP lawyer (and later legislator) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Yi-hsiung">Lin Yi-hsiung</a> started an organization to push for a referendum about the continuing construction of the plant, but the new KMT President Lee Teng-hui restarted construction in 1992, which continued until the DPP took office in 2000. The plans to open the plant in 2004 were again put on hold. During the DPP's time in office, many issues came to light about the construction quality of the plant, the surplus of energy Taiwan will have as manufacturing moves overseas (especially to China), as well as some scares due to malfunctions and earthquakes in Nuke 3 in 2005 and 2006. Nuke 4 is only rated for 0.4g of acceleration, as was the Fukushima Daiichi reactor. The earthquake that struck Fukushima produced forces of 0.56g, which exceeded the design specification. Nuke 4 faces the exact same problem, given that Taiwan sits in a similar geographic location full of seismic activity. Many protestors have said that they are "不反核能,卻反核四" ("not against nuclear power, just against Nuke 4"). Given the construction and design specification safety issues, this makes perfect sense.</div>
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Lin Yi-hsiung's "Referendum Coalition" (公投盟 gōngtóu méng) obtained limited success in 2004 with the passage of the <a href="http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?PCode=D0020050">Referendum Act</a>, but the voting threshold was kept high enough by KMT and PFP opponents to be essentially useless. DPP legislators opposed the passage of the bill, likening it to being trapped in a birdcage: you can see the outside but you can't actually get out. The threshold of the bill requires that 5% of the voting population jointly signs a proposal, 1/2 of the population casts a valid ballot, and that 1/2 of those votes are in favor of the referendum. Compare this with Switzerland, where 100,000 signatures (approximately 1.3% of the population) can petition for a referendum that passes with simple majority rules.</div>
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In other words, under the Referendum Act, anyone opposed to a given referendum should simply abstain and count on the fact that it will be essentially impossible to mobilize a full 50% of the voting population to vote in favor, especially considering that the voting day would likely be a regular work day (given that the Central Election Commission can choose any date they like) and ballots must be cast in the district where the voter holds household registration. 49% of the population voting in favor of a referendum with 0% opposed means that the referendum fails. (As a side note, the public servant recall election system is the same, which means that in practice it is also impossible to recall public servants in Taiwan.)</div>
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All of this has come to a head in the current protests following the start of the Sunflower Movement a month ago.</div>
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On April 15th, Lin Yi-hsiung <a href="http://linfast.logdown.com/posts/188346-action-statement">announced</a> (Chinese) that he would commence a hunger strike on the 22nd, and that he would continue until the Nuke 4 project was completely shut down (停建 tíngjiàn) or his own death. On Saturday, April 26th, Nuke 4 opposition groups met in Taipei in front of the Presidential Office, and again led a march around the city on the 27th. Approximately 50,000 people occupied the area in front of the Presidential Office and Taipei Main Station on Zhongxiao W. Rd., leading to the Executive Yuan releasing a press statement saying that there will be a work stoppage (停工 tínggōng) on Nuke 4, but the statement fell short of the demand to shut down the project.</div>
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The protest is still going on at the time of this post, well into the early house of the morning, and Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin has stated that the protestors will be evicted before morning rush hour. Let's hope we don't see a repeat of 323 with the bloodied bodies of students being pulled out of the Executive Yuan.<br />
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(Source: <a href="http://static.ettoday.net/images/559/d559047.jpg">ETT Today</a>)</div>
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The mainstream media has been repeating a new and very appropriate slogan as of late, 漂亮島嶼:憤怒之國 ("Beautiful Island: Angry Country"). Just remember that there is a long and complicated history behind all of this, and the current generation, my generation, is caught in the middle of this battle that has been going on since the end of WWII. Anger is not the answer, but given this extraordinary situation, I have nothing but sympathy and support for these ongoing protests.</div>
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天色漸漸光! A New Day Will Come!</div>
Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-39578815569052756122014-04-17T12:14:00.002-07:002014-04-17T12:33:29.448-07:00Taiwan: Independent or Province of China?I want to be very clear about my position on the status of Taiwan right from the start of this blog. My position is this: the status of Taiwan is <i>extremely complicated</i>. Not to fear! Complicated as it may be, I am confident that it can be fully understood with a little explanation.<br />
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The idea that Taiwan must be <i>either</i> an independent country <i>or</i> belong to China is a false dichotomy, and of course, it depends on what the words <i>Taiwan</i> and <i>China</i> actually mean. So, let's set the record straight:<br />
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<i>Taiwan</i> is the name of an island, the "Big Island," if you will, that most people think about when they think of the word <i>Taiwan</i>. There is no country called Taiwan, nor has there ever been one. The history of Taiwan (the island) has been a long and convoluted one, with many twists and turns owing to various waves of immigrants and colonial powers, coming not only from China, but also the Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, and American colonial powers. Taiwan was first inhabited, it is believed, around 3,000 B.C. by tribes coming from Southeast Asia, and the descendants of these are known as the Taiwanese aboriginals today.<br />
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The "modern" history of Taiwan starts around the 16th or 17th century with the first colonization by Western powers. Later, the island was taken again by China for a time, and then by Japan, America, and again once more by China. It is this final sequence of events (Japan-America-China) that needs further exploration to understand the current situation.<br />
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By the time Japan surrendered at the end of WWII, it was clear that the PRC was taking control of the Chinese mainland. The ROC government, led by the KMT (Kuomintang, trans: Chinese Nationalist Party) and under the authority of the Allied Forces and the US military, took over administration of Taiwan from Japan, but never officially received the territory as a sovereign government under any of the post-war treaties. When the ROC realized its own defeat on the mainland in 1949, the government fled and reestablished its temporary headquarters on Taiwan, which they refer to until this day as "the free area of the Republic of China." The "official" capital of the ROC is still in Nanking, but it would be quite impossible for the ROC to maintain a presence in Nanking given the current situation!<br />
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Since no transfer of sovereign rights was ever established after the transfer from Japan to the Allied Forces (led by the US), and since the Allied Forces / US do not recognize ownership over the island of Taiwan, the legal status of Taiwan's sovereignty remains undetermined. It is certainly administered by the ROC, and not administered by the PRC, this much is clear. At the same time, both governments claim that the territory under their control is part of the same sovereign state as the territory under control of the opposition.<br />
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Indeed, this uncertainty has led to a number of politically viable but legally questionable solutions over the past few decades. For one thing, most countries today recognize the PRC as the sole government of China (including Taiwan), but maintain separate "unofficial" diplomatic relations with Taiwan via "Economic and Trade Offices" or some other such nonsense. Taiwan has not been able to join the UN, as indeed, it has not declared independence as a sovereign nation, nor has it been granted independence by the Allied Forces since the end of WWII.<br />
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So what's next?<br />
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Well, there is a small group of people here on Taiwan that want to unify with the mainland under the PRC government. Thankfully, they are few and far between. There are probably more (but still not many) who would like to unify with the mainland, if the mainland could accept Taiwan's democracy as an independently functioning system, much like the SARs of Hong Kong and Macau. There is even an organization called "The Government of Taiwan" that considers itself to be the true government since ROC was never officially granted sovereignty, and another that pushes for the Allied Forces (specifically, the US government) to exercise their right to administer Taiwan according to the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII. None of these groups have much power, but that is not to say that they are wrong, either. Mostly, the people here want to be citizens of a sovereign state comprised of the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen & Matzu, whether that state is called the ROC or something else (like the ROT, Republic of Taiwan). Why doesn't this happen? The China threat. China has threatened to invade and take Taiwan by force if Taiwan declares independence, effectively stopping most pro-independence movements from ever finding the political viability they need to become a reality.<br />
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So, for now, Taiwan is stuck in legal limbo. The best way forward, in my opinion, is to improve Taiwan's democracy and relationships with other countries, while maintaining a relationship with the PRC that doesn't force political or economic concessions that would not be given to other countries, such as the recent CSSTA debacle that sparked the Sunflower Movement. In the end, I, like most locals, hope that Taiwan will one day free itself from the political shackles imposed on it by <i>both</i> the PRC and ROC governments, and that it will make itself a free nation. Unfortunately, that day is still a long way off.<br />
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Let's wrap up some terminology:<br />
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<li><b>China (One China)</b>: a territory, defined by two different governments (the ROC and PRC) as consisting of both the mainland and the island of Taiwan; "political" usage of the name China</li>
<li><b>China (country)</b>: the country controlled by the PRC government, namely, mainland China controlled by the Chinese Communist Party; "common" usage of the name China</li>
<li><b>PRC</b>: the government in control of the mainland</li>
<li><b>ROC</b>: the government in control of Taiwan (and outlying islands); possibly acting under the authority of the Allied Forces / US after WWII and the surrender of Japan</li>
<li>"<b>The free area of the ROC</b>": the territory of China controlled by the ROC, namely, the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matzu; commonly referred to as <i>Taiwan</i>; capital is Taipei</li>
<li><b>Taiwan (island)</b>: the island known as Taiwan</li>
<li><b>Taiwan (province)</b>: a province in China, administered by the ROC; consisting of the islands of Taiwan and Penghu; capital is Zhongxing New Village in Nantou County</li>
<li><b>Taiwan (country)</b>: the likely future name of the free republic if (and when) the ROC and PRC end their ongoing cold war; indeed, even without the political or legal environment to make this possible currently, this name has already taken root and ROC citizens are proud to call themselves Taiwanese!</li>
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So the next time someone asks you if Taiwan is independent, just link them to this article. But at the same time, I hope you will join me and the millions of Taiwanese in our journey for a Free Taiwan.Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935136457580299930.post-69377928369135597992014-04-17T11:10:00.003-07:002014-04-17T11:13:22.263-07:00Welcome to TairadicalTairadical (台份子) is not your typical Taiwan food, travel, or "cultural experience" blog. Learn about what goes on behind the scenes in Taiwan's ongoing two-decade struggle for democratization and how it is experienced by the locals in life and politics; how the younger generation's web culture has gone from a counter-culture to the 6 o'clock headline news; and how perhaps you can even join me as I explore a new language. Welcome to Formosa, the beautiful island!<br />
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Since I haven't written anything substantial on here yet, I just want to give you an idea of what you can expect to see:<br />
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<li>Translations of breaking or important Chinese-language news and articles that haven't yet found their way into the English papers</li>
<li>In-depth background, history, and current developments of local politics that might be common knowledge for an educated Taiwanese, but hard to come by without being able to read Chinese</li>
<li>Developments in immigration policy or other topics relevant for foreigners. I hope this can be an authoritative source for this type of thing as most other forum posts and websites (looking at you, Tealit) can't ever seem to keep up</li>
<li>Exploration of the Taiwanese web culture, especially memes, trends, and other viral hits</li>
<li>Taiwanese language lessons and practice materials</li>
<li>Shameless plugs for my own translation/interpreting and English tutoring/training services</li>
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If there's any other type of content you'd like to see, just drop a note below or shoot me a message. Enjoy!</div>
Anyonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05758807796844955703noreply@blogger.com0