[quote=“Chewycorns”][quote=“ScottSommers”]I was incensed when Jaw Shaw Kong insulted the president of one of the ROC’s strongest allies, Costa Rica, with his disgusting and baseless comments implying corruption.
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Development programs cost money, although I would prefer Taiwan’s officials to do a little better job in monitoring the money during all stages of the disbursement and in promoting transparency. Professionalizing the civil service would be a good start. From my owm experience, honor, fairplay, professionlism, and decency are concepts that are not well respected by many blues or greens in government…Paying a daughter of a president reeks of cronyism and guanxi diplomacy.
I bow to your considerable experience with this matter. The point I had hoped to makes was that political hacks in Taiwan (Green or Blue) are often quite selective in what they find disturbing. I’m glad to see that ACD is bothered when representatives of the nation are snubbed by officials from other countries. ACD has made his point. I would like to believe that this is genuine and isn’t just a justification for why he will make the same mistake the next time President Chen gets snubbed.
I don’t see it that way. AC is just being petty about Ma’s visit, over a small setback this minor.
Why? Because Ma has basically met a whole cadre of important people in New York City, including New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg (yes of Bloomberg Co and TV channel), whom was hailed as one of the best mayors in America. He’s gotten more airtime and press than I’ve ever seen for practically anyone else, even Hu Jintao’s NYC visit.
CSB is the head of State of ROC, so he won’t be coming to the USA anytime soon. It is one of the reasons Ma is touring the USA now, if he is elected in 2008, chances are he won’t have the opportunity to come to the USA again while in office.
LTH has unfortunately soured the State Department to any ROC leadership ever stepping foot on USA soil again and causing any “surprises,” especially those of TI leaning.
As for ROC Presidential Office being snub, I agree with Ma on the point about Deputy of Communication recent faux pas of addressing CSB without the title of President, over the NUC “abolishment” issue.
Although I have high regards for the institution of ROC, I sometimes wonder if CSB has these same regards and if he is not bringing these snubs upon himself and the office he is suppose to be representing.
I just felt there was some ironic humor that since both these politicians are criticized for being more about image than substance, that they took such great care to avoid each other.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]CSB is the head of State of ROC, so he won’t be coming to the USA anytime soon. It is one of the reasons Ma is touring the USA now, if he is elected in 2008, chances are he won’t have the opportunity to come to the USA again while in office.
LTH has unfortunately soured the State Department to any ROC leadership ever stepping foot on USA soil again and causing any “surprises,” especially those of TI leaning.
As for ROC Presidential Office being snub, I agree with Ma on the point about Deputy of Communication recent faux pas of addressing CSB without the title of President, over the NUC “abolishment” issue.
Although I have high regards for the institution of ROC, I sometimes wonder if CSB has these same regards and if he is not bringing these snubs upon himself and the office he is suppose to be representing.
I just felt there was some ironic humor that since both these politicians are criticized for being more about image than substance, that they took such great care to avoid each other.[/quote]
LTH came late last year, (remember the post I have of meeting him) and he wasn’t snubbed or anything. In fact he was welcomed by academics and met with quite a few people too. Same thing with Chen’s last visit. They didn’t get anywhere near the same press coverage, so you’re just being upset over too much.
What more could you want? Ma is just a mayor and is already getting comparitively A+ class treatment.
But LTH is no longer the Head of State for ROC is he now.
Private citizens of ROC can go around the USA doing whatever they want.
Given that Ma is following after the likes of troublemakers like LTH and CSB, how else would you expect people to treat him. He pretty eloquent in English, doesn’t say anything to stress the tense relationship between the 3 countries involved in the Strait Issue. He has broad appeal.
All except for that one Mayor in some unnamed yet gay friendly town on the West Coast near Oakland.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]But LTH is no longer the Head of State for ROC is he now.
Private citizens of ROC can go around the USA doing whatever they want.
Given that Ma is following after the likes of troublemakers like LTH and CSB, how else would you expect people to treat him. He pretty eloquent in English, doesn’t say anything to stress the tense relationship between the 3 countries involved in the Strait Issue. He has broad appeal.
All except for that one Mayor in some unnamed yet gay friendly town on the West Coast near Oakland.[/quote]
Maybe the Mayor of SF remembers the KMT sending terrorists to the US to murder dissidents.
Now the news is showing Ma met with Newsome today in SF, they had a humorous, funfilled meeting, full of quips and soundbites and great quotes for the newspapers tomorrow.
Ma is…the San Francisco Chronicle reports today…Married to a banking lawyer, he has two daughters. The popular politician is known for his jogging, competes in triathlons, contributed $1.5 million to charity, and has given blood more 166 times, according to his official biography.
“He’s unique in Taiwan political circles. He’s very honest,” said Tai-chun Kuo, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. “He’s sincere and professional, and clean. Even his political rivals find it difficult attack him.”
But Ma has his critics. John Won, 53, of Los Altos, dismissed Ma as being popular with the media, but not with the people.
In the 2004 presidential election, Won said he voted for Chen, the DPP candidate.
“People there don’t want to unite with China. It’s as simple as that. China is China. Taiwan is Taiwan,” said Won, president of the Northern California chapter of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.
But CSB has already been to the US on “transit” stopovers, on at least two occasions, I believe. He was able to visit several cities and meet with local officials and members of Congress. VP Lu was there as recently as 2004, where she attended a banquet in Las Vegas thrown by a Nevada Congresswoman. Cabinet-level officials have been allowed to make “private” visits as well as transit stops. Around 2002, China was quite upset when Taiwan’s defense minister Tang Yiau-ming had meetings with Paul Wolfowitz and Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly at a conference in Florida.
China still takes an interest in the travel plans of people like LTH. In the past they have filed protests with both the US and Japan about his visits, claiming he cannot be considered an ‘ordinary’ person. At least one trip to Japan was cancelled before they let him in for ‘medical treatment’.
