Mandatory learning of Confucian texts wrong: panel

By Chris Wang  /  Staff Reporter

While the Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經), a collection of Confucian writings dating back to 300 BC, are considered examples of good literature, it is inappropriate to make them mandatory texts in schools because building a Taiwanese identity and Taiwanese literature is even more important, academics said in a forum yesterday.

Discussing the de-sinicization of four Asian countries — Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam — at a forum organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP), panelists made side comments on President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent re-election campaign ad in support of efforts to promote the reading of Chinese classics among children.

Taiwan, Mongolia in charter flight talks: MOFA

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Taiwan and Mongolia are contemplating setting up direct charter flights to promote bilateral tourism and trade relations, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said Tuesday.

"Both sides are keen on developing closer exchanges and boosting tourism. Currently we are in talks on possible charter flights, which would benefit tourists from both sides if the deal goes through, " Lin Jinn-jong, director-general of the MOFA's Department of West Asian Affairs, said at a press briefing.

The direct charters would lower airfares between the two destinations to around US$500 from the current US$1,000, Lin said. At present, visitors must enter Mongolia via third countries, such as South Korea and China.

About 2,000 Taiwanese tourists visit Mongolia annually, Lin said. Charter flights would not only benefit tourists but also 400 Mongolian students in Taiwan.

According to Lin, although bilateral trade volume is small, the US$8.02 million in trade between Taiwan and Mongolia in the first half represented 207 percent growth compared to the first six months of 2009.

As of 2009, Taiwan is Mongolia's 15th largest trade partner and Taiwanese companies had invested US$19.65 million there.

Taiwan does not have official diplomatic ties with Mongolia, which declared independence in 1911, the year that the Qing Dynasty fell.

However, Lin said, the central Asian country is intent on improving its economy through tourism and attracting foreign investment from foreign countries, including Taiwan.

That was why the charter flight issue was raised during the 9th Taiwan-Mongolia Joint Economic Meeting, which was held in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 9, he said.

More than 100 participants from Taiwan's Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association and its counterpart the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting, which will be held in Taiwan next year. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls

International human rights groups appeal to Taiwan on death penalty

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) International human rights organizations repeated their appeals to the Taiwan government Thursday to restore an unofficial moratorium on executions to spare the lives of 40 death row inmates.

Amnesty International and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) issued separate statements to express their regret over a decision reached May 28 by the Justices of Constitutioal Court to reject a petition filed by the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) on behalf of the prisoners.

ADPAN urged Taiwan to halt further executions following the April 30 execution of four prisoners and to either consider alternatives to capital punishment or re-introduce an unofficial moratorium.

Amnesty International argued that Taiwan's application of the death penalty is unconstitutional and violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that was signed by President Ma Ying-jeou in May last year and incorporated into the domestic laws of Taiwan.

Provisions for legal representation, particularly in the final stages of trials, and opportunities to debate appropriate sentencing during trials are inadequate, the organization said in the statement. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J

Different cases of transitional justice examples for Taiwan

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) Scholars and officials from various countries shared their experience in advancing transitional justice, which became a popular term in Taiwan in recent years, with their counterparts from Taiwan in an international conference Saturday.

The "International Conference on the Comparative Studies of Transitional Justice" gathered participants from Germany, Hungary, Mongolia and Hungary, including former Prime Minister of East Germany Lother de Maiziere with a focus on the handling of illegally-gained party assets.

Maiziere explained in his speech how former East Germany worked on a full-scale transformation on various fronts after overcoming the communist dictatorship and the unification of Germany. One of the most important steps was the liquidation of the assets of the Socialist Unity Party (SED), former East Germany ruling party.

Transitional justice is more than handling party assets, he said. Maziere also went on details about how Germany re-established traditional provinces, which were abolished during the communist era, worked on judiciary transformation, reviewed the criminal and civil law, reviewed the sentences of all prisoners, and re-organized the police force.

The same effort could also be found in Poland, said Lo Chih-cheng, a professor at Soochow University. The success of transitional justice in a number of Eastern European countries came from positive dialogues between the opposition and the ruling parties, he said.

The transition in Poland was initiated by a compromise, negotiated in a round table by members of the state party PZPR and the democratic opposition, said Andrea Genest, a research fellow at the Center for Research of Contemporary History Potsdam.

The handling off the former Hungarian communist ruling party HSWP (Hugarian Socialist Workers' and Peasants' Party) has not been very successful as there was no overall settlement, said Krisztian Ungvary, advisor of Hungarian Ministry for Culture and Education.

In Mongolia, a country that has been trying to walk out of the shadow from the former Soviet Union since it declared independence, the focus has been placed on the privatization of state properties, said Nemekhbayar Dashbaljir, an officer of Mongolia's State Property Committee.

The one-day conference, which was organized by Taiwan Thinktank, discussed the theme of transitional justice in three sessions on the global experience in dealing with party assets and the interdependent relationship between transitional justice and democratization.

TAIWAN'S NGOS TRY TO HELP ACHIEVE DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGH

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan's non-government organizations (NGOs) can contribute to the country's attempts to break through its diplomatic hardships amid China's oppression by participating in international and regional dialogues and organizations, NGO workers said in a seminar Tuesday.

The power of the civil society has been gaining steam in impacting the outcome of global affairs, and Taiwan's NGOs can make an impact in the country's limited diplomatic space by engaging in dialogues with NGOs all over the world on regional and global issues, said Chen Yao-hua, a professor at Soochow University and trustee of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan.

The Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan was among 13 civil groups and NGOs that established the Taipei Community of Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GAPPC) in 2005. GAPPC is an initiative of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and currently has 15 regional sectors all over the world.

The Taipei Community is a member of the Northeast Asia sector, which also includes North and South Korea, Russia, China, Mongolia and Hong Kong.

During the past two years, the community has sent delegations to GAPPC regional meetings in New York, Seoul, Mongolia and North Korea. Taiwan's NGO workers discussed a wide range of regional and global issues, such as the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula, Japan's constitutional amendments and the cross-Taiwan Strait issue, said Hsu Szu-chien, a trustee of the foundation.

By showing Taiwan's concern about and attention to various issues in the Northeast Asia region, people in other countries will respond with support for Taiwan, Chen claimed, adding that it will be Taiwan's "alternative diplomacy."

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official Wang Chih-fa, executive secretary of the NGO Committee, said the government recognizes the efforts made by the numerous NGOs and welcomes local NGOs' participation in international affairs.

LOCAL NGOS HOLD CONFERENCE ON PROMOTING PEACE AND GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT

Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) A peace promotion conference organized by ten non-government organizations (NGOs) and called "The Taiwan Peace Season: Peace and the Grassroots Movement," began in Taipei Friday.

The program, which runs until Oct. 23 and focuses on cross-strait relations as well as peace in East Asia, includes an international peace conference, an "I love peace" concert and training programs for young peace ambassadors.

Part of the international conference will be held in Kinmen, previously a warzone in the 1950s, on Oct. 23.

Allen Houng, the commissioner of the movement and chairman of the Constitution Reform Alliance in Taiwan, said the concept of peace is easy to understand but difficult to apply.

The realization of peace cannot rely on politics or forceful coercion, he said. The only solution is to promote peace through the grassroots movement, Houng said.

Five international peace movement promotors, including scholars and grassroots leaders from the United States, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Mongolia will also attend the conference to facilitate a regional alliance on peace promotion.

"The timing of this movement could not be better as domestic political controversies, chaos and the North Korea nuclear issue have unfolded before us," said chief organizer Tang Kwang-hua.

Tang also described the movement as the "third stage" of a civic peace movement in Taiwan, following the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1995-96 and the arms procurement debate in 2004.