DPP touts starting regional alliance to boost democracy

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Academics and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday advocated the establishment of a democratic alliance, based on participants’ firm belief in democracy, to advance human rights and freedom, and to combat the global phenomenon of a retreating democratic movement.

DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who initiated the campaign on a visit to Japan in February, told a forum organized by the DPP at its headquarters in Taipei yesterday that the value-based alliance would seek to consolidate East Asian democratic countries in particular.

Ma administration receives failing grade in TISR poll

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his administration received 46.5 points out of a possible 100 for their performance during Ma’s five years in office, a public opinion poll released yesterday showed.

The poll, conducted by Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR), comes a week before the anniversary of Ma’s first-term inauguration in 2008.

Ma must plan for Manila’s response: DPP

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

Although it is not a good time to criticize the government amid escalating tensions between Taiwan and the Philippines over the killing last week of a Taiwanese fisherman, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) must formulate a comprehensive plan to deal with the diplomatic row, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.

The DPP supported the Ma administration’s 72-hour ultimatum to the Philippines demanding a formal apology, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) told a press conference.

Response to boat shooting was ‘weak,’ experts say

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The government’s response to the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine government ship and the actions it has taken against Manila have come “too late” and are “too weak,” politicians and academics said yesterday.

It took President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration 60 hours to call a National Security Council meeting after Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成), 65, was shot dead by Philippine Coast Guard personnel on Thursday while working on a fishing boat in disputed waters about 164 nautical miles (304km) off the southern coast of Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.

People have given up on Ma, poll says

LAME DUCK:：A Taiwan Thinktank survey found that Ma’s approval rating had dropped to 19.1%, with 69.9% saying that they were dissatisfied with his performance
By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter
Mon, May 13, 2013 - Page 3

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has become a lame duck president with persistent low approval ratings and people have given up hope in him, academics said yesterday, after the results of a recent opinion poll were released.

Ma’s approval rating has dropped to a record-low 19.1 percent, and 60 percent of respondents said they did not expect a better performance from Ma in the remainder of his second term, the poll showed.

EDITORIAL: The lessons Yoichi Hatta taught us

Fri, May 10, 2013 - Page 8

In a question-and-answer session on Taiwan-Japan relations at the legislature on Thursday last week, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker raised concerns over escalating nationalism in Japan and expressed dismay at Taiwanese pro-Japanese sentiment.

The lawmaker said he wondered why a dam built by the Japanese could be praised as a legacy for decades, while Taiwanese turned a blind eye to many other infrastructure projects completed by the Taiwanese government.

MOF to present revised capital gains tax plan

ONE MONTH:The ministry is under pressure to make the alterations following lackluster stock trading, widespread criticism and a change in Ma’s position
By Amy Su and Chris Wang  /  Staff reporters

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) is under pressure to present a revised plan for the capital gains tax on securities within one month.

Despite previous claims that it was not the right time to alter the tax, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) yesterday told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee that the ministry would “do its best” to propose a revised version within a month.

DPP China Affairs Committee holds first meeting

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took the first step toward the formulation of its cross-strait policy as its nine-member China Affairs Committee held its first meeting yesterday in the face of mounting cross-strait challenges.

“Almost every member of the committee agreed that the DPP’s core values have withstood the test of time and changing political situation. Discussions over strategic options and substantial policies are what this committee has to accomplish in the future,” committee spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) told a press conference.

DPP mulls expanding China Affairs Committee’s size

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that it would try to be more inclusive in the makeup of its much-anticipated China Affairs Committee (CAC) by adding more members so that discussions over the party’s China policy would be more thorough.

DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told reporters after a Central Executive Committee meeting that he “has never had a doubt about increasing participation in the committee.”

Ma’s defense efforts questioned: DPP

By Chris Wang and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

The latest US report on the imbalance in military capabilities across the Taiwan Strait raises further questions about President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) determination to defend Taiwan and his capability as commander-in-chief, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday.

A US Department of Defense report released on Monday, titled Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, briefly criticized Taiwan’s defense spending, which is now approximately 2 percent of GDP — below Ma’s pledge of 3 percent, and its transition to voluntary military service.