Breakfast with Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairwoman and one of the contenders for her party’s presidential nomination^*), had a morning tea meeting (早茶會) with foreigners  – not least press people – at the Breakfast Club in Taipei on Saturday morning local time. There was no need for translations, as Tsai’s address and the following questions-and-answers session were all held in English. TWIMI Television posted a video recording on youtube – the first video clip is embedded on the TWIMI website; the following ones (‘#2 – #6) can be found directly on youtube.

For readers whose Chinese is better than their English, an executive summary – between the video and photos – is also provided on the TWIMI website.

One consideration to hold that meeting may have been to raise Tsai’s profile in international news, with possibly positive publicity within Taiwan. Another seems to be that a president who easily (and informally, if need be) communicates with the international community could be an asset for the island republic which is diplomatically isolated, given that no country can maintain official diplomatic ties both with Beijing, and Taipei.

Main topics of her talk

1. Video 1/6 – 03’50” Relationship with China, use of  multilateral WTO framework in ECFA and other negotiations
2. Video 1/6 – 13’14”  Economic policies / job creation, continued on video #2.
3. Video 2/6 – 02’15” – how Taiwanese investment in China affects job quality in Taiwan / importance of R&D.
4. Video 2/6 10’10” – Rural areas: farming as an opportunity, rather than a burden – continued on video #3.

Tsai’s talk might have come across better – on video – if it had been a short statement instead, even if the talk probably came across more effectively among the group of people at the Breakfast Club than it does on video. The subsequent Q&A is much more lively and instructive than her talk. The longer the Q&A went, the more quick-witted and spontaneous Tsai seemed to become. On issues like the death penalty, she offered both a roadmap to its abolishment, and an explanation for the public mood which favors the death penalty.

She made no secret of the difficulties a DPP government may face if Beijing tries to make life difficult, but explained Taiwan-Chinese relations – and her approach to them – in an international context, in a relaxed and even humorous way.

The compère and moderator wasn’t exactly neutral – see video 3/6 – 05’48” / 12’33”.

Q & A

1. Video 3/6 – 07’01” – Science: aren’t the humanities and the environment important for development, too?
2. Video 3/6 – 13’03” – The Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co. naphtha cracker complex in particular, and environmental policies in general. Continued on video #4.
3. Video 4/6 – 03’45” – How will a Tsai administration deal with Beijing accusations against a DPP-led government, and how will she make the US state department her ally (basically)? – the DPP’s path from revolution to diplomacy.
4. Video 4/6 – 11’15” – Restoration of trust between the DPP and Washington so far / think-tank diplomacy.
5. Video 4/6 – 15’26” – Is a vote for Tsai Ing-wen a vote for Chen Shui-bian and his clique? Would she pardon Chen? Continued on video #5.
6. Video 5/6 – 02’08” – Given Tsai’s emphasis on R&D, the questioner doubts that R&D and the kinds of jobs that have been moved to China are connected, and wonders how Tsai would create an environment which foreign talents would like to move into.
7. Would there be a moratorium on the death penalty if Tsai gets elected?
8. Video 6/6 – 00’04” – is the best survival strategy for Taiwan to be as different from China as possible, and does Tsai have a vision for the country Taiwan should be?
9. Video 6/6 – 05’00” – what are the three things Tsai would want to have accomplished after a first term in office, in Taiwan-Chinese relations?
10. What is Tsai’s deepest criticism of Taiwan’s educational system?

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Note

^*) Tsai has reportedly taken a leave of absence, with the presidential nomination caucus chief Ker Chien-ming being acting chairman for the time being.

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Related

Tsai Ing-wen’s Presidential Bid: Democracy over Idolization, March 11, 2011
Creative Destruction or Development, March 15, 2010

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Learn from Japan: a Normal Internet Environment

Enorth (Febr 2011 snapshot): We will block you - in a most developed way

The following is a translation of an article by Guangming Net (光明网), republished by Enorth, on internet supervision and regulation in Japan (互联网监管 –> 监督管理, translated as internet supervision in the following). The article’s intention can probably be best understood in context with articles like this one, of March 25/26.

[Main link: http://news.enorth.com.cn/system/2011/04/22/006419680.shtml. Links within blockquote added during translation – JR]

In recent years, Japan has continuously strengthened supervision of the internet by means of legislation. On the morning of March 11, the day when the magnitude-9 earthquake occured, the cabinet passed a draft of a law section to parliament which wouldn’t only punish the creation, dissemination and possession of viruses, but which also stipulates that the government can require network operators (运营商) to retain users’ network accession and communication data for a maximum of sixty days. Some members of the industry criticized the governments measures to strengthen online monitoring (网上监控), but many people believe that these measures will help to curb the growing number of online crimes.

As a country with a developed economy and a universal availability of computers and internet access, the endless stream (层出不穷、络绎不绝 – céng chū bù qióng, luò yì bù jué) of online crimes has plagued Japan’s government and common people all the time. Criminal elements have used the internet to lure minors into pornographic and obscene activities. Sales of drugs, firearms and knives and incitements of suicide have also frequently occured. Floods of spam emails and viruses are a calamity which seriously affects the population’s use of the internet (垃圾邮件、电脑病毒更是泛滥成灾，严重影响了民众正常使用互联网). Therefore, in accordance with the principle to be vigilant within and relaxed outside (根据内紧外松的原则), Japan’s internet operators and the Japanese government have continuously strengthened supervision of the internet, mainly by legislative means. As early as in 1984, Japan enacted an internet supervision “Telecommunications Business Law” (电讯事业法). With the arrival of the 21rst century, following the developed status and universal availability of the internet, Japan successively established a “Law of Providers’ Responsibility” (规范互联网服务商责任法) [服务商 refers to internet service providers (ISP)] and a “Law against use of dating sites for luring minors” (打击利用交友网站引诱未成年人法), a “Safe online environment for young people law” (青少年安全上网环境整备法), and “Standard e-mail law” (规范电子邮件法), etc., thus efficiently curbing online crime illegality, and harmful information (网上犯罪和违法、有害信息).

This time’s cabinet amendment was meant to increase penalties on the production and dissemination of viruses, and to improve the legal basis for the authorities, from the online information to be provided by the network operators. In this regard, some of the industry criticize the government move as strengthening surveillance of internet users, which could infringe on citizens’ privacy (公民的隐私权, gōngmín de yǐnsī quán). But commentators also believe that in response to the growing scale of online crimes, to protect the netizens’ safety and their ease at using the internet, the government’s legislation draft for strengthened internet supervision gives no cause for much criticism (无可厚非, wú kě hòu fēi). On March 11, after a cabinet meeting, Japan’s National Police Agency also took action against rumors that were being spread (造谣诽谤) to prevent people from using the internet for spreading false news to upset public feelings (扰乱人心, rǎoluàn rénxīn) and to damage social stability (破坏社会稳定, pòhuài shèhuì wěndìng).

For the management of the internet, besides the criminal and civil law, Japan also established the “personal information protection law” (个人信息保护法), “anti-spam law” (反垃圾邮件法), the “law against illegal reading of information” (禁止非法读取信息法), the “electronic contract law” (电子契约法) and other laws and regulations to penalize illegal internet behavior. Internet service providers, internet content providers (ICP), websites, personal homepages and bulletin websites (网站电子公告) all belong to the domain of legal norms (都属于法律规范的范畴). Senders who use websites to send illegal or unhealthy information (不良信息) or publish websites with such content also bear responsibilities by civil law, and websites are under the obligation to check on illegal or unhealthy information. It is exactly because the Japanese government has established a flawless legal system, and because it has continuously kept substantiating it, that a normal environment for Japanese netizens has been protected.

By Saturday (April 23, 2011, 11:55 GMT), no comments had been made on the article, according to the (Guangming / Enorth) article’s “view-all-comments” function. The article was published by Enorth on Friday, April 22, at 07:15 GMT.

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Related
Zhou Yongkang: More Convenience with “Social Management”, February 21, 2011
Net Neutrality: The real internet backbone, Mattias Geniar, January 15, 2011
Why Wikileaks can’t work, December 1, 2010
Censorship: a “Double-Win”, March 31, 2010
Can Cyber Criminals Consent…, Benjamin Wright / SANS Technology Institute, May 14, 2007
Media Self-Regulation in Asia, Chester Yung, Media & Arts Review, 2004