In the news

One week after the fact, the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ finally notices what Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 didn't say in his inauguration speech ("China-wary Ma omits Japan in inaugural speech"):

"Amid roaring applause in a packed stadium, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou heralded what he called 'a new era' in relations with China in his inaugural speech, delivered at the Taipei Arena just hours after he took office May 20. But for many in Japan, from where the most well-wishers after those from the United States came to attend Ma's inauguration, the key speech fell flat. Despite reports earlier this month that Ma would pledge to bolster ties with Japan and reiterate his support for the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance in the speech, he made no mention of Tōkyō."

Needless to say, the Japanese delegation wasn't very pleased:

"Delegation leader Takeo Hiranuma, a House of Representatives member who leads a pro-Taiwan caucus, politely rapped Ma after the speech. 'If you are re-elected in four years, I hope you'll clearly mention Japan in your next inaugural speech,' Hiranuma told Ma..."

Although the article doesn't touch on this, it seems Hiranuma's words to Ma were mistranslated, something to the effect that Ma was told that Hiranuma hoped he could deliver his next inauguration speech in fluent Japanese! Clearly, last Tuesday was not Japan's day. The article, meanwhile, goes to say:

"Considering Ma's focus on Japan at key junctures in the presidential race, the omission raised eyebrows. But Ma's even stronger platform focus on China, whose relations with Japan are often strained, goes a long way in explaining why Ma felt Japan — a key, albeit unofficial, ally of Taiwan — did not get a mention..."

No surprise here, it was most likely due to Chinese pressure that Ma decided to omit any references to Japan:

"Lingering disputes between China and Japan — especially over the war — 'make Ma wary of being seen as too pro-Japan' while seeking accommodation with Beijing..."

It's difficult to imagine anyone in their right mind ever mistaking Ma Ying-jeou for being "pro-Japan", but if he is so afraid of offending China that he couldn't make even a single reference to Taiwan's most important economic/military/political partner/supporter after the United States, then his administration has not gotten off to a very confidence-inspiring start.

The JT article, incidentally, is a shortened version of the story written by Max Hirsch of Kyōdō News 共同通信社, which can be seen at Thirsty Ghosts. Hirsch's full article goes on to clarify:

"...Ma's own background as KMT standard-bearer...further illuminates his omission of Japan in a speech that charts the future of Taiwan's foreign policies. Officially supporting eventual unification with China, the KMT identifies strongly with Chinese nationalism and has typically fared poorly at fostering a rapport with Japan."

Ma tried to cover his tracks at a later press conference:

"...stress(ing) the importance of bilateral ties with Japan, Taiwan's second largest trading partner after China, top foreign tourism destination and potential security partner. 'We are willing to promote even stronger ties with Japan,' he said, but added, 'I can't really name all the countries in my inaugural address.'

He certainly mentioned China often enough!

Next week I'll be taking a one-week break from all this talk about the most glorious people of China by visiting Japan, land of the "little devils".

In the news

Tom Plate definitely has a thing going for Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九. In today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ he writes (in "A winner that Beijing would be wise to cheer"):

"His name is Ma Ying-jeou, 57, he went to Harvard, and my wife volunteers that he is quite good looking. Handsome or whatever, he gave a terrific inaugural speech that is important for everyone. That's because the policy directions taken in Taipei regarding its head-to-head relationship with Beijing could help determine whether a war erupts in Asia someday."

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm tired of reading commentaries like this one. It basically says that, compared to the previous administration, Ma is more pragmatic or reasonable, and this is a great opportunity for China to get what it wants from Taiwan...which, of course, is for the good of Taiwan as well:

"Ma's way is different. For him almost all issues are negotiable, the mainland as well as Taiwan deserves respect and the two must live in an arrangement of peace and stability...He avoided antagonizing the mainland while not giving the keys to the island to Beijing. Instead of speaking in grand (and illusive) concepts, he proposed practical, step-by-step negotiations designed to build confidence and trust...Beijing would be well advised to play along with Ma...it is very unlikely that Beijing, for the foreseeable future anyway, will find a better man with whom to negotiate than Ma. He's sensible, international, and strong on vision. Ma wants to lift the touchy bilateral relationship out of the basement of adolescent rivalry and into the master sitting room of adult diplomacy. China should exert every effort to work with him to its greatest abilities."

I have a feeling there are going to be a lot more opinion pieces like this one in the weeks and months to come. I do hope the homoerotic hero worship gets toned down a bit, however.

In the news

The Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ is usually one of the better newspapers around when it comes to analyzing what is going on in Taiwan, but today's editorial, "Mr. Ma reaches out", was not up to the paper's usual standards. According to the JT's editors:

"Taiwan has a new president. Mr. Ma Ying-jeou, of the KMT (Nationalist) Party was inaugurated Monday after a decisive win in March's election. In his inaugural remarks, Mr. Ma hit the right notes, reaching out to both Taiwanese at home and Chinese 150 kilometers (93 miles) away across the Taiwan Strait. This is a historic opportunity to stabilize relations and establish a strong foundation for peace between Taiwan and the mainland. Will Beijing seize it?"

The question here concerns what "notes" Ma did or did not hit. The Japan Times states that Ma won the election because:

"Voters, tired of the ideological policies of former President Chen Shui-bian, have embraced the pragmatic, economics-first agenda promoted by Mr. Ma."

After commenting on the importance of closer economic cooperation between Taiwan and China, the editorial points out that:

"...Chen, and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), feared that increasing ties with the mainland would render Taiwan vulnerable to Chinese pressure. His government did its best to keep the two separate. For that effort..., Mr. Chen was labeled a 'splittist' whose attempts to promote Taiwanese national identity were considered by Beijing to be steps toward independence. The mainland's distrust of Mr. Chen grew throughout his administration and the Chinese government did its best to counter every Taiwanese initiative and humiliate Mr. Chen..."

So far, the editorial does an evenhanded job of clarifying the problems in the relationship between Chen and the Chinese government. From this point on, however, quality control begins to slacken:

"In his inaugural address, Mr. Ma spoke of a common Chinese heritage and, in a particularly bold gesture, he referred to three statements by Chinese President Hu Jintao on cross-strait relations — 'building mutual trust, shelving controversies, finding commonalities despite differences, and creating together a win-win solution.' Mr. Ma said Mr. Hu's 'views are very much in line with our own.' He also promised to negotiate on the basis of the '1992 consensus,' a slippery concept but one that Beijing insists upon."

From what I've read of the English translation of his speech, and from the analyses of several online bloggers here in Taiwan, Ma did more than just "speak" of a shared Han Chinese 漢民族 heritage, he practically reveled in it, while downplaying anything that makes Taiwan stand out from China proper. His references to the "1992 consensus" are also worrisome, as it isn't even clear that such an agreement actually exists. At least the Times is right in calling it "slippery". In fairness, Ma has never hidden his goal of reaching out to China, but the editorial doesn't raise any questions as to how far Ma is willing to go, and at what risk to Taiwan's sovereignty, in order to reach some kind of agreement or modus operandi with the Chinese (which, according to his speech, Ma is one of 1.5 billion or so). Instead, it states:

"The eventual success of (Ma's) entire platform depends, first and foremost, on forging a broad consensus in Taiwan that includes even those people who did not vote for him. Again, to his credit, the new president recognizes this. His speech included phrases in the local Taiwanese dialect as well as in Hakka and the aboriginal languages. He highlighted Taiwan's need for international space and 'respect.'"

What the Times failed to point out here is that, as far as I'm aware, Ma omitted any references to Taiwan's native population in his remarks, and one aboriginal legislator actually walked out of the speech in protest at this. And while Taiwan does need more "space" and "respect", we aren't informed that on the day before Ma's inauguration, China once again applied pressure on the World Health Organization to deny Taiwan any form of standing in that world body. But then, neither did Ma on Tuesday. The editorial then goes to point out other things from Ma's speech - no negotiations of unification during his presidential term, and the need for China to make progress on the democratic front, before pointing to China's positive response:

"The challenge now is to move beyond the rhetorical pats on the back and to substantive acts that reduce the risk of miscalculation and misperception in the Taiwan Strait and build genuine confidence between the two sides of the strait. The start of regular cross-strait charter flights is one such promising development; the expansion of tourism and lifting of limits on Taiwan investment on the mainland are others. As this process unfolds, the two governments may even be able to agree on a peace accord that stabilizes cross-strait relations and eliminates a regional flash point."

It's hard to disagree with this. After all, who doesn't want peaceful relations across the strait? If such an agreement is ever reached, however, would Ma put it to the voters of Taiwan first, or would he use the KMT's overwhelming majority in the legislature to ram it through, and then crack down on any dissent that may arise in the aftermath. After all, the KMT has had a lot of experience in that latter field. That, however, is a question that can't be answered here, and it is proper the Japan Times makes no mention of this in its editorial. What is missing, and it's a most puzzling omission at that, is that while Ma talked at length about common Chinese heritages and all that, and even briefly mentioned the United States in his speech, he said nothing at all about Japan. Zero, nada, not a word. I would have thought this would have caught the attention of the Japan Times, and led them to speculate on what that might mean to the future course of Japan-Taiwan relations, but the editorial staff chose not to take up this topic. Instead, it has been left to Max Hirsch of Kyōdō News 共同通信社 to point this out, in an excellent article which can be found on the Thirsty Ghosts website: 

There is also a second commentary in the Japan Times today on Ma's speech, "Cross-strait opportunity" , by Ralph Cossa. Based on the theme of "be careful what you wish for", Cossa raises the interesting question:

"...can Beijing, after hearing "no" for the past eight years, now take "yes" for an answer."

Cossa is referring to the same conciliatory remarks Ma made in his inauguration speech that the JT editorial also spoke of:

"Ma laid out the normalization of economic and cultural relations with the mainland as immediate goals, but warned that 'Taiwan doesn't just want security and prosperity; it wants dignity.' Herein lies the rub! It should be relatively easy for Beijing to respond positively to Ma's calls for direct weekend charter flights and visits to Taiwan by mainland tourists and other economic and cultural exchanges. Some security gesture, such as a visible drawback of missiles opposite Taiwan, is also doable. But is Beijing prepared to make significant gestures aimed at improving Taiwan's sense of security and relieving its international isolation? A failure by Beijing to respond positively to Ma's olive branches will seriously undercut the new Taiwanese leader as he tries to build consensus at home in support of his forward-leaning cross-strait policies. His address is already being labeled by the opposition as 'naive' and 'wishful thinking.' Will Beijing prove this to be the case?"

Will it indeed. The Chinese government has a long history of clumsy handling of issues between it and Taiwan - will anything be different this time? Not if this is any indication:

"Beijing immediately opted to pass on its first chance to make a positive political gesture by once again blocking Taiwan's bid for observer status in the World Health Organization (WHO). Chen's decision to apply as 'Taiwan' rather than 'Chinese Taipei' regrettably made it easier for Beijing to once again block this request, but it could have asked the WHO to postpone consideration of Taiwan's bid for a few days to allow for a reformulation of the application, rather than quickly excluding it from the agenda. As a result, Beijing needs to quickly find some other venues to provide the dignity that Ma seeks and Taiwan richly deserves."

Cossa is no believer in Taiwanese self-determination judging from some of his past writings, but he does make some good observations here:

"It appears that Beijing is still struggling to figure out how to deal with a potentially friendly government in Taipei after years of just saying no to everything and branding every positive gesture by the Chen administration a 'splittist trick.' The real concern, as some Chinese candidly expressed to me during a recent visit to Beijing, is finding ways to improve Taiwan's 'international breathing space' without further enhancing its status as a sovereign independent entity. Fear that gestures once made would be exploited if Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) returned to power were also cited as a reason for moving slowly, even though moving too slowly (or not at all) will increase the prospects of a DPP return."

Cossa then presents a long wish list of things Beijing could do:

1. "...it can observe Ma's call for a 'truce' in the international arena. In recent years, Beijing has taken great delight in humiliating the Chen administration by spiriting away Taiwan's few remaining allies, normally through a shameless bidding war. This must stop. If no one recognizes the Republic of China..., why shouldn't it just declare itself the Republic of Taiwan now and end the 'one China' charade?"

2. "A more dramatic military gesture is also needed. Merely withdrawing some easily redeployed mobile missiles is not enough. Beijing needs to deactivate and plow over some of the 1,000-plus missile sites it has poised opposite Taiwan as a true goodwill gesture."

3. "The semi-official cross-strait dialogue between Beijing's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) and Taipei's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) also needs to resume, if for no other reason than to facilitate the institution of the economic 'three links' that both sides profess to support. Dialogue should also begin, either through ARATS-SEF or through a quasi-official 'track two' gathering, on cross-strait confidence building and conflict avoidance measures."

4. "Beijing also needs to loosen restrictions it has imposed on Taiwan in the WHO as a first step toward allowing Chinese Taipei to gain observer status as a 'health entity' next year."

and 5. "Beijing also needs to stop its heavy-handed pressure aimed at blocking participation by Taiwan scholars at academic gatherings and should take steps to help elevate Taiwan's status in the nongovernmental Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and other track-two organizations, while also supporting higher-level Taiwan participation in the APEC Leaders Meeting and other forums."

One question that Cossa doesn't ask, however, if whether Ma Ying-jeou will be the kind of leader who can move China to respond in ways that are beneficial to the overall benefit of Taiwan, and its 23 million citizens (including those who didn't vote for him). There is nothing to do now but sit back and watch the drama unfold!

Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑

Yesterday had been rainy, and the sky looked threatening when I woke up at 5:30 this morning, but in the end I was very glad I rode out to the Takeng area to go hiking. The rain never came down, the air was clean and the views from the numbers 5 and 5-1 trails were great. Most impressive was the scenery in the distance on the opposite side of the mountain, away from T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中 and looking towards what I think was the town of Hsinshe (Sinshe) 新社. The few numbers of hikers out on the trails also encouraged a lot of the local wildlife to make its presence known, including one bold pheasant out looking for breakfast. All in all, it was a great 2 hours and 57 minutes, and 10,059 steps.

The weekend

I spent a lot of time in the outdoors this weekend, beginning with Saturday morning's hike with Michael Turton up the No. 4 Trail in the Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑 area of T'aichung (Taijhong) 台中. Michael has a great write-up of our walk on his blog The View from Taiwan, so let me just say that I deny completely the rumors that I was stuck behind this old American Toto fan who was routinely being passed up on the trail by obasans several decades older than him.

Following the morning hike, I went to work as usual in the afternoon. Immediately afterwards, however, Pamela (with Amber in tow) picked me up, and we drove straight to Hsit'ou (Sitou) 溪頭, a national forest recreation area located in the central mountains, where Steve and his family were waiting for us. We arrived before 7pm, and after checking into our shared room at the Youth Activity Center, the three of us (Amber, Pamela and I) took a walk in the dark. We were far from alone, however, as we were surrounded by fireflies, a sight which delighted Amber to no end (and got me pretty excited too, I have to admit). Naturally, it's extremely difficult to photograph fireflies, but we had an easier time getting this shot of a monster moth clinging to the window of the Youth Center when we got back:

This morning, following breakfast, we set off on a long day of walking. Little did I know at the time (namely because my wife failed to inform me of the fact until afterwards), but the 2880 meter (1.79 mile) trail we took to reach the Giant Cypress Tree 神木, Hsitou's most famous landmark, was also the most challenging route to get there. It took a couple of hours of uphill walking, most of the time with a 30-pound child strapped to my back (and towards the end, she fell asleep, and all her weight shifted to my left side as a result). The tree itself, when we finally got to it, was something of a letdown. True, it is 46 meters (151 feet) high, 16 meters (52 feet) wide and over 2800 years old, but I have to say I've seen more impressive redwoods back in California and Washington. However, the rush that came with having successfully carried Amber uphill for almost 3 kilometers more than compensated for any feelings of disappointment I may have had regarding the tree.

From the Great Cypress Tree, it was mostly a downhill stroll to the University Pond 大學地. The scenery along the way was great, thanks in no small part to the fact that the forest recreation area is run by the forestry department of National Taiwan University 台湾大学. As a result, there are several experimental groves of trees located there, which means you can see a greater variety of trees in Hsitou than you would normally expect to see in one small area. It all makes for a great walking experience, though the overcast skies made for lousy photographic conditions. Amber really enjoyed the walk down to the pond, and shamelessly lapped up the attention she received from many of the other visitors. Here she is dancing to her father's tuneless rendition of "Surfin' Bird":

Dancin' Amber

Once at the pond, we finally met up again with Steve and his brood who, having done a lot of walking around the previous day while we were still en route from Fengyuan (Fongyuan) 豊原, hadn't gone with us on the hike up to the cypress tree (but eventually ended up following our route anyway). The University Pond contains Hsitou's other photo op, the Arched Bamboo Bridge 竹拱橋:

Walk completed, it was getting late in the afternoon, so we left for home (Fengyuan in our case, Taichung in Steve's). Hsitou looks like a great place to explore, so I hope to come again.

What should be obvious to all...

...apparently isn't obvious to some. The scene behind my apartment building today:

There is a narrow lane that I use everyday as a shortcut to get to work. Most of the route is wide enough for cars and even trucks, but at one end the road narrows to a point that only the smallest of blue trucks can navigate. As you can see from the photo above, there's a sign indicating that cars shouldn't go beyond that point, and if that isn't clear enough, it should be obvious that the last stretch of asphalt is strictly scooter territory. And yet, every now and then, someone tries to drive through, and gets stuck as a result.

Today's case was a little different, though. Most of the time, drivers will summon a forklift from one of the small factories nearby to extricate their cars. The motorist of the van pictured above, however, seemed to have abandoned his/her vehicle. It was there at 9:30 this morning when I left for work, and it was there at noon when I came home for lunch. And when I went out again at 1:30, it was still there, only this time a couple of police officers had shown up to check it out. Whatever happened in the end, it was gone when I came home at 10 o'clock this evening.

In the news

The headline in today's Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ says it all: "Japan plans big presence at Taiwan president's inauguration":

"Japan will have the second-largest foreign delegation after the United States when Taiwan holds its presidential inauguration next week...Japan plans to send 76 politicians and other dignitaries to the ceremony Tuesday in Taipei, including Tōkyō Gov. Shintarō Ishihara and Yokohama Mayor Hiroshi Nakada..."

Of the 76 guests, 30 will be lawmakers, with Takeo Hiranuma 平沼赳夫, who heads a pro-Taiwan caucus in Japan's Parliament, the Diet 国会, being the most prominent. The remaining 46 attendees will be analysts from think tanks and local government officials. According to the article:

"The size of the delegation will showcase the strength of Japan-Taiwan ties as Tōkyō welcomes the incoming Taipei government."

The story goes on further to say:

"(President-elect) Ma (Ying-jeou) clinched the presidency on vows to improve relations with rival China, but he also emphasized a desire to deepen ties with and sign a free-trade agreement with Japan. In November, Ma traveled to Japan to woo power brokers at the height of his campaign. He appeared to be on particularly good terms with Nakada, whom he embraced repeatedly at a press conference in Yokohama."

One thing that stands out in this story is how Taiwan's best friends in countries like Japan (and the United States) tend to be right-wing reactionaries - Ishihara, in particular, has been a notorious figure ever since his book "The Japan That Can Say No" 「NO」と言える日本 came out in 1989. You can get a feel for his political views by reading the Wikipedia entry on him. Hiranuma also raised a stir a couple of years ago when, during the debate on whether to allow a woman to succeed to the Imperial throne 皇位継承問題, he argued that an empress could one day marry and have children with a "blue-eyed foreigner", as if that was enough justification for ensuring only males could rule (and ignoring the equally implausible possibility that an emperor might also want to marry and have kids with a 外人. Heaven forbid!). If Ma (or any other influential figure in Taiwanese politics, for that matter) is sincere in wanting to improve ties with Japan, he should be looking to expand contacts with those from the Japanese center and the left.

Misty Mountain Hop

I woke up this morning at 5:45, and after a quick breakfast, hopped on my scooter and rode out to Tak'eng (Dakeng) 大坑. The weather was miserable, being overcast and drizzly, and the mountains were shrouded in fog - in short, it was a glorious morning walk, one that I wish I could do more often. Naturally, the threat of heavy rain kept all but a few souls at home. Being alone on a foggy mountain trail, especially the No. 1, which is still closed for repairs (nothing that a little fence hopping can't overcome), made me feel like I was in a Kurosawa 黒澤明 movie. The soggy Tung アブラギリ blossoms carpeting the ground also added to the atmosphere. The only thing missing from this picture were monkeys, but I'm not complaining. Heaven is what you make of it.

In the news ニュース

I spent eight hours this Sunday giving our apartment its monthly top-to-bottom, room-by-room cleaning. Of course here being Taiwan, our white tile floors will no doubt start showing the dirt again from tomorrow.

Before commencing with the 掃除, I took the time over breakfast to read in the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ the latest Taiwan-related column by Tom Plate. Plate has a tendency to write articles that are seemingly sympathetic to Taiwan's predicament, but actually end up looking at the situations to see how best China could benefit. Today's piece, "A chance for Beijing to take a stand on health" is no exception. Plate begins by reporting on the odious decision by the United Nations 国際連合 not to allow Taiwanese journalists to cover the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva on the 19th of this month, and notes that this is due to Chinese pressure:

"(China) views this Taiwan-journalist controversy as just another semi-clever wedge move by Taipei to nail down the island's image as a permanently political entity separate and distinct from the mainland. Its strong feelings on the subject are well known to the U.N.'s Department of Public Information, which has enough problems on its hands without trying to take on Beijing by accrediting the Taiwan journalists."

This paragraph is then followed by one that, on the surface, appears to take the Taiwan's side in this issue:

"Even so, China and the U.N. are wrong on this issue, and the Taiwan journalists are right. Indeed, the latter is the strongly held view of almost every journalist I know, of the International Press Institute, of the prestigious and professional global network of editors, of the media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, and of the massive International Federation of Journalists. I could bore you by running through the details in the various clauses of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (such as Article 19, or Article 2), which lean toward the journalists, but instead, let's appeal directly to Beijing, the U.N. and — most of all — to good old common sense."

And here where it begins. Plate's argument is that knowledge is the key when it comes to improving the overall health situation of every person on this planet, and that by pressuring the U.N. to bar Taiwanese journalists from reporting on the WHA, everyone will suffer in the long run. But rather than pile on the well-deserved criticism that Beijing should be receiving over its actions, Plate ducks the issue:

"(China's) own public-information health record is less than exemplary. Beijing knows this, so let's not rehash the mainland's SARS and AIDS performance."

Which begs the question: Why not? Wouldn't pointing out China's less-than-honest efforts in the common fight against killer viruses bolster the claim to allow in Taiwanese reporters? Instead, Plate looks for some way to pat China on the back:

"...Beijing deserves credit for its recent cozy overtures to the newly elected government of Taiwan's Ma Ying Jeou. And, for his part, this dashing candidate of the Kuomintang Party, which favors non-antagonistic relations with the mainland, has made it clear that he favors much warmer and closer ties with the Beijing behemoth."

Plate seems to have a thing for Ma. In a previous article, he called him "debonair". Here, Ma is "dashing". Hmm...Anyway, Plate then goes on, as usual, to advise the Chinese on the best way to dig themselves out of the hole they've put themselves into:

"This is a golden opportunity for Beijing to make a grand and above-the-commonplace gesture, reverse its policy of opposing Taiwan journalists' accreditation in the interest of world public health, and look to the rest of the world like the reasonable government it can be when it actually wants to be reasonable. Besides, give the new guy Ma the sense of a small victory, and his new government may surprise Beijing with what it gets in return. And even if the Ma government — just now getting its act together — does blow the opportunity, it will look even better in the eyes of world public opinion."

Amazing. Instead of what should be a simple right vs. wrong argument, Plate manages to see an opportunity to bring Taiwan further into the mainland's clutches. China can look "reasonable", and Ma can appear to be defending Taiwan's interests, and it should all be to Beijing's benefit in the long run. We learn how Ma can come off smelling good, but no mention is made as to what would be in the best interests of Taiwan. And that would be either membership in the WHO, or at the very least, observer status in the WHA, for this island. Anything less means excluding Taiwan from measures to improve "the common health of mankind" that Plate is seemingly so concerned about. Instead of urging the U.N.'s "embattled" Department of Public Information to stop "kowtowing" only on the issue of giving press credentials to Taiwanese journalists, he could (but doesn't, of course) urge the entire U.N. not to bend to China's desire to exclude this island from important international organizations. THAT would be the "healthy political development" that Tom Plate refers to at the end of his piece of tripe.