Chinese missiles continue to change the "status quo"

Even more missiles to shake your fist(s) at

A report in yesterday's Taipei Times gives us the latest numbers:

The number of tactical ballistic missiles deployed by China against Taiwan reached more than 1,400 at the end of last year, said the National Security Council (NSC), which said in May 2006 that the figure would rise to more than 800 by the end of that year.

Note that the number was already 900 before then end of 2006. Take a look at the following chart:


(Click to enlarge)
How many Chinese missiles are targeting Taiwan?:
40 in 1996; 200 in 2000; 400 in 2004; 900 in 2006; more than 1,400 in early 2008!
Who's changing the "status quo"?
Hu's changing the "status quo"!
Can you see the real troublemakers yet?
The Taipei Times article goes on to say:

The full text of the report in Mandarin is available on the Presidential Office's Web site. An English version will be publicized at a later date.

Here's the link to the Mandarin version of the NSC report (1.1 MB PDF file).

FURTHER READING:
* The fictional 'status quo,' Part 1 (December 20, 2006, Taipei Times)
* The fictional 'status quo,' Part 2 (December 21, 2006, Taipei Times)

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Altered states: Taiwan, 台灣, China, 中國, People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國, PRC, missiles, 飛彈, "status quo," 現狀, Hu Jintao, 胡錦濤

Cross-posted at It's Not Democracy, It's A Conspiracy!

Election Pay-Off Bills Passed by KMT Following Their Apology

I mentioned a news about KMT's lawmakers rushing to pass a law to pay off local district chiefs right after the election several days ago.

That news went out, suspicions raised, people criticizing.

Feeling the pressure, KMT apologized for what they did:

KMT lawmaker Lin, Yi- Shih (國民黨中央政策會執行長林益世), currently KMT Central Policy Committee Chief Executive, apologized to the public (for submitting pay-off resolutions). He stated,

"If the content of resolutions causes public suspicion and fears, we express our apology. But one thing to know is, the submitted doesn't necessarily is the final version we will pass. KMT party core will double our effort to review and correct those bad or criticized resolutions."

I assumed that those resolutions will then be frozen by KMT, and eventually passed secretly when other things take over the spot light.

I was dead wrong.

The next day after they apologized for it, they passed it:

Several questioned "money pit" bills were sent smoothly to the next committee for further readings yesterday. Because all these resolutions were submitted by pan-blue lawmakers, KMT core members apologized for causing public suspicions yesterday, and promised to push "Sun Shine" resolutions. While the apology was still fresh, KMT pushed the questioned money pit resolutions further, causing even more suspicions.

They are so bold that they don't even bother to keep it at lower profile.

Then why bother apologizing ? As I mentioned earlier, they are gonna pass it, no matter what.

Remember, Tim just reminded us that KMT's apologies means nothing. I can see the operation pattern of KMT government in the years to come:

The left hand keeps apologizing while the right hand keeps looting.

Don't forget, President Ma Ying-Jeou is good at the "apologizing" part. If he acts in his usual operation mode, he will claim he is not responsible for any of the looting because -- I don't know it until I read the newspaper.

Below is part of legislative procedures showing how KMT plays the "one hand apologizing, one hand looting" trick. For the full legislative flow, see here.




[Source] Money Pit Resolutions criticized, KMT apologized

錢坑法案遭批 國民黨團：道歉並修正內容
(Note by Taiwan Echo: The Hanzi title above says "KMT core apologized and made correction", but no correction is ever mentioned anywhere in the text or in any other report that I know of.)
中央廣播電台╱徐忠佑 2008-03-26 11:08

日前立法院程序委員會通過國民黨團所提敬老津貼與補助村里長出國考察等多項草案，遭到民進黨團批評為「錢坑法案」，並指目的只是為了回饋選舉樁腳。對此國民黨中央政策會執行長林益世26日出面向社會道歉，他強調，委員的提案不一定就是法案通過的結果，黨團會詳加審查內容。

國民黨立委日前利用人數優勢，將提高敬老津貼、補助村里長出國考察等多項需要大筆預算的草案，排入周五院會報告事項。由於國家財政吃緊，國民黨的做法引來輿論批評濫用國會多數；民進黨團更批評國民黨硬推錢坑法案，目的只是為了回饋選舉的樁腳。民進黨團幹事長賴清德：『所謂錢坑的法案，我們不會對選前、選後，下台或執政有不同的看法，國家的資源有限，應該注重社會的公平正義，把錢用在刀口上，不應用在綁樁、選前的承諾，這是不應該。』至於國民黨中央政策會執行長林益世，則是代替國民黨出面向社會道歉，他強調，委員的提案不一定就是法案通過的結果，黨團會詳加審查法案內容。林益世：『對於法案的內容，如果有引起民眾的疑慮恐慌，我們表達我們的歉意，但是有個重點，委員的提案不一定就是通過的內容，對於不好的法案或是民眾有批評的法案，黨團會加倍審查、修正。』
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[Source] Pan-Blue passed money pit resolutions right after they apologized

才道過歉… 藍放水錢坑法案

〔記者彭顯鈞、施曉光／台北報導〕多項被質疑為「錢坑法案」的議案昨天順利在立法院院會付委，由於這些議案均由藍委提出，國民黨團日前曾為可能引發疑慮的提案內容表達歉意，並在昨天大動作宣示推動陽光法案，但言猶在耳，藍軍另一頭卻放任具爭議的錢坑法案付委，引發更大的爭議。

這些被視為有錢坑法案之嫌的議案，包括國民黨立委楊瓊瓔、朱鳳芝和丁守中等人提出「地方民代費用支給及村里長事務補助費條例第七條修正草案」，主張新增村里長出國考察、健康檢查、保險費、春節慰問金等經費，政府評估每年將增加五十多億元經費；國民黨立委楊仁福、林建榮也提案主張加碼敬老津貼和原住民敬老津貼，由現行每月三千元增為六千元。

民進黨團總召柯建銘表示，黨團反對各種不合理的錢坑法案，對這些已付委的議案，黨團將提出復議。據了解，民進黨團刻意放水，讓上述錢坑法案順利付委，再提出復議，是為日後的議題操作預留空間。

國民黨團曾為程委會通過上述議案引發爭議一事公開道歉，強調將善盡把關責任，但這些錢坑法案仍順利交付委員會審查；黨團代理書記長謝國樑表示，立委有提案權，尊重議事程序，若社會各界對相關法案有不同意見，將協調召委不予審議。

宣稱將推陽光法案

謝國樑表示，付委後可舉辦公聽會，召委也是把關的一種方式，「黨團不會因為一篇報導就退回法案」。

國民黨團並宣示下週將推動修正「公職人員財產申報法」與「公職人員利益衝突迴避法」，前者草案將強制財產信託對象擴大適用範圍包括「大法官、監察委員、立委、直轄市議員、縣市議員」；後者草案則擴大公務人員利益迴避適用範圍至「其職務代理人」、民代部分擴及「其關係人」，未來只要民代及其關係人未迴避，對相關議案所做的審議、表決都將無效。
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