“The Tamkang Forum” sponsored by College of International Studies was held on the 5th of March at D521, the Alumni/ae Club, Taipei Campus. Dr. Wei Wou, Dean, played host to the Forum.

The theme of the Forum was “Where Lies the Crisis of Taiwan? Let’s Tackle it from the Aspects of Politics, Economics and the Society.”

There were about 10 participants who attended the Forum, including Legislator Mr. Lee Hsien-zong, former Legislator Mr. Chen Ching-pao, political commentator Mr. Chin Yung, Dr. Chen Yea-hong, former President of TKU, Dr. Wang Kao-cheng, Graduate Institute of International Affairs & Strategic Studies, Dr. Hsiao Feng-hsiung, Department of Finance and Applications and students from the Graduate Institute of Money, Banking and Finance.

Here are some of the feedbacks from the participants:

From Dr. Wei Wou: He divides the woes of Taiwan’s problems into 5 categories: 1) Politicians after winning the campaign war, seeking financial redemptions from possible fund-raising contributors: a source of evil and corruption. 2) People dreaming of striking rich overnight by hitting upon a lotto number thru sheer luck instead of hard work. 3) A violence lurking society wherein fathers were murdered by sons and youths seeking thrills by raising cars, thus courting death. 4) Cultural erotica where decadent celebrities like Miss Chu Mei-feng and ex-Legislator Mr. Huang Hsien-chou attract undue public attention thru their licentious social behavior and 5) Threatening environmental disasters due to inadequate mismanagement of public administration and hence the rampant mud-and-rock flows happening everywhere.

From Mr. Chen Ching-pao: He regrets that the bottom line of free election has brought about financial fraud and racial tension between people. “We are struggling in the limbo of finding a solution to our constitution: whether it is a cabinet-oriented apparatus, or both-leader operative organ, or a president-oriented government. Since it has become a monstrous nonentity, it is frustrating.”

From Dr. Hsiao Feng-hsiung: We are suffering from the so-called “Petty Bourgeoisie” syndrome: translated into everyday language, it means that everybody is a little well-off and democracy has become a byword. In the end, everyone has become self-centered and only cares for himself: a danger sign.

From Mr. Lee Hsien-zong: Short-term employment of policy-making cabinet officials has made some officials unable to carry out their long-term policies. He calls for a change of the A Bian regime.

From Dr. Wang Kao-cheng: He indicates that politicians, no less than news media, in order to achieve sensational politicking, often resort to over-exposure stunt as well as rating conscious publicity, resulting in abnegation of long-term perspectives and long-term policies. One thing particularly regrettable, he said, was that during the first year period when the new government took over, they failed to organize a united-front government, so that they wasted that year without accomplishing anything at all. How the new government should re-align itself, after the re-opening of the new parliament, has become the crucial test to it.