ARATS’ shady connections

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is ready to talk about corruption and violence with the opposition party. The latest events show that this is not such a bad idea, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tainan City Councilor Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) the victim of an assault by pro-China gangsters.Huang Ju-yi (黃如意), a suspected gangster, threatened Wang and admitted that Zhang Mingqing (張銘清), vice chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), was his friend.In a few days Taiwanese leaders will meet ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林). Huang’s statement shows that Chen’s subordinate, Zhang, has close relations to gangsters.So maybe it is not such a bad idea to talk about corruption and violence. Before Ma shakes hands with Chen, he should tell Taiwanese how concerned he is about the connections between gangsters and Chinese politicians and the violence and threats by pro-Chinese gangsters against a Taiwanese politician.Before Ma strikes any deal with Chinese officials, he should let them know how ardent a fighter against corruption and violence he is and that he can’t be on the side of those who may be gangsters’ friends.

Taipei Times