Legislative Yuan
KMT 64 seats
DPP 40
TSU 3
PFP 3
Other 3 

News and Updates from the International Committee for Fair Elections in Taiwan Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. International Committee on Fair Elections in Taiwan Press Release January 13, 2012 Head of International Election Observation Mission Expresses Concern at Remarks by Former US Official In an interview with a Taiwanese television station on January 12, Douglas Paal, a former Taipei director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), made several comments about Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s policies towards China, including describing her “Taiwan consensus” proposal as impractical.   In a press conference today, former US Senator and former Governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski, currently in Taiwan as head of the election observation delegation organized by the International Committee for Free Elections in Taiwan (ICFET), stated that the remarks made by Paal were “inappropriate to say the least.” Senator Murkowski also telephoned current AIT Taipei Director William Stanton to convey his personal concern. At the press conference, he said, “I challenge the credibility of Mr. Paal to speak for me or my government, or for the vast majority of Americans.”   Accompanied by ICFET Chairman Peng Ming-Min and Vice Chairman Wu Li-Pei, Senator Murkowski criticized Paal for coming to Taiwan at the invitation of a KMT-affiliated institute to “observe” the elections and making such comments. He particularly said Paal’s assertion that the opinion leaked to the Financial Times last fall was the “private feeling of senior administration officials generally” is “inappropriate editorializing to say the least.” Senator Murkowski noted that Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell had already clearly denied the Financial Times report.   Senator Murkowski said that, this morning when he read the reports in the Taipei Times and China Post about Paal’s remarks, he was concerned that this would be misinterpreted as reflecting US policy. He stated, “I take strong issue any inference that US policy towards Taiwan favors any candidate or party over the others. AIT Director Stanton, with whom I talked today, has made the AIT’s position clear that the US remains strictly neutral.”   Senator Murkowski concluded, “I speak today solely as a private US citizen, but based on my experience off 22 years in the US Senate and as former Governor of Alaska, I challenge the credibility of Mr. Paal to speak for me or my government, or for the vast majority of Americans who have great admiration for the progress Taiwan has made in advancing its democracy. This election is about the people of Taiwan making a choice of parties or candidates free of any undue influence. It is about the choice between change and the status quo. That is a choice for the people of Taiwan. Whatever they decide, we wish them well.”   ICFET was initiated by former Presidential Advisor Dr. Peng Ming-Min, and members of the Committee include current and former MPs from Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the US, as well as scholars and experts from around the world. ICFET organized a 24-member international observation mission to come to Taiwan for these elections, led by Senator Murkowski. The mission visited campaign headquarters and observed campaign activities from all three major parties in northern, central, and southern Taiwan. On Sunday, January 15, at 10:45 am, the mission will hold a press conference at the Howard Plaza Hotel to announce its preliminary findings.   For further information about ICFET and these elections: http://www.taiwanelections.org/ ======= A few more related links:  Paal endorses ‘1992 consensus’ - Taipei Times, 13 Jan. 2012 EDITORIAL: Politicizing electoral monitors - Taipei Times,13 Jan. 2012 Ex-AIT official's remarks show no respect for Taiwan's people: DPP - Focus Taiwan, 13 Jan. 2012 Comments by Ben Goren at Letters from Taiwan AIT distances itself from Douglas Paal - Taipei Times,14 Jan. 2012 Chief international observer lambasts Paal - Taipei Times, 14 Jan. 2012

APPLY TODAY!  
2012 Ambassador Program

The Formosa Foundation is accepting applications for the 2012 Ambassador Program from now through March 15, 2012. The 2012 Program will take place in Washington , D.C. from June 18 through 29. Up to 30 college/graduate students and young professionals will be selected from the United States and Taiwan to participate in this highly competitive “congressional boot camp.”

Application forms are now available. The U.S. applicants please complete the 2012 U.S. Application Form; Applicants who are currently in Taiwan and/or are Taiwanese national please use the 2012 TW Form.

The Ambassador Program, in its 10th year, has over 250 future leaders graduate and held over a thousand meetings with individual members of Congress and their staff.  With each passing year the program has grown stronger, attracting not only some of the foremost authorities on Taiwan and Asia- Pacific issues from across America , but also garnering the attention of powerful lawmakers as well. The Ambassador Program teaches skills to help change the hearts and minds of our elected leaders and policymakers in Washington on the most critical issues concerning Taiwan . Formosa Foundation ambassadors have received praises as being Capitol Hill's most articulate and effective advocates for the U.S.-Taiwan bilateral relations.

Detailed program description and previous program reports are available on our website.

Sincerely,

Formosa Foundation
www.formosafoundation.org
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About the Ambassador Program

The Formosa Foundation offers three factors critical to social movements: political opportunity, organizational capacity and framing ability. Through its Ambassador Program the Foundation offers the best hands-on training for students to develop grassroots and campaign skills and to become leaders.

The Ambassador Program combines in-house training with on-the-ground activist work. Participants in the Program develop the expertise, analytical framework, and network they need to effectively promote Taiwan . Up-and-coming activists can learn about the issues affecting Taiwan first-hand.

The 2012 Ambassador Program will take place in Washington D.C. June 18- 29. The Formosa Foundation will provide for participants' training, workshops and lodging for the duration of the Program. Participants are responsible for their own meals and travel expenses. See the 2011 Program report and former ambassadors in action here.

BECOME EFFECTIVE ORGANIZERS FOR JUSTICE

The Formosa Foundation seeks to preserve the American values of democracy and human rights through broadened involvement of future leaders in the making of U.S. policy. The Ambassador Program uses U.S. foreign policies on Taiwan and China as case studies to provide participants with opportunities to:

• Understand the intricacies of U.S. foreign policy making and its impact;
• Gain insight from experienced professionals on the art of advocacy;
• Acquire skills to effectively present views to policy makers, media and the public.

MEET FACE TO FACE WITH U.S. LAW MAKERS

The Ambassador Program is a unique training program of its kind.  We recruit students from the United States and Taiwan , who will work together to help develop a closer relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan .  The Program provides opportunities to meet with United States Congressmen and Senators to discuss U.S. policies toward Taiwan . 

DEVELOP GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN SKILLS AND NETWORKS

The Ambassador Program has demonstrated results from participants that extends beyond the two-week program. The Program prepares tomorrow's leaders towards building a pro-Taiwan community on and beyond the college campus. These congressional visits put Taiwan on the forefront of America 's political agenda, and change the hearts and minds of American policy makers about Taiwan .

QUALIFICATION AND SELECTION

The Program is designed primarily for recent college graduate or current college and/or graduate students who support the advancement of human rights, democracy and the right of self-determination for the people of Taiwan .  Selection criteria include academic excellence, extracurricular activities, participation in community affairs, and interest in promoting U.S.-Taiwan relations. 

Up to 30 applicants will be selected for the 2012 Program, including up to 7 to be recruited from Taiwan . Applicant can be US citizens, permanent residents, or Taiwanese national.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Program application package includes the following requirements. See page 4 of application form for mailing instructions.

1. 2012 Application Form (Applicants who are currently studying/residing in Taiwan , use the 2012 TW Form.)
2. 500-word Personal Statement
3. Copy of most recent Transcript
4. Two Letters of Recommendation

News and Updates from the International Committee for Fair Elections in Taiwan Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. International Committee on Fair Elections in Taiwan Media Advisory December 13, 2011 Press Conference to Mark Formal Launch of International Committee for Fair Elections in Taiwan On January 14, 2012 Taiwan will hold national elections, for the first time combining presidential and Legislative Yuan elections on the same day. These elections are critical for the further consolidation of democracy in Taiwan. In order to defend the hard-won gains of the past thirty years and to ensure that the people of Taiwan will be able to exercise their will through the ballot box without any interference, a group of national and international democracy leaders and experts has come together to form the International Committee for Fair Elections in Taiwan. We wish to enlist the moral authority and political leadership of the civilized international community to protect our forthcoming elections. The Committee’s Honorary Chairman is former President Lee Teng-hui, and the Chairman is Dr. Peng Ming-min, who were respectively KMT and DPP candidates in Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996. The International Committee hopes that, through the moral authority and political leadership of these democracy pioneers from around the world, it can send a strong signal to all players, domestic and external, to behave with self-restraint according to international standards. In this way we can work together with the people of Taiwan to uphold the universal values of democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. Media Contact: Mr. Lin Hung-chan (林弘展), 0935-258-346 Date:  December 15, 2011(Thursday), 10:30-11:30 A.M. Place: Legislative Yuan, Chun-hsien Building, Room 101 (Chinan Road, Sec. 1, No. 1)             立法院群賢樓101室(台北市濟南路一段1號)  Agenda 10:30-10:35   Remarks by Committee Chairman Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) 10:35-10:45   Introduction of Members of the Committee (by region) Taiwan: Wu Rong-I (吳榮義) Americas: Wu Li-Pei (吳澧培) Europe: Michael Ying-Mao Kau (高英茂) Asia-Pacific: Koh Se-kai (許世楷) 10:45-10:50   Remarks by International Committee Member Stéphane Corcuff (高格孚) 10:50-11:00   Video Highlights of December 1 Seminar on Capitol Hill, Washington DC 11:00-11:30   Q & A For Further Information: http://www.taiwanelections.org/