American Institute in Taipei Director Douglas Paal visited Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
According to Ma, Paal said that uncertainties in cross-strait relations create inconveniences for American businesspeople in Taiwan who also do business in China. Ma said Paal told him the number of American Chamber of Commerce Taipei members is dropping. He reportedly told Ma that if cross-strait contacts were more convenient, foreign businesses would be more willing to stay.
In view of Taiwan's precarious international status, the more foreign business interests here, the better. So why are foreign businesspeople leaving? It seems reasonable to interpret Paal's remarks as encouraging and supporting direct links. Of course, that kind of position coming from the AIT director is understandable. But are Paal's comments also representative of the US government's stance on direct links? If so, then the question becomes what is the US willing to offer to help direct links become a reality.
The government has been extremely cautious about opening direct links because of national security concerns. It must give priority to the lives of the people and the nation's survival. This is something surely Washington can understand, given its commitment and determination to combat terrorism at home and abroad despite an economic downturn. Paal was certainly right when he said, during a recent speech on the impact of the Sept. 11 attack on US policies, that a secure and confident Taiwan will be more able to to engage in political interaction and dialogues with China.
Taiwan's problem is simply that it does not feel confident and secure enough to open up direct links. So, if either or both the US and Beijing, at Washington's behest, can give Taiwan even more confidence and sense of security through either additional promises or substantive actions, thing will more than likely be entirely different. Until then, Taiwan won't feel ready.
However, the government must also shoulder responsibility for the departure of foreign businesses. As much as one hates to admit it, the biggest vulnerability of President Chen Shui-bian's (
But what are we to make of Ma's reporting of his talk with Paal? Traditionally the content of such closed-door meetings is not disclosed. Ma broke protocol by doing so. One has to wonder why? Was it perhaps because Paal's comments -- as reported by Ma -- closely fit with the mayor's own agenda? There has been much made in the past week of Ma's rising star in the KMT and his possible presidential ambitions. Perhaps he would do well to remember that diplomacy is a key element of the nation's top job and that includes knowing when to talk and when not to. After all, Paal, like his predecessors, must walk a fine line about what they can say publicly about Taiwan, about China and about direct links. AIT has its own spokesperson -- it doesn't need another in Taipei.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then