The World Health Organization (WHO) still shuts the door and hasn't sent anyone over to Taiwan to help deal with the latest epidemic. The child of an American diplomat stationed in Vietnam is possibly infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The health authorities of Taiwan immediately extended a helping hand to this American boy.
Director-General of the Department of Health Twu Shiing-jer (
As a result, Twu had to explain that when an infected person travels back to Taiwan by plane, he or she exposes the crew and passengers to the risk of infection. However, the boy in question took a chartered plane. As a consequence, risk of widespread contamination was significantly lower.
The opposition lawmakers may have sounded like they were speaking on the behalf of the ill Taiwanese businessmen, when in reality they were simply grasping at straws in yet another attempt to besmirch the government. They need to remember that on Tuesday the PFP had made a proposal for direct cross-strait charter flights for Taiwanese businessmen, so that they wouldn't have to make transit stops in Hong Kong and Macau where the epidemic is serious. The PFP proposal triggered an uproar. Everyone thought that the PFP must have gone mad over its love for China to the point where it had no regard for people's lives. China is precisely where the epidemic is most serious. No wonder some people have commented that those charter planes would have become "flights of death."
This indicates that the opposition camp is not only using the issue to take jabs at the government, but also to warm up to China. They couldn't care less about the life and death of Taiwanese businessmen. Their dearly beloved China is precisely the one standing between Taiwan and the WHO.
During an interview with CNA, American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal praised Taiwan for its exceptional and timely measures in stopping further spread of the SARS epidemic. This is worlds apart from the way China has been lying to the WHO and the world about the epidemic. Too bad most countries sit idly by and allow the barbaric China to muscle Taiwan out of the WHO. When right and wrong have been distorted by blurring the line between them in international health policy, the people of Taiwan can only pray to God for a better future. Despite paying frequent lip-service to "international justice," some world leaders seem to have no concept of what that is when it comes to Taiwan's bid to join the WHO.
Under the circumstances, the arrival of two officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in particularly warms one's heart and tells people who Taiwan's true friends are. The WHO openly admits that its decision to refuse any direct contact with Taiwan was made out of political considerations. The political reason to which it referred was of course Chinese pressure and the fact that Taiwan is not a WHO member.
Although the US does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and faces similar pressure from Beijing, it has spoken out on the behalf of Taiwan on a number of sticky issues. Based on the principal of reciprocity, it is understandable that Taiwan has accepted the American boy for medical treatment.
The opposition lawmakers' behavior has simply exposed their obsession with China and indifference to Taiwan. Unfortunately for Taiwan, value judgements are made based on ideology, even those involving life and death.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
RSS