As SARS continues to wreak havoc in this nation, China has not only failed to express any regret, but has mobilized countries to shoot down Taiwan's bid to become an observer at the World Health Organization (WHO).
China is indeed at the center of the world. Not only does the Earth revolve around China, but WHO members take their cues from Beijing. The British envy Lord Macartney refused to kowtow to the Manchu Emperor Qian Long -- now everyone scrambles to kowtow to Beijing in order to win business opportunities in China. Hopefully such limitless business opportunities will materialize -- otherwise all the deaths from SARS in this country and elsewhere will have been a waste.
But every defeat is also a revelation. At least two things are clear. One, never believe the chatter about justice and morality coming from the mouths of international political leaders. Two, China will not soften its suppression of Taiwan no matter how hard Taipei tries to appease it.
It is time for President Chen Shui-bian's (
Since SARS first appeared in Hong Kong, the Department of Health has twice suggested that the Chen government temporary stop all passenger traffic between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. But the government was under pressure from business interests and was also worried about obstruction by the opposition parties. As a result, it not only ignored the department's suggestion but also tried to curry favor with the pro-unification forces, thereby missing the opportunity to readjust cross-strait relations.
Only after Kinman County, led by the New Party's Lee Chu-feng (
Many other countries have imposed restrictions on travellers from China, but this government has adamantly defended cross-strait exchanges. If the Chen government attaches such great importance to business opportunities in China, how can it blame those countries which kowtowed to China at the World Health Assembly meeting? What reason do we have to accuse others of injustice?
Chen should remember that a leader is not a people-pleaser, much less someone led by the nose by the pro-unification camp. After three years in office, he no longer has any excuse for being soft in the face of opposition arm-twisting. At a time when the country is in the grip of the SARS epidemic and its efforts to join the WHO has been frustrated once again, what is needed is a leader who can lead the entire citizenry, not a politician held hostage by business and pro-unification voters.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS