Before people even had a chance to get over their shock and disbelief about the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) espionage case which made headlines last week, patrol boats of Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration and a suspected Chinese spy ship had the most volatile rendezvous in recent years. Although, in the end, there was no confrontation, it serves as a stunning reminder to the rest of us -- despite all the illusions of safety that may have been created by the busy and friendly cross-strait private economic and cultural contacts -- that there is a dangerous undertow beneath the surface caused by political rivalry.
It certainly was not the first time that suspected Chinese spy ships had openly entered Taiwan's territorial waters. Since April and May of this year, a number of them had approached dangerously close to the eastern and southern coast of Taiwan at least a dozen times. In fact, Xiangyanghong 14, the Chinese ship claiming to be conducting oceanographic research when approached by coast guard vessels on Wednesday, had previously intruded into Taiwan's 20km Exclusive Economic Zone. The stunt shook the Ministry of Nation Defense strategists to the bone, since it revealed a lethal blind spot in the radar-detection range of the Taiwan military near Orchid Island.
In the past, the military had typically resorted to passively monitoring the activities of these suspected spy ships from both the air and sea. This was obviously because these ships all claimed to be conducting legitimate oceanographic research, and because Taipei remains ambiguous regarding the sensitive issue about the delineation of its territorial waters. Of course, there is also the danger of being yanked into the depths of a cross-strait military clash.
However, this time around, Taiwan adopted a somewhat tougher stance in dealing with Xiangyanghong 14. For the first time, not only did the coast guard put the Chinese ship under close surveillance, but actually attempted to board the ship for inspection before it finally left. This subtle change in attitude by the military reflects the emergence of a new awakening about how safe the cross-strait relationship is -- an attitude prompted in part by the CSIST case.
Ironically, while this may be a new realization for some people in Taiwan, Beijing has never had any misconception about what Taiwan is to China -- a renegade province that must be disciplined into submission, even if the use of force is necessary.
A most clear indication of what Beijing thinks about the cross-strait relationship is the ongoing "spy war" in which Taiwanese businessmen are playing increasingly prominent roles. On the one hand, the Chinese authorities recruit them to spy in Taiwan; and on the other hand, they have become Beijing's main targets for investigations on the suspicion of spying on China.
To Beijing, another group of potential spies working for Taiwan are Taiwanese scholars and ethnic Chinese scholars engaging in research activities in China. The most obvious example is the US-based democracy activist and Chinese scholar Yang Jianli (
It is only at times like these that you can feel the pull toward actual confrontation -- the last thing that Taiwan wants. Reading the warning signs is essential to effective self-defense and survival. All we need to do is read the sign on the beach of which China already is certainly aware: "Beware -- dangerous undertow."
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