The fourth Republic of China-Central America Summit was held Thursday, with a sideline ceremony for the signing of Taiwan's first free-trade agreement, with Panama. President Chen Shui-bian's (
In contrast with the challenges Chen has faced in the domestic arena, he has shown impressive progress in foreign affairs. He has made three overseas visits and declared his determination to uphold commitments made by his predecessors to Taipei's allies. Not only were foreign ties stengthened, but during transit stops in the US, Chen also made public appearances and met with prominent political figures, helping to solidify US-Taiwan relations.
Even more importantly, through his overseas visits and large-scale diplomatic campaigns, Chen has pressured the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the nation's embassies to take a more proactive approach to relations with other countries. On his trips Chen has been able to see for himself the fruits of the country's foreign-aid projects as well as gaining an understanding of where mistakes have been made.
In order to maintain foreign ties in the face of Beijing's obstructionism, Taiwan often offers financial aid to its allies. Even though this practice has been condemned by lawmakers as "dollar diplomacy," the efforts to help allies in South and Central America, and Africa develop agricultural industries and improve infrastructure have had a positive impact. These efforts also supplement the campaign by developed democracies to stabilize international order. As Vice President Annette Lu (
On the other hand, the government cannot continue to provide money, equipment and technological resources without paying attention to how these are used. Many developing countries are not sufficiently democratized and foreign-aid money ends up lining the pockets of a handful of politicians. Naturally, the opposition parties and democratic reformers in these countries will blame the governments that provided the funds.
Chen has been gradually changing all this. The government now relies less on individual aid packages and more on strengthening interactions on a collective basis. The goal is for Taiwan to eventually become a member of these collectives, furthering its links with international economic organizations in the future. The government is also trying to ensure that all foreign aid projects are transparent, to reduce the risk of criticism both at home and abroad. It is also encouraging the private sector, along with overseas Taiwanese, to assist the nation's diplomatic personnel in their work.
Day Sheng-tung (
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
On April 19, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) gave a public speech, his first in about 17 years. During the address at the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei, Chen’s words were vague and his tone was sour. He said that democracy should not be used as an echo chamber for a single politician, that people must be tolerant of other views, that the president should not act as a dictator and that the judiciary should not get involved in politics. He then went on to say that others with different opinions should not be criticized as “XX fellow travelers,” in reference to
Within Taiwan’s education system exists a long-standing and deep-rooted culture of falsification. In the past month, a large number of “ghost signatures” — signatures using the names of deceased people — appeared on recall petitions submitted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) against Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶). An investigation revealed a high degree of overlap between the deceased signatories and the KMT’s membership roster. It also showed that documents had been forged. However, that culture of cheating and fabrication did not just appear out of thin air — it is linked to the
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