Taiwan is a sovereign state
More than fifty years ago, the Chinese communists defeated the Chinese nationalists and established the People's Republic of China. The defeated Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) regime fled to Taiwan. Instead of showing deep gratitude to Taiwanese for shelter, they imprisoned and shot dead hundreds of thousands of innocent Taiwanese, especially the social elite, for the convenience of its unjust rule.
The so-called Republic of China (ROC) could neither represent China nor Taiwan and finally lost its seat in the UN to the real China in 1971 and the presidential election of 2000 to Chen Shui-bian (
But, alas, a tiny state with only about 20,000 people like Nauru is a member of the UN, while Taiwan, a country of more than 23 million peace-loving and hard-working people, has long been denied admission to the UN simply because of China's impervious blockade.
The UN, which should be a beacon of peace and justice, had to succumb to expediency and the threat of China. No wonder the once-exiled Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn years ago characterized it as "an immoral organization in an immoral world."
For the world today, "Might is right," yet the greatest American president, Abraham Lincoln, was of another opinion when he said, "Right makes might." Taiwan, a free and prosperous state, which can contribute much to some poverty-stricken countries through its material and human resources, does not owe anything to the UN.
On the contrary, the UN and the world at large indeed owe Taiwan justice and its moral support. Like a deserted orphan, Taiwan has long been expecting all your assistance and fair treatment.
Albert Li
National Chengchi
University
US President Donald Trump has gotten off to a head-spinning start in his foreign policy. He has pressured Denmark to cede Greenland to the United States, threatened to take over the Panama Canal, urged Canada to become the 51st US state, unilaterally renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “the Gulf of America” and announced plans for the United States to annex and administer Gaza. He has imposed and then suspended 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for their roles in the flow of fentanyl into the United States, while at the same time increasing tariffs on China by 10
As an American living in Taiwan, I have to confess how impressed I have been over the years by the Chinese Communist Party’s wholehearted embrace of high-speed rail and electric vehicles, and this at a time when my own democratic country has chosen a leader openly committed to doing everything in his power to put obstacles in the way of sustainable energy across the board — and democracy to boot. It really does make me wonder: “Are those of us right who hold that democracy is the right way to go?” Has Taiwan made the wrong choice? Many in China obviously
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
Last week, 24 Republican representatives in the US Congress proposed a resolution calling for US President Donald Trump’s administration to abandon the US’ “one China” policy, calling it outdated, counterproductive and not reflective of reality, and to restore official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, enter bilateral free-trade agreement negotiations and support its entry into international organizations. That is an exciting and inspiring development. To help the US government and other nations further understand that Taiwan is not a part of China, that those “one China” policies are contrary to the fact that the two countries across the Taiwan Strait are independent and