Some won't fight for freedom
A true friend comes through when a friend is in need. As Richard Kagan points out, Taiwan recently honored 30 foreign human rights activists for their contributions to democracy and independence (Letters, Jan. 2, page 8). I would like to salute those true friends of the Taiwanese.
If Taiwan must defend itself alone, it will, as polls have indicated. Eighty percent of Taiwanese will fight if China invades Taiwan, and do not think the US will help.
Shame on the UN, shame on those who should have taken a stand, and will not, and those who would only pay lip service but do not put their words into action. The saying goes: "If one is lost, all is lost." Pity those who will allow liberty to be lost for all of us.
Kagan, Mike and Judy Thornberry and many others remind us that Taiwan will not be alone. Indeed, we shall overcome. The likes of Ma Ying-jeou (
Some say the hottest spot in hell is reserved for those who should have taken a position, and would not. For them I can only say: May God forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Chen Ming-chung
Chicago
Chen should not fear China
I couldn't agree more with the point Gerrit van der Wees makes in his editorial ("Instead of `five noes,' `three yeses,'" Jan. 2, page 8), that the conditions underpinning President Chen Shui-bian's (
I would like to add that these missiles are only a small part of China's strategy of swallowing Taiwan, and not even the most effective.
In fact, even if all the missiles were dismantled, the diplomatic embargo would be the weapon in China's arsenal that the Taiwanese would have to fear most.
Some Taiwanese might still believe that as long as they still have food on the table and as long as they still enjoy freedom, peace and stability, it doesn't matter that their own country is constantly humiliated and belittled by China in the international arena, or that their president is forbidden from visiting most countries.
But this idea is wrong: China's diplomatic embargo will also hurt Taiwan's economy, and the free trade agreements with other countries is the most obvious example. Without free trade agreements with either large countries, like the US and Japan, or large trading blocs, like the EU or ASEAN, Taiwan's economy will be held to ransom by the Chinese dictators, and will become just a second Hong Kong, with all the imaginable consequences.
This shows that the best way to defend Taiwan's status quo of de facto independence is to pursue de jure independence, and no matter how much the Chinese dictators huff and puff or how much the US or Japan choose to kowtow to China, Chen should not only go ahead with the planned referendum, but even better, he would widen its scope.
George Dukes
Sunderland, UK
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
About 6.1 million couples tied the knot last year, down from 7.28 million in 2023 — a drop of more than 20 percent, data from the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs showed. That is more serious than the precipitous drop of 12.2 percent in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the saying goes, a single leaf reveals an entire autumn. The decline in marriages reveals problems in China’s economic development, painting a dismal picture of the nation’s future. A giant question mark hangs over economic data that Beijing releases due to a lack of clarity, freedom of the press
RSS