Although President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) struck a conciliatory note in his inauguration speech, it seems China will not accept this renewed show of goodwill. Most Chinese academics and experts denounced the speech in strong language and China's Taiwan Affairs Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have made their position clear, saying Chen's refusal to accept the "one China" principle and his stubborn insistence on independence remains essentially unchanged.
China will not be satisfied until Taiwan gives up and accepts the "one China" principle. But by appearing weak, Taiwan could cause China to become increasingly overbearing. Such is the nature of rogue states, something the US has to recognize as it interacts with China.
China has recently been threatening the people of Hong Kong, and thus, indirectly, also the people of Taiwan, by saying it
will write a unification law. The people of Hong Kong believe China is trying to create this law as a substitute for the withdrawn anti-subversion legislation based on Article 23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law. Even experts close to Beijing believe the unification law is tougher than the legislation that has been withdrawn.
On May 15, Zhu Yucheng (
During his recent visit to Europe, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) said that China may write a unification law. Co-opted academics and mouthpieces of officialdom in China, as well as China-friendly overseas media, have used this as an opportunity to threaten Taiwan.
The creation of the law is apparently at the research stage, but suggestions have been made that it apply to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan after its promulgation. When a Hong Kong journalist asked whether the law would apply to Hong Kong, the reply was that it would apply to "anyone." The same official also said: "We have received suggestions from our citizens that we should issue arrest warrants for separatists, and even more radical suggestions are included in the bill. This will in the end naturally be given detailed consideration by the
legislative authorities."
This shook the gathered journalists, because the official did not explain what those suggestions entailed. However, we can guess at what these radical methods might be if we look at the three Hong Kong radio hosts who have recently broken their contracts because they or their families have received threats, and then look at the criminal elements participating in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) and the People First Party's (PFP) protests.
These criminals have an alliance in Guangzhou aimed at opposing Taiwanese independence and pursuing the "truth" in the March 19 shooting of Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (
the participation of Taiwanese gangsters in Taiwan and China. Its leader was even involved in the KMT's assassination of Henry Liu (
China's socialism has been called a "criminal socialism," referring to its glorification of violence and its innate hooliganism. Wouldn't the employment of criminal gangs to achieve unification turn a unified China into an all-out criminal society?
Paul Lin is a commentator based in New York.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Labubu, an elf-like plush toy with pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, has become a global sensation, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Dua Lipa. These dolls are sold out in stores from Singapore to London; a human-sized version recently fetched a whopping US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing. With all the social media buzz, it is worth asking if we are witnessing the rise of a new-age collectible, or whether Labubu is a mere fad destined to fade. Investors certainly want to know. Pop Mart International Group Ltd, the Chinese manufacturer behind this trendy toy, has rallied 178 percent
My youngest son attends a university in Taipei. Throughout the past two years, whenever I have brought him his luggage or picked him up for the end of a semester or the start of a break, I have stayed at a hotel near his campus. In doing so, I have noticed a strange phenomenon: The hotel’s TV contained an unusual number of Chinese channels, filled with accents that would make a person feel as if they are in China. It is quite exhausting. A few days ago, while staying in the hotel, I found that of the 50 available TV channels,
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
There is no such thing as a “silicon shield.” This trope has gained traction in the world of Taiwanese news, likely with the best intentions. Anything that breaks the China-controlled narrative that Taiwan is doomed to be conquered is welcome, but after observing its rise in recent months, I now believe that the “silicon shield” is a myth — one that is ultimately working against Taiwan. The basic silicon shield idea is that the world, particularly the US, would rush to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion because they do not want Beijing to seize the nation’s vital and unique chip industry. However,
RSS