With Beijing cracking down on "pro-green" Taiwanese businesspeople and entertainers, it has become clear that it is trying to realize political concessions via economic sanctions. This should be a cause for concern in political and business circles.
At a conference last Sunday, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) spoke the truth about Beijing's mentality -- it abhors the democracy and freedom that Taiwan enjoys. The reason is simple: a free, democratic Taiwan is like a mirror that reflects the ugly face of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Given this contrast, it is only natural that China should see Taiwan as an enemy and seek to destroy it.
Both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administrations have failed to implement the "no haste, be patient" policy Lee advocated eight years ago. As a result, many businesspeople brushed off the warnings and rushed to invest in China. But many of the ill consequences that Lee predicted would happen have come to pass.
For example, Lee predicted that by investing in China to expand production, Taiwanese business-people would eventually get caught up in a price war which would destroy their profit margins.
Second, Lee said, the outflow of industry to China would result in a sharp fall in the domestic demand for labor, raising Taiwan's unemployment rate. He also said that China would endeavor to achieve political ends through economic means by keeping the political affiliations of individual companies under tight control -- as the recent Chi Mei incident illustrates.
It is a matter of some regret that, according to figures released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there has been a significant annual increase in Taiwanese investment in China since the DPP came to power in 2000. In 2002, Taiwan overtook Japan to become China's second-biggest source of foreign investment. This increase is largely a result of the Chen administration's "active opening, effective management" (
Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, and since that time its fledgling democracy has been retreating to such an extent that 500,000 people took to the streets in protest last July. With many Hong Kong businesspeople relocating factories and transferring investment to China, academics based at Hong Kong Polytechnic University have indicated that personal income in Hong Kong has fallen to 1995 levels and that unemployment rose to an all-time high of 8.8 percent in May last year. Is Taiwan heeding their discomfort?
Beijing sees Taiwanese businesses as weapons in the campaign for unification. Those who do not obey are regarded as "poisonous weeds" to be rooted out. This means that not only are businesspeople expected to give their money to China, they are also expected to forego their ability to think critically.
Can our government, which professes with its every breath to love Taiwan, continue to allow factories and money to be relocated to China? It is an absurdity that the DPP government is lending support to its enemies in this economic war, and it is no surprise that Lee has been forced to reprimand the administration.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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