China's promise that Hong Kong will remain unchanged for 50 years under the policy of "one country, two systems" has lasted for less than seven years. On the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, democratic groups are scheduled to launch a large-scale demonstration today, demanding that Beijing keep its promises of direct elections of the chief executive and the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. It's estimated that more than 300,000 people will take part in the protest.
Last year over 500,000 protesters took to Hong Kong's streets on this date to denounce the legislation based on Article 23 of the Basic Law. The action focused the attention of the world on the erosion of Hong Kong's freedoms and the delay in giving it accountable democratic government.
The government's legislation of a controversial anti-subversion law, which could have easily been used to cook up charges of treason against democracy activists, was frustrated as a result of the demonstration. But less than a year later, on April 26, China's National People's Congress dashed Hong Kong people's hopes to directly elect their leader and lawmakers by 2007 and 2008, respectively, basically trying to delay the democratic development of Hong Kong forever.
Economically, Hong Kong prospered mightily under British colonial rule. Although it suffered from the global economic downturn and the outbreak of SARS last year, its economy is recovering as the global economy grows this year. The Hang Seng Bank also revised its forecasts on Hong Kong's GDP growth for this year to 6 percent from 5.5 percent yesterday. Still, the halo surrounding Hong Kong's economy has faded. The exotic cultural crossroads atmosphere of Hong Kong's society has been replaced by Sinification. Hong Kong has lost its charm to become another drab Chinese city. If this was the intention of Hong Kong's nationalists, we can only congratulate them on their stunning success.
Hong Kong and Taiwan have both been deeply influenced by ideas of free trade, and over the last 50 years have also remained open to Western cultural influences and are therefore international in outlook. We must give our spiritual support to Hong Kong's demonstrators. Democracy has never been a gift from heaven and has always been paid for in the blood and sweat of the people.
On this anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, the oppressive rule they have endured over this period undermines the legitimacy of Beijing's insistence on the "one China" principle. Hong Kong's example reinforces the commitment of Taiwan to democracy, and the belief that the achievement must be protected. Taiwanese can see quite clearly the bleak result of putting faith in China's promises, which have been shown to be no more substantial than the clouds.
China has constantly sought to disparage Taiwan's democratic achievements, emphasizing that democratic politics are merely another way of gaining power, the aim of which is to declare independence. It has used this as a stick with which to beat Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists. But democracy is a universal value and Taiwan's democratic reforms are only a small part of a great international current flowing in this direction. Alone our strength might be insignificant, but we call on people all round the world to lend their voices in support of the people of Hong Kong in their action to achieve democracy.
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
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
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
RSS