Reconsider highway project
I am a professor of geography visiting Taiwan, and have read about the proposed construction of a freeway from Taipei to Hualien. The experience of communities in North America and Europe has been fairly consistent: the construction of such highways is invariably supported by powerful economic interests and leads to severe environmental degradation, the irretrievable loss of tourism and a flow of natural resources and youth from rural areas into cities.
I had the pleasure of visiting Hualien. In stark contrast to the concrete behemoth megalopolis that now extends from Taipei to Kaohsiung, Taiwan's east coast is an almost unspoiled paradise. It is to be hoped that progressive politicians will realize that the area's relative remoteness and natural beauty represent a vast reservoir of wealth that will sustain future generations.
By contrast, the freeway project, while bringing in some short-term employment and a few juicy contracts for road builders and their political cronies, will leave behind a legacy of environmental and cultural damage from which Hualien will be unlikely to recover.
Indeed, the only obvious benefactor of the construction is the Hualien Ocean Park and related hotel. The scholarly literature is quite clear about this as well.
Such "conventional mass tourism" sites rarely bring lasting local benefits, again benefiting only a few very wealthy investors, while bankrupting smaller family tourism operators and thereby driving down local wages.
I fervently hope that my next visit to this beautiful country is not marred by news that the Hualien freeway project has gone ahead despite the carefully considered protests of its opponents.
William Hipwell
South Korea
Aussie hypocrisy
Hopefully the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer didn't get too much blood on his dress whilst waltzing with the Butchers of Beijing ("Australian minister plays down China's threat to Taiwan," Aug. 17, page 1). So Australia has now well and truly joined the ranks of the brown-nosers crawling to Beijing to try and fill their pockets.
His grasp of history, when urging the democratically-elected leader of another nation to "behave," appears to be non-existent. Would he have said the same to Mahatma Gandhi, Michael Collins, George Washington and a myriad of others who have walked the rocky road towards freedom and peace for their people?
Next time the troublemakers Down Under start their bleating for a Republic, perhaps the British should send in the gunboats to put them in their place -- rightfully under the rule of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.
Michael Keeley
Tainan
Beijing's policy will backfire
China is desperate to stem Taiwan's further drift from its sphere of influence. Beijing has threatened Taiwanese businessmen in China because they supported President Chen Shui-bian (
Taiwanese companies have invested an estimated US$100 billion in China over the past decade alone. Indeed, Taiwanese businessmen are the principal movers and shakers in the Chinese economy. But these people know that China will not allow anything to stand in the way of the annexation of Taiwan so they keep their mouths shut.
When Taiwan's government recently held its annual meeting in Taiwan for China-based Taiwanese executives, Beijing was busy applying pressure to prevent them from attending the meeting.
The Chinese people are proud to have 5,000 years of history in which every government was the winner of a revolutionary war. When the government became corrupt, it was overthrown. The government and the people understood the game and how it was played. Now it is the 21st century and the world has become a "global village."
When the Soviet Union allowed the Berlin Wall to collapse, it disintegrated into many independent states. The Beijing government has allowed some degree of economic freedom. The Chinese people have begun to travel overseas. It is only a matter of time before these same people will ask for more freedom and democracy and will eventually threaten the existence of the Communist Party.
Threatening Taiwanese businessmen is certain to backfire and persuade foreign investors to cut back their investments in China. Economic prosperity in China will suffer.
My advice to the Beijing government is to embrace the values of freedom and peace like they have embraced capitalism.
Dr. Tien C. Cheng
Chair, Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace,
Chicago Chapter
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
This year would mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the India Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. From the vision of “Look East” in the 1990s, India’s policy has evolved into a resolute “Act East,” which complements Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.” In these three decades, India and Taiwan have forged a rare partnership — one rooted in shared democratic values, a commitment to openness and pluralism, and clear complementarities in trade and technology. The government of India has rolled out the red carpet for Taiwanese investors with attractive financial incentives
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