As a Singaporean, I found it fitting that new Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (
Our Taiwanese friends should not regard Lee's comments in a negative way. After all, at no time did Lee express any regrets over his four-day visit to Taipei last month. He merely regretted that such a visit caused some hiccups in Singapore-China relations. Also it should be noted that Lee never apologized to China for visiting Taiwan.
It is evident that Lee felt his visit to Taiwan was necessary. I believe many Singaporeans, including myself, supported the prime minister's visit. It would have been absurd for Lee to cancel the visit just because Beijing opposed it. Singapore is not a state of China and if it was to succumb to China's unreasonable demands, it would have cast a doubt over the sovereignty of the nation. Singapore is a small city-state but our integrity and sovereignty will never be compromised as a result of threats from a major power.
Having followed the cross-straits issue since 1999, I share the sentiments of Presidential Office General Su Tseng-chang (
On Lee's remarks that "Singapore would not support Taiwan if the it provoked a cross-strait conflict," I wonder what, then, the position of my country's leadership would be if a conflict is provoked by China? I believe Lee is merely urging Taiwan's government to be responsible in maintaining a cool and passive stance.
Lee probably meant well when he indicated that the Taiwanese media generally has a localized approach. Based on experience of Taiwan, I would say that I share that observation. The perception from the international community is that the Taiwanese people are more interested in which celebrity is dating which, rather than the latest news from Iraq. This is where the media plays a crucial role. Credit should be awarded to some media organizations which not only cover local and entertainment news. One example of this is the Taipei Times, which I read online daily. I hope the Taiwanese people would adopt a more globalized outlook and be wary of international events. Su's graciousness ad humility (and probably that of Chen's administration) is exemplified by his willingness to study Lee's overall observations about Taiwanese society and its politics and then seek to amend the mistakes if what Lee said is true.
In a way, I feel that the ball is in now China's court. They should adopt a more proactive approach to improving cross-straits relations. A strategy of `give and take' is inevitable if both sides are to benefit. While I am not optimistic of such an approach by Beijing in the near future, I am optimistic that relations between Singapore and Taiwan will be maintained at their warm, cordial level.
I sense that continuous levels of cultural, economic, political and educational exchanges between the two countries would benefit both Singapore and Taiwan.
Jason Lee Boon Hong
Singapore
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS