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
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
RSS