President Chen Shui-bian (
Later, when visiting Pearl Harbor during his stopover in Hawaii, he gave an unscripted talk in which he cited the Pacific theater of World War II as an example. He said that the US and Japan were in fact enemies half a century ago, but they are friends today. He also said that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should learn from this great example.
Indeed, the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 triggered the Pacific War, and the historical wound caused by the two atomic bombs also exists. But after half a century, the US and Japan are already military and diplomatic partners working to maintain peace and stability in the western Pacific region. This development proves that no conflict in the international community cannot be resolved.
The following day, the issue with the repatriation of illegal Chinese immigrants that has been left in limbo since the presidential election in March was resolved. Through Taiwan's and China's Red Cross organizations, China accepted the return of 178 illegal immigrants from Taiwan, and returned five Taiwanese criminals to Taiwan. In a statement, the Mainland Affairs Council said China plans to receive yet another group of illegal immigrants on Sept. 10. After a long period of tense relations across the Taiwan Strait, even such a small easing of tension is enough to be exciting.
China has for a long time posed a military threat to Taiwan, and it keeps around 600 missiles aimed at Taiwan along its southern coast, forcing Taiwan to find ways to defend itself -- partly through R&D and arms purchases, partly by strengthening its military.
Apart from having missiles aimed at Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army's exercise on Dongshan Island is clearly targeted at Taiwan. Dongshan Island is located in the southern part of the Taiwan Strait, only 181km from the Penghu islands and 307km from Kaohsiung. The exercise mainly consists of simulated landings and clearly mimics the capture of Penghu.
The people of Taiwan normally repay one good deed with another, which means that if your opponent gives you a gift, you have to give him something in return. Chen's initiative in responding to the military retreat from Dongshan Island serves to further underline Taiwan's goodwill. If China does not pose a military threat to us, there is no need for us to strengthen our military.
We sincerely hope that the warmth being shown across the Strait recently is an indication of a more constructive relationship, rather than one-off incidents.
China should build greater confidence in the goodwill of nations made up of the same race and speaking the same language. Once China and Taiwan put aside enmity and choose to engage in the spirit of friendship, they could become the strongest allies in the Western Pacific. We also hope that China will understand the Taiwanese way of doing things, namely that we will repay one good turn with another, so that Taiwan might eventually become China's closest friend.
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
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