So Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), long an admired official of the Republic of China government, who played an admirable role in Taiwan's democratization, but who very narrowly lost the last presidential election, now plans to visit Beijing. There he will evidently find plenty of time for amiable discussions with the unelected leader of one of the world's last communist dictatorships.
In preparation for this trip, moreover, Lien has found time for a secret visit to Singapore where he found time for consultation with its autocratic rulers. But Lien has been unable to find time for what is really needed: namely, a face-to-face discussion with the elected president and government of his own country, the Republic of China, and wide discussion among the people of Taiwan, to ensure that at this critical juncture politics really do end at the water's edge, and Taiwan speaks with a single voice. Few things are more important to the nation's future than a certain basic domestic consensus.
By making this trip, Lien also jeopardizes the political future of a whole younger generation of highly talented KMT politicians, poised to take the reins of government once again, probably sooner rather than later. Now they will be tarred by this ill-judged venture.
But above all, Lien puts at risk his own historical reputation. For even though Beijing is promising Lien a welcome with protocol normally reserved for heads of state, neither Lien nor anyone else should have the slightest doubt as to how Chinese communist leadership in fact sees his mission: Zheng Chenggong's (鄭成功) grandson, long expected in Beijing, has finally arrived.
That grandson, Zheng Keshuang (鄭克塽), is remembered as the man who abandoned the Ming cause and turned Taiwan over to the Qing in 1683 in return for the empty title and honors of "Duke."
If Lien cannot find the wisdom to call off this ill-judged venture, let us hope at least that he will consult broadly in Taiwan before he leaves, not least with its elected government, and that in China he will have the courage to speak truth to power, robustly defending the rights of the people of Taiwan and the great democratic tradition of Sun Yat-sen (孫中山) , of which his party is the custodian. Otherwise, I fear Lien will end in humiliation what has been a long and distinguished career.
Arthur Waldron
Professor of international relations, University of Pennsylvania
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS