As a taxpayer, I would very much like to know whether there is a specific person in Taiwan in charge of correcting and responding to the statements, news and announcements broadcast on the official Web site of China's Taiwan Affairs Office. If not, I strongly insist on building a mechanism to do this. If there's already someone in a position paid to do such things, we'd like for him or her to do the job -- if not well, at least not this errantly.
After the media reports on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit in China, there is a rosy picture of the China-Taiwan relations, which were devastated by the "Anti-Secession" Law. Two of the headlines were "CPC [Chinese Communist Party] Taiwan Work Office, KMT delegation hold talks" and "Top adviser calls for earlier reunification." I exerted all my efforts trying to find the relevant statement by our officials to correct these deliberate distortions. But to no avail -- there was no coverage at all.
We all know how difficult it is to battle with China in the global arena -- politically, economically and diplomatically. But is having people do their job too much to ask? All we want is our own statement from an equal level, such as an official institution, to clear up this intentional ambiguity.
Tell me, what's wrong with our national apparatus? Why isn't our national apparatus working, while China is distributing messages and news that jeopardizes our existence, both in the present and future? There is no equivalent clarification while China is foisting its nebulous language on the international arena. We want our own statements to also be heard in the international arena.
Looking at the political spectrum in Taiwan, we know there are plenty of different opinions in Taiwan's political climate. Despite having different standpoints and ideas, we respect the right of free speech! However we can't be deprived of our own right of speech by someone who poses as being a delegation on our behalf. Lien stands for his own party and the advocates of the party -- no more, no less. That's only one of the colors of the spectrum.
Lien was appointed by no one! We don't want to be represented by Lien, who is nothing but a chairperson of a party. The people of Taiwan, will never put our trust in him. He is not there to communicate the will of the people in Taiwan nor the message of "earlier reunification."
Rudy Chen
Belgium
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
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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
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