The front page story in yesterday's Taipei Times reported that the EU has temporarily suspended moves to lift the 15-year-old arms embargo on China. The EU should be commended for showing its concern for international security and upholding human rights, rather than bowing to commercial interests.
The EU's arms embargo on China was first put in place following China's bloody suppression of the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1989. It was intended to prevent Europe from becoming an accomplice in China's suppression of human rights through the use of arms bought from EU nations. In order for the ban to be lifted, it must first be shown that the human rights situation in China has improved -- and that is clearly not the case.
First, EU records on the human rights situation in China show that although China has made progress in some areas, there has been little improvement in freedom of speech, religion and association. Moreover, the "Anti-Secession" Law passed by China earlier this year allows the use of "non-peaceful means" when dealing with Taiwan or Chinese regions seeking independence from Beijing. This is nothing less than a blank check for war, allowing China to use "non-peaceful means" as it deems necessary against Taiwan, Xinjiang or Tibet. If China were to take any such action, the results would be many times worse than Tiananmen.
China is already a regional power, with a national defense budget of approximately US$70 billion. The Rand Corporation, a US think tank, published a report yesterday suggesting that China's military expenditure exceeds the officially recognized figure by an additional 40-70 percent, and that it will reach levels higher than that of any of the US' allies within 20 years.
At present China has more than 100 ICBM missiles and 600 conventional missiles, a navy of more than 2,000 ships, and an air force with over 3,000 combat aircraft. Its military might far outstrips its defensive needs. Even Japan, after witnessing the surge of anti-Japanese sentiment in China, is beginning to worry over the military threat posed by China. If the EU removes its arms embargo on China, and China gets its hands on advanced European weapons systems, it could pose a real threat to regional security.
The international community is concerned about peace in the Taiwan Strait, but the risk to security there does not come from the possibility of an attack from Taiwan: it comes from China, with its 700 missiles aimed at our country. If European states choose to sell China advanced military equipment such as radar systems, the threat posed to Taiwan will increase. The result will be continued military escalation across the Taiwan Strait, jeopardizing stability in the Asia Pacific, and even endangering international security.
China has now initiated a "united front" campaign -- through which it aims to divide and conquer the Taiwanese -- as a response to international pressure following its enactment of the "Anti-Secession" Law. The campaign has included visits to China by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
All of which demonstrates that China has zero credibility as a supporter of human rights. The EU has maintained its arms embargo for 15 years, and there's no good reason to lift it now.
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