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.
As Taiwan’s domestic political crisis deepens, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have proposed gutting the country’s national spending, with steep cuts to the critical foreign and defense ministries. While the blue-white coalition alleges that it is merely responding to voters’ concerns about corruption and mismanagement, of which there certainly has been plenty under Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and KMT-led governments, the rationales for their proposed spending cuts lay bare the incoherent foreign policy of the KMT-led coalition. Introduced on the eve of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the KMT’s proposed budget is a terrible opening
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
“I compare the Communist Party to my mother,” sings a student at a boarding school in a Tibetan region of China’s Qinghai province. “If faith has a color,” others at a different school sing, “it would surely be Chinese red.” In a major story for the New York Times this month, Chris Buckley wrote about the forced placement of hundreds of thousands of Tibetan children in boarding schools, where many suffer physical and psychological abuse. Separating these children from their families, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to substitute itself for their parents and for their religion. Buckley’s reporting is
Last week, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), together holding more than half of the legislative seats, cut about NT$94 billion (US$2.85 billion) from the yearly budget. The cuts include 60 percent of the government’s advertising budget, 10 percent of administrative expenses, 3 percent of the military budget, and 60 percent of the international travel, overseas education and training allowances. In addition, the two parties have proposed freezing the budgets of many ministries and departments, including NT$1.8 billion from the Ministry of National Defense’s Indigenous Defense Submarine program — 90 percent of the program’s proposed
RSS