At the Asian security conference in Singapore on Saturday, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld vehemently criticized China's continued acquisition of missiles and the development of its air force and navy. This, he said, was not only creating a military imbalance in the Taiwan Strait, it was also threatening the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific.
Rumsfeld's talk was intended as a preview of the Pentagon's annual report on China's military to be released later this week. This report maintains the Defense Department's consistently held concerns embodied in the so-called "China Threat" theory, but it also specifically switches the focus from the Taiwan Strait to the entire Asia-Pacific region. It advises caution in no uncertain terms over the danger presented to the region by the expansion of the Chinese military.
The US is not the only nation to feel uneasy. Last year a Japan Defense Agency report identified China as a potential security threat, and the question of including Taiwan in the scope of the US-Japan Security Pact was discussed. In March and April, massive anti-Japanese protests erupted in China. Sino-Japanese relations were further tested with the appearance of Chinese submarines and other vessels in Japanese waters, giving Tokyo all the more reason for concern.
China has long chanted its mantra of "peaceful rise" in an attempt to calm its neighbors and the international community as a whole over its military, economic and political expansionism. But with passage of its "Anti-Secession" Law in March, the international community saw the true face of China. Criticism and censure followed, and the EU decided to postpone lifting its arms embargo.
The "China Threat theory" is no longer a possibility -- the threat is a reality. Taiwan has had to deal with this threat on its own for some time, but now other countries are gradually beginning to get the message. The Singapore meeting is just the starting point for international action, and hopefully we will see even more countries facing up to the threat posed by China's expansionism with more concrete action. Perhaps this will all lead to new policies designed to contain China.
Taiwan is at the center of the First Island Chain, the front line constraining China's expansion. It has shouldered this burden for more than 60 years, but now people in Taiwan and the US are becoming increasingly concerned that it will become a breach in the chain. The hurdles faced by the arms procurement bill in the legislature means that the imbalance in military strength between the two sides of the Strait will increase. The lack of commitment to self-defense might encourage China to take advantage of the situation with a military move.
China is now trying "panda diplomacy" to win over the Taiwanese people. The high status accorded to the visits of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
For Taiwan's sake and for regional security, the legislature should hold an additional session to pass the arms procurement bill as soon as possible.
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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