In the past few days, our legislators have successfully solidified our place as the No. 1 International Laughing Stock. We as citizens sincerely appreciate their examples of immaturity, selfishness, violence, stupidity, rudeness, indolence, inability to take responsibility and most importantly, their lack of social etiquette.
As a future mother, I definitely want my children to grow up under a chaotic government through which they will never learn the meaning of sound leadership. I also want to make sure that when I get older, I will have to live alone without any social benefits or security to depend on.
These past two days, our nation's decision-makers did a wonderful job of setting the tone for the rest of the session. The pushing, shoving, water pouring, cup throwing and profanity exchanging are just Taiwan's version of a well-organized government.
I am so delighted that my tax money is spent on keeping these diligent civil servants on their high-salary payrolls. The Legislative Yuan was established to exchange spit wads and acting skills, instead of ideas on how to make our country stronger.
Also, I want to thank the lawmakers for providing us with thrilling entertainment, such as real-life slugging and wrestling (after all, we all know the World Wrestling Federation is nothing but theater).
Beloved legislators, our future is in your hands. Please make sure our national image stays completely tarnished, so our foreign friends can have something laugh about, especially if they ever need material for the next blockbuster comedy. Also, by continuing your nonsense mudslinging, China will be so frightened that it would never even dream of attacking us. After all, why would it want to invade a country full of weak, useless, idiotic clowns?
Jenny Hsu
Taipei
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
This year would mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the India Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. From the vision of “Look East” in the 1990s, India’s policy has evolved into a resolute “Act East,” which complements Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.” In these three decades, India and Taiwan have forged a rare partnership — one rooted in shared democratic values, a commitment to openness and pluralism, and clear complementarities in trade and technology. The government of India has rolled out the red carpet for Taiwanese investors with attractive financial incentives