It is ridiculous that some Taiwanese do not even know that Hong Kong has reverted to Chinese control, and that they still regard the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as an area ruled by the UK and the people of Hong Kong, as it was prior to 1997.
Some also believe that capital from Hong Kong does not constitute foreign investment, and that Hong Kong-based companies can legally run cable TV stations in Taiwan. Some pan-blue legislators have even quoted what the Mainland Affairs Council in 1997 defined as a Hong Kong company, and believe that the TVBS cable TV station is not a foreign-owned company. Clearly, such an interpretation is already outdated and does not relate to the current situation. These pan-blue politicians should stop hoodwinking themselves.
Although some of Hong Kong's residents withdrew their capital from the territory when it reverted to China in 1997, many did not, as Beijing had promised that the economic system would remain unchanged for 50 years. However, Beijing's promise turned out to be a pack of lies. Hong Kong's capital is certainly China's capital, for it is China that is now governing the region.
A new controversy has arisen in the case of TVBS, a Taiwanese cable TV channel which draws its capital from two business groups in Hong Kong. According to Article 10 of the Satellite Radio and TV Broadcasting Law (
The channel should certainly accept this, and quickly improve its company structure in accordance with the law, instead of complaining about political oppression and challenging the government by saying stupid things like "Chinese capital? So what?" Otherwise, what is the difference between TVBS general manager Lee Tao (
TVBS exposed convincing evidence concerning former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan's (
Despite opposition lawmakers' claims to the contrary, Taiwan is a nation in which freedom of speech is largely safeguarded. Otherwise, the DPP administration would not have received so much criticism from the public. Therefore, the GIO's continued investigation into TVBS' shareholder structure and source of capital is just. It has nothing to do with oppressing press freedom.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
During the “426 rally” organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party under the slogan “fight green communism, resist dictatorship,” leaders from the two opposition parties framed it as a battle against an allegedly authoritarian administration led by President William Lai (賴清德). While criticism of the government can be a healthy expression of a vibrant, pluralistic society, and protests are quite common in Taiwan, the discourse of the 426 rally nonetheless betrayed troubling signs of collective amnesia. Specifically, the KMT, which imposed 38 years of martial law in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, has never fully faced its
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