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 Clearly, such an interpretation is already outdated and does not relate to the current situation.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.
Taiwanese pragmatism has long been praised when it comes to addressing Chinese attempts to erase Taiwan from the international stage. “Taipei” and the even more inaccurate and degrading “Chinese Taipei,” imposed titles required to participate in international events, are loathed by Taiwanese. That is why there was huge applause in Taiwan when Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to the Taiwanese Olympic team as “Taiwan,” instead of “Chinese Taipei” during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. What is standard protocol for most nations — calling a national team by the name their country is commonly known by — is impossible for
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
A recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. It is a fair question, but it focuses on the wrong issue. The problem is not last year’s outcomes failing to meet the bilingual education vision; the issue is that the ministry has abandoned the program that originally justified such a large expenditure. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫).
Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry spoke at the Yushan Forum in Taipei on Monday, saying that while global conflicts were causing economic strife in the world, Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region and offers strategic opportunities for small island nations such as Fiji, as well as support in the fields of public health, education, renewable energy and agricultural technology. Taiwan does not have official diplomatic relations with Fiji, but it is one of the small island nations covered by the NSP. Chaudhry said that Fiji, as a sovereign nation, should support
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