In his Lunar New Year address, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) pointed out that he would seriously consider the feasibility of abolishing the National Unification Council and the National Unification Guidelines. Clearly, on the heels of his New Year speech, Chen has once again told Taiwanese that they should pursue their own direction and refuse to be oppressed by China on the political and economic fronts. I genuinely hope that Taiwanese can give Chen the confidence to pursue such a goal and urge him not to falter in the face of adversity.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) labeled Chen's remarks a "breach of trust," threatening that "Chen is going to pay a high price for his behavior" as if he was speaking on behalf of Beijing.
Is Chen's message actually a breach of trust? Certainly not. If we are concerned about the future development of Taiwan, we should understand that both the National Unification Council and the National Unification Guidelines should have been scrapped when Beijing passed its "Anti-Secession" Law last March. Therefore, "seriously considering" whether or not to get rid of a government agency and a doctrine whose goal is the achievement of cross-strait unification is not at all problematic.
China's "Anti-Secession" Law legitimizes the use of force against Taiwan, which is tantamount to declaring war on Taiwan.
Besides, over the years, China's military has kept an increasing number of ballistic missiles targeted at Taiwan and aimed to establish what it called contingency-response combat capabilities by next year, building up combat capabilities for large-scale military engagement by 2010 and to ensure victory in a decisive battle by 2015. In view of this plan, isn't Beijing simply preparing for a thorough alteration of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait?
We should understand that Chen proposed the "Four Noes" on the condition that China abstain from using military force against Taiwan. However, the "Anti-Secession" Law is a clear indication that Beijing has every intention of waging war on Taiwan. China's actions have invalidated any promises Chen made, for it has already unilaterally changed the status quo by enacting the "Anti-Secession" Law.
We cannot but wonder if it is reasonable for the world to ask Taiwan to keep its promise while allowing Beijing to unilaterally change the status quo.
I would like to urge all the nation's opposition leaders not to be lenient toward our enemy any more, for it has already committed a breach of trust by authorizing the use of force against Taiwan. If we appease the Chinese aggressor, Taiwan will only suffer as a result.
Faced with China's provocative intentions to challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, we should remain unwavering. Thus, scrapping the National Unification Council is a proper reaction to China's constant provocative actions. Only by doing so can we achieve the actual status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
Huang Tien-lin is a national policy adviser to the president.
TRANSLATED BY DANIEL CHENG
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS