"We don't always have to be well-behaved. Sometimes we must be bad," National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (
The US has faulted Taiwan's behavior again. One day after President Chen proposed that a referendum on the nation's bid to join the UN under the name "Taiwan" be held simultaneously with next year's presidential election, the US State Department said it was opposed to the proposal and urged the president to drop it.
Back in March, Mark Chen also said: "We must sometimes say `no' to the United States."
Indeed.
Before anyone in the US State Department again points to Taiwan as being a "troublemaker," it's worth contemplating if being bad is really bad.
If bad means Taiwan exercising its democratic rights and letting the voice of its people be heard, then, yes, let Taiwan be bad in the eyes of the US State Department.
Taiwan is an independent state with its own government, a freely elected head of state and representatives, its own currency and national territory. It need not be told by the US -- nor anyone else for that matter -- what it can or cannot do. The Taiwanese government is answerable only to Taiwanese -- not the US, China or anybody else who does not have the right to vote in Taiwan.
Taiwan has behaved like a good child for too long, dutifully fulfilling its role as a global citizen, carrying out humanitarian relief work, combating terrorism and cracking down on international money laundering despite the unjust treatment it receives from the international community.
Enough is enough. Taiwan needs to step out and start making some noise to grab the world's attention. Doing so exercises the universal right to self-determination that is a hallmark of democracy.
Silence is not golden in terms of Taiwan's plight. Just because a majority of the international community does not have the guts to stand up to China's despotism does not mean that Taiwan has to quietly accept this continuing injustice.
What is there to fear in having the people of Taiwan raise their collective voice and make themselves heard?
Former US congressman and recipient of the US' 1981 Presidential Medal of Freedom award Walter Judd once said: "People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote -- a very different thing."
This is something that the US -- which has long trumpeted the message of democracy -- needs to think about.
Taiwan values and appreciates the US' friendship. But at times, the US also has to know what being a friend means, and when to respect a friend's point of view.
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