On April 25, the WHO Secretariat rejected a letter sent by President Chen Shui-bian (
On Monday, the UN Office of Legal Affairs turned down an application submitted by Chen to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for membership in the international organization under the same name.
In both cases, these international organizations ignored their guiding principles and yielded to China's pressure.
And both times, the pan-blue camp, instead of being upset by this unreasonable treatment, slammed the Chen administration for humiliating the nation.
Following this logic, it is best for Taiwan to simply remain silent on matters of international recognition so that it will not suffer the humiliation of rejection.
It's a pathetic mindset well demonstrated by remarks made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
A short sound bite like this might make Ma look like a gentleman, a politician advocating peace. The truth is quite the opposite.
Choosing not to "clash" with China does not mean China will leave Taiwan alone or stop obstructing it in international matters.
Moreover, not provoking China is not tantamount to Taiwan remaining silent and giving up the fight for its dignity.
The pan-blue camp branded the DPP administration's move to join the UN and the WHO under the name "Taiwan" as inviting humiliation.
But isn't it absurd that Taiwan -- despite being noted around the world for its economic development and democratic achievements -- is not recognized as a legitimate member of the international community?
Isn't it foolish that Taiwan can't enjoy what other other countries with populations of 20,000 or 80,000 enjoy -- to be recognized with dignity?
DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
How true. And the same can apply to many other countries.
Citizens of Japan, Thailand, Germany and other countries can easily say what country they are from. Ask someone from this country the same question, and answers include "Taiwan," "the Republic of China," "Chinese Taipei" and "Taipei, China."
While it may be too much of a cliche to call Taiwan an international orphan, it remains true that Taiwan is in a sad position, being denied international recognition and legitimacy.
Silence is not golden when it comes to Taiwan's plight. If Taiwan does not keep standing and fighting, it will just be a matter of time before it falls victim to China 's saber-rattling and disappears from the map of nations.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
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