If the stories related by President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen recounted how two members of an opposition party from Lesotho were charged with treason to stop them from attending, proving that China is not only willing to interfere with the internal affairs of other nations in its efforts to squeeze Taiwan, but is also prepared to abuse the human rights of non-Chinese citizens.
Various other delegates were blocked from traveling to Taiwan while transiting via Hong Kong. But most shocking of all, perhaps, was the claim that the French government also tried to help the Chinese campaign of repression by blocking African travelers as they transited in Paris.
While Hong Kong, as a Chinese territory, has a history of such behavior, if the stories about France are true, then the French government has also sunk to a new low and should be denounced.
If any doubt is left in the minds of Taiwanese about how single-minded Beijing is about bringing Taiwan to heel, then this episode should finally dispel it. All those reassurances from Beijing of "concern" for its "Taiwan compatriots" are hogwash; China only cares about annexing Taiwan -- period. These latest examples only further demonstrate the utter vileness of the current Chinese regime and surely vindicate the government's reluctance to deal with what is, in effect, the enemy of all Taiwanese people.
But why would China go to such lengths to prevent a handful of opposition legislators and NGO members from attending the forum? Maybe it is worried that Taiwan's more responsible, partnership-based approach to diplomacy may tempt other African nations to switch allegiance to Taipei. Because despite all the accusations of "dollar diplomacy" from Beijing and domestic critics, the Taipei government -- through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- does make an effort to help its underdeveloped allies in many ways, including healthcare, agricultural development and humanitarian relief.
Of course it also provides cash payments, but it cannot compete with the amounts Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Contrast this with China's destabilizing influence in Africa, which in Sudan has seen Beijing -- with its UN Security Council seat -- protect a vicious regime from UN sanctions in return for access to oil reserves. The Council on Foreign Relations' Web site lists other examples of China stripping African nations of their natural resources in order to feed its ravenous economy, often in return for arms.
Just think of the good China could do if it channeled all the time, money and resources it wastes trying to belittle Taiwan at every juncture into positive help for its African allies.
But then, if China treated its African allies with a little more respect, maybe some of them would not want to travel to Taipei in the first place.
China may have only one thing on its mind when it comes to Taiwan, but each time it behaves in such a belligerent and unconscionable manner, it repels the Taiwanese people. China will sooner or later have to face the fact that any amount of bullying will never change the minds of the majority in Taiwan, who see the nation as independent -- whether as Taiwan or the Republic of China.
While China can make the rest of the world dance to its tune with its mixture of threats and economic might, most Taiwanese are proving to be a different proposition altogether.
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
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
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS