China has done everything in its power to give the impression it has some right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan, despite the fact that the communist dictatorship in Beijing has not ruled Taiwan in any way since the day it seized power in 1949.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), like so many other international organizations needing to fawn over Beijing and kowtow to its belligerent claims regarding Taiwan, Tibet, the Dalai Lama, Falun Gong and a host of others it considers dangerous to its dictatorship, has long prevented Taiwan from flying its flag at Olympic events, or playing its national anthem, or even using its real name. Taiwan is called "Chinese Taipei." As if.
Now, Beijing has blamed Taiwan for refusing to accede to its restrictions for the Olympic torch route, which include prohibiting people in Taiwan from displaying the nation's flag along the torch's route.
I have a newsflash for Beijing and the IOC. In a democratic nation like Taiwan, the government has absolutely no authority whatsoever -- despite former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
In a free country, there is no police power to prevent people from expressing themselves. I can understand why Beijing would not understand this, despite its attempts to use the terms "democracy," "free speech" and "human rights" as if it understands what they mean. We are well aware there is no precedent in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for citizens to exercise their rights to do anything the government doesn't like. But that's not how it works in free countries. Which only highlights the fact that the PRC and Taiwan are not the same country.
Of course, if the IOC prohibits displaying the flag and the Taiwanese display it, and millions of Taiwanese parade in the streets calling the name of Taiwan, and singing its national anthem, and carrying signs that criticize China and say that Taiwan is free and independent, the IOC probably can try to later refuse to allow Taiwan to host an event, or even participate in an event. But doing so would only highlight how the IOC is merely acting as a proxy for the world's most brutal communist dictatorship -- a distinctly political act. How embarrassing.
Taiwan is a free, democratic nation. The PRC is a totalitarian dictatorship, and is not a free country. We know it. The world knows it. Beijing should just concede it already, and get on with the games.
Lee Long-hwa
New York
US president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named US Representative Mike Waltz, a vocal supporter of arms sales to Taiwan who has called China an “existential threat,” as his national security advisor, and on Thursday named US Senator Marco Rubio, founding member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China — a global, cross-party alliance to address the challenges that China poses to the rules-based order — as his secretary of state. Trump’s appointments, including US Representative Elise Stefanik as US ambassador to the UN, who has been a strong supporter of Taiwan in the US Congress, and Robert Lighthizer as US trade
A nation has several pillars of national defense, among them are military strength, energy and food security, and national unity. Military strength is very much on the forefront of the debate, while several recent editorials have dealt with energy security. National unity and a sense of shared purpose — especially while a powerful, hostile state is becoming increasingly menacing — are problematic, and would continue to be until the nation’s schizophrenia is properly managed. The controversy over the past few days over former navy lieutenant commander Lu Li-shih’s (呂禮詩) usage of the term “our China” during an interview about his attendance
Following the BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, last month, media outlets circulated familiar narratives about Russia and China’s plans to dethrone the US dollar and build a BRICS-led global order. Each summit brings renewed buzz about a BRICS cross-border payment system designed to replace the SWIFT payment system, allowing members to trade without using US dollars. Articles often highlight the appeal of this concept to BRICS members — bypassing sanctions, reducing US dollar dependence and escaping US influence. They say that, if widely adopted, the US dollar could lose its global currency status. However, none of these articles provide
Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), the son of former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee Politburo member and former Chongqing Municipal Communist Party secretary Bo Xilai (薄熙來), used his British passport to make a low-key entry into Taiwan on a flight originating in Canada. He is set to marry the granddaughter of former political heavyweight Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政), the founder of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital in Yilan County’s Luodong Township (羅東). Bo Xilai is a former high-ranking CCP official who was once a challenger to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the chairmanship of the CCP. That makes Bo Guagua a bona fide “third-generation red”
RSS