In addition to stealing Taiwan's allies and thwarting the nation's attempts to participate in international organizations, China attempts to ensure that Taiwan is practically invisible.
Late last month, Malawi yielded to the old carrot-and-stick routine and abandoned 42 years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of ties with China. Within days, the Malawian minister responsible for brokering the deal has reportedly fled the country with millions of yuan meant as a "sweetener" for his president.
In such times of crisis, Taipei routinely berates Beijing for practicing "checkbook diplomacy." But the reality is that Taiwan's "financial aid" simply can't compete. As a result, Taiwan has lost nine diplomatic allies in eight years.
And yet, China is still not satisfied and never misses an opportunity to belittle Taiwan on the world stage. The most recent example of this occurred during the Women's World Cup of Golf this week at Sun City, South Africa, where Taiwan's Wei Yun-jye (
Together with the "autonomous regions" of Xinjiang and Tibet, Taiwan is claimed by China, which insists that no other country should meddle in its "domestic affairs."
In this light, it is odd that China has asked the US to condemn Taiwan's referendums on UN membership. It is even stranger that Washington has happily obliged, with everyone from American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying the plebiscites are unnecessary, provocative and of no real benefit.
Despite Taiwan's dutiful attempts to play a responsible role in the world, it seems most countries are happy to humor China by not publicly contradicting its claim to Taiwan. It is sad that so many nations lack the courage to do the right thing.
In his New Year address last month, President Chen Shui-bian (
In view of this imminent threat, it is remarkable that Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Yes, increased trade with China may boost the economy. But that does not mean that the threat posed by China should be laughed off. And yet that is the message being sent by the country's presidential candidates, notwithstanding Ma's recent lecture on boosting the military.
Hsieh may be trying to neutralize Ma's "it's the economy, stupid" argument, but that makes his actions only marginally more forgivable.
If this is the mindset of the men who are competing to lead this country, then China doesn't need missiles to annex Taiwan: All it needs is patience.
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to