The election news from Taiwan is disappointing. In addition, from where I live in New York City, the media coverage is far from comprehensive.
Notable omissions from articles include alleged votebuying on the part of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). While the majority of people in Taiwan are aware of these allegations, many US newspapers ignore this.
Another concern is that US newspapers seem to report primarily from Taipei or even outside of Taiwan while failing to devote equal attention to the more heavily native Taiwanese south -- especially Tainan.
I have lived in Tainan and made visits for more than 20 years and have never seen the views of Tainan's residents represented in the pages of US newspapers. Few, if any, sources from the south are quoted.
Sending reporters to places other than Taipei would be a good start for US newspapers to show that they strive to report on Taiwan objectively and comprehensively.
Readers would not tolerate the kind of incomplete reporting US papers produce on Taiwan if it concerned stories from New York City or New York State.
Readers of North American newspapers are not getting the full, true story of the Taiwanese presidential election.
Howard Sage
New York
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
The Taiwanese have proven to be resilient in the face of disasters and they have resisted continuing attempts to subordinate Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, the Taiwanese can and should do more to become even more resilient and to be better prepared for resistance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) try to annex Taiwan. President William Lai (賴清德) argues that the Taiwanese should determine their own fate. This position continues the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) tradition of opposing the CCP’s annexation of Taiwan. Lai challenges the CCP’s narrative by stating that Taiwan is not subordinate to the
US president-elect Donald Trump is to return to the White House in January, but his second term would surely be different from the first. His Cabinet would not include former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former US national security adviser John Bolton, both outspoken supporters of Taiwan. Trump is expected to implement a transactionalist approach to Taiwan, including measures such as demanding that Taiwan pay a high “protection fee” or requiring that Taiwan’s military spending amount to at least 10 percent of its GDP. However, if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invades Taiwan, it is doubtful that Trump would dispatch
World leaders are preparing themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency. Some leaders know more or less where he stands: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows that a difficult negotiation process is about to be forced on his country, and the leaders of NATO countries would be well aware of being complacent about US military support with Trump in power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely be feeling relief as the constraints placed on him by the US President Joe Biden administration would finally be released. However, for President William Lai (賴清德) the calculation is not simple. Trump has surrounded himself
RSS