Photo caption misleading
It is unfortunate that a recent Supreme Court ruling seems to characterize Su Beng (史明) as a man of violent actions (“Court upholds ruling on Su Beng,” Oct. 3, page 3).
“The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that found independence activist Su Beng guilty of using violence or threatening behavior at a public gathering and other crimes in a 2005 protest against then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s (連戰) visit to China,” your article says.
What I’d like to comment on is the photograph that accompanies the article. Its caption reads: “Veteran independence activist Su Beng waves a stick inside Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on April 26, 2005, during a protest against then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan’s visit to China.”
Look closely at the photograph and you will see that Su is waving the cane he uses to walk with, not a stick, which could be misconstrued to be a weapon.
FELICIA C. LIN
New York
Jordan deserves latest honor
As an enthusiastic fan of Michael Jordan and a basketball lover, I admire Jordan’s paramount achievements in basketball. Many people might know his name without being familiar with his achievements on the court.
As a six-time NBA champion, a five-time league Most Valuable Player and a ten-time scoring champ, Jordan also led the US team to Olympic golds in 1992 and 1996.
With these unprecedented accomplishments, Jordan is a legend in the world of basketball. His amazing skills and powerful slam dunk always thrilled spectators — including me, of course.
Every time I watch one of his games, I can’t take my eyes from his smooth movements and airy jumps long enough to watch the other players.
Watching him play is amazing. Of course, his teammates and coach, Phil Jackson, and the great support he received from his family also played a role in his achievements.
Although he is retired now, he remains humble and continues to dedicate his life to basketball.
He has become the boss of the Charlotte Bobcats and is coaching his son to become a wonderful player.
Looking back on Jordan’s achievements, I believe no one in the NBA can break his records — not even Kobe Bryant or Lebron James.
Now Jordan has been honored by the basketball Hall of Fame (“Jordan receives yet another honor: Hall of Fame entry,” Sept. 12, page 19).
This is yet another great moment for him. He has set many great goals for young basketball players to aspire to and basketball lovers to admire.
STANLEY PENG
Taipei
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has prioritized modernizing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to rival the US military, with many experts believing he would not act on Taiwan until the PLA is fully prepared to confront US forces. At the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in 2022, Xi emphasized accelerating this modernization, setting 2027 — the PLA’s centennial — as the new target, replacing the previous 2035 goal. US intelligence agencies said that Xi has directed the PLA to be ready for a potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027, although no decision on launching an attack had been made. Whether
A chip made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was found on a Huawei Technologies Co artificial intelligence (AI) processor, indicating a possible breach of US export restrictions that have been in place since 2019 on sensitive tech to the Chinese firm and others. The incident has triggered significant concern in the IT industry, as it appears that proxy buyers are acting on behalf of restricted Chinese companies to bypass the US rules, which are intended to protect its national security. Canada-based research firm TechInsights conducted a die analysis of the Huawei Ascend 910B AI Trainer, releasing its findings on Oct.
In honor of President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, my longtime friend and colleague John Tkacik wrote an excellent op-ed reassessing Carter’s derecognition of Taipei. But I would like to add my own thoughts on this often-misunderstood president. During Carter’s single term as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, despite numerous foreign policy and domestic challenges, he is widely recognized for brokering the historic 1978 Camp David Accords that ended the state of war between Egypt and Israel after more than three decades of hostilities. It is considered one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the 20th century.
In a recent essay in Foreign Affairs, titled “The Upside on Uncertainty in Taiwan,” Johns Hopkins University professor James B. Steinberg makes the argument that the concept of strategic ambiguity has kept a tenuous peace across the Taiwan Strait. In his piece, Steinberg is primarily countering the arguments of Tufts University professor Sulmaan Wasif Khan, who in his thought-provoking new book The Struggle for Taiwan does some excellent out-of-the-box thinking looking at US policy toward Taiwan from 1943 on, and doing some fascinating “what if?” exercises. Reading through Steinberg’s comments, and just starting to read Khan’s book, we could already sense that
RSS