Loony gun lovers
I want to thank J. Michael Cole for his shocking expose of the Taiwan Defensive Firearms Association (TDFA), the anarchist, pro-violence fringe group that has now infiltrated the peaceful shores of Taiwan with its pro-gun message (“Taiwan gun group joins global fight to bear arms,” Oct. 25, page 2). As the singer and songwriter of the dynamic pro-community rock band Ballots Not Bullets, I promise I will do everything in my power to diminish the influence of these insane morons.
I was both alarmed and appalled when I read that the TDFA is promoting a referendum that would allow them to supply 8 million semi--automatic weapons to “qualified citizens” in Taiwan, wherein 5 million Taiwanese would be allowed to carry concealed handguns. This is a recipe for lawlessness and anarchy. If this becomes reality, I will leave Taiwan faster than you can say “one way ticket to New Zealand, please.”
In response to the TDFA’s claim about “semi-automatic defensive weapons,” I would respond that this is sheer lunacy. There’s nothing defensive about a semi-automatic weapon. Guns are made for one reason only: to kill.
Cole didn’t mention any statistics about how much gun violence there is in Taiwan, but I think the old adage is true: “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”
While pro-gun people use this quote to support their case, it’s actually quite true in Taiwan. Most of the guns in the possession of Taiwanese, outside the military, police force and Aboriginal hunters, are in fact owned by gangsters in criminal organizations and used for violent crimes.
In my view, the TDFA is a group that has a hammer and sees every problem as a nail. Simply put, it’s a solution that’s looking for a problem.
In the decade I’ve lived here in Taiwan, I’ve never once seen a violent crime. Traffic accidents, yes, but it seems like the only time people resort to gun violence to “solve” problems is during elections, like when former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) son, Sean (連勝文), was shot through the cheek with a bullet that killed an innocent bystander at a political rally last year. This is exactly the kind of crime we don’t need more of, and more guns in the hands of “qualified citizens” will surely exacerbate this problem.
Taiwan’s police need to get on this case like flies on ... honey and deport these trigger-happy idiots to a country where they might feel more at home, say Mexico or Somalia. And Mr Cole, please use your amazing investigative talents to follow up on this compelling story.
Torch Pratt
New Taipei City
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
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”
US president-elect Donald Trump earlier this year accused Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) of “stealing” the US chip business. He did so to have a favorable bargaining chip in negotiations with Taiwan. During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump demanded that European allies increase their military budgets — especially Germany, where US troops are stationed — and that Japan and South Korea share more of the costs for stationing US troops in their countries. He demanded that rich countries not simply enjoy the “protection” the US has provided since the end of World War II, while being stingy with
Historically, in Taiwan, and in present-day China, many people advocate the idea of a “great Chinese nation.” It is not worth arguing with extremists to say that the so-called “great Chinese nation” is a fabricated political myth rather than an academic term. Rather, they should read the following excerpt from Chinese writer Lin Yutang’s (林語堂) book My Country and My People: “It is also inevitable that I should offend many writers about China, especially my own countrymen and great patriots. These great patriots — I have nothing to do with them, for their god is not my god, and their patriotism is
RSS