Sovereignty takes a hit
Freedom ends not with a bang, but a whimper. This could be the fate of Taiwan’s independence if the current administration continues its apparent course of refining the definition of bilateral talks between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
With the recent comments by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) supports not only the notion of “one country, two areas” (一國兩區), but also views the relationship between the two as “special,” as opposed to “state-to-state,” the Taiwanese government has clearly resigned itself to playing the role of something other than a state-to-state actor in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.
In doing so, Taiwan has relegated itself to little more than an area that is ultimately subject to PRC authority and oversight, in much the way that Kurdistan is viewed within Iraq, or the Basque region of Spain and Russian region of Chechnya are viewed; trouble-making regions of a greater sovereign state.
The ability of Taiwan to negotiate as an equal with the PRC has been greatly diminished, not only in a bilateral sense, but in the eyes of the world as well.
If Taiwan itself does not assert its independence from the PRC, then it should not be surprised when other states prove lukewarm about the cause.
Taiwan’s status as a sovereign state, as well as its ability to negotiate on an equal footing with the PRC, have been severely undermined by the current government and it is a sad day for both democracy and Taiwanese.
Brian Benedictus
Washington
Seeking justice
A recent story “Food additive firm owner sentenced to 13 years in jail,” (March 21, page 2”) left readers with a concerning lack of finality.
Although justice appears to have been done in the case of suppliers of these toxic chemicals, nothing is mentioned about ongoing prosecutions of the executives and corporations who actually put these poisons into our food.
We would all feel more assured if we thought that the chief executive of Uni--President International and others of his ilk were about to the see the inside of a jail cell.
Is this about to happen? Tomorrow? Next week? Or never?
John Hanna
Taoyuan
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
Eighty-seven percent of Taiwan’s energy supply this year came from burning fossil fuels, with more than 47 percent of that from gas-fired power generation. The figures attracted international attention since they were in October published in a Reuters report, which highlighted the fragility and structural challenges of Taiwan’s energy sector, accumulated through long-standing policy choices. The nation’s overreliance on natural gas is proving unstable and inadequate. The rising use of natural gas does not project an image of a Taiwan committed to a green energy transition; rather, it seems that Taiwan is attempting to patch up structural gaps in lieu of
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersecurity, should not be viewed as isolated events. The emphasis on missile defense, including Taiwan’s newly introduced T-Dome project, is simply the most visible sign of a deeper trend that has been taking shape quietly over the past two to three years. Taipei is seeking to expand security and defense cooperation with Israel, something officials
“Can you tell me where the time and motivation will come from to get students to improve their English proficiency in four years of university?” The teacher’s question — not accusatory, just slightly exasperated — was directed at the panelists at the end of a recent conference on English language learning at Taiwanese universities. Perhaps thankfully for the professors on stage, her question was too big for the five minutes remaining. However, it hung over the venue like an ominous cloud on an otherwise sunny-skies day of research into English as a medium of instruction and the government’s Bilingual Nation 2030
RSS