Tackling road safety
A law targeting the use of mobile phones while driving (“Law targets all use of mobiles while driving,” April 6, page 1) will provide another example of both the common disregard for the law and its arbitrary application, which is so prevalent in Taiwan.
I am sure most readers will have witnessed this, whether it be when trying to use a pedestrian crossing or casually observing the police as they drive around, lights ablaze and three to a car.
The proposed legislation is common sense, yet it will, in all probability, reinforce the general attitude toward the lax adherence and enforcement of the law.
If the authorities were serious about this matter, they would propose a blanket ban on the tinting of car windows (How can the police apprehend offenders otherwise?), consider more serious fines or punishments (How about a NT$10,000 fine and/or loss of one’s license?) and incentives for the police to actually start enforcing the law (Perhaps a percentage of any fine imposed). And while they are at it, they might also like to think about banning TVs in the front of vehicles.
I know it is “convenient” to be able to watch one’s favorite South Korean drama while waiting at a red light, but seriously, if safety were paramount, a lot more could be done.
If the authorities in Taiwan are really interested in road safety, there should be a coordinated campaign of road safety education combined with tougher penalties that are more rigorously enforced.
Ainesley Crabbe
Huwei, Yunlin County
Missed opportunity
It totally amazes me that people are so surprised by the non-action of vice president-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in the past months. China’s latest jab should come as no surprise and did demand a reaction. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been leaning more and more toward the sphere of Beijing’s influence over the past few years.
Comments by some of the “old timers” and the actions of many younger officials do not require a rocket scientist to realize how they want things to go.
The president has been a known quantity for some time and his vice president-elect has been a staunch supporter. It is only my humble opinion that Taiwanese need to open their eyes and see what is going on.
On the day of the election, I sat in a small breakfast shop and watched the crowds line up to vote in a district of Greater Taichung. I marveled at the numbers who returned to their home of record to cast their vote. Both my wife and I hoped that a change for the better was in the making. However, too few saw what was really there and, well, the rest is history.
I hope that somehow things can be turned around and Taiwan can take its rightful place among nations. Hopefully people will wake up before Taiwan is given away.
Tom Kuleck
Greater Taichung
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of