Chinese interference
Referring to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, the mayor of Corvallis, Oregon, Julie Manning, recently defended constituent David Lin’s (林銘新) rights against the Chinese Consulate General’s demand that Lin’s mural depicting Tibet’s and Taiwan’s struggle against tyranny be removed.
By contrast, when Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) came to Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), against his citizens’ wishes, removed all Republic of China flags along the route that Chen would be passing through, surrendering to China’s wishes.
Ma gets paid a president’s wages, while a small-town mayor in Oregon is paid a US$100 monthly stipend. Who is the better leader? Who defends their citizens’ rights?
The mural incident was not the first time that China has tried to interfere with local US civic affairs. In 2006, Xuhui District in Shanghai, China, lobbied heavily to become a sister city of Irvine, California, but stipulated one condition: That Irvine not honor its five-year sister city bond with Taoyuan, Taiwan. After the condition was rejected, Xuhui decided not to pursue a sister city relationship with Irvine.
The Irvine incident drove a wedge between the city’s Democrat-controlled council and the Republican minority who uncovered the Chinese plot. Then-Irvine mayor Beth Krom and the city council were in a difficult position, having to choose between a powerful Chinese city district with large lobbying resources and a long-term sister city in democratic Taiwan. After hours of demonstration by Taiwanese-Americans and four hours of public debate lasting until midnight, the city council voted to maintain and honor the sister city relationship with Taoyuan. Xuhui chose not to sign on as a sister city. A few years later, the Irvine Sister City Foundation was dissolved, effectively abolishing Irvine’s sister city activities.
It is impossible to learn all the details of the Chinese plot, but this much was revealed: When Krom and her staff went to Shanghai to sign the sister city agreement, Krom’s assistant was called to another room, without the mayor’s knowledge, to sign a separate memorandum renouncing Taoyuan’s sister cityhood. When the delegates returned to Irvine, it was too late for the mayor to change course. Although the city council correctly voted to honor Taoyuan’s sister city relationship, the fact that the subsequent mayor of Irvine ended the city’s support of the Sister City Foundation indicates that China, through its local agents, continued to pressure city leaders after the event.
China’s attempts to take over Taiwan are very extensive. Its slogan “There is only one China in the world, and both Tibet and Taiwan belong to China” means: “There is only one tyranny in the world that claims it owns both Tibet and Taiwan.” Given such adversity, can Ma defend the rights of Taiwanese?
Stan Yang
Orange County, California
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
Earlier signs suggest that US President Donald Trump’s policy on Taiwan is set to move in a more resolute direction, as his administration begins to take a tougher approach toward America’s main challenger at the global level, China. Despite its deepening economic woes, China continues to flex its muscles, including conducting provocative military drills off Taiwan, Australia and Vietnam recently. A recent Trump-signed memorandum on America’s investment policy was more about the China threat than about anything else. Singling out the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a foreign adversary directing investments in American companies to obtain cutting-edge technologies, it said
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
“If you do not work in semiconductors, you are nothing in this country.” That is what an 18-year-old told me after my speech at the Kaohsiung International Youth Forum. It was a heartbreaking comment — one that highlights how Taiwan ignores the potential of the creative industry and the soft power that it generates. We all know what an Asian nation can achieve in that field. Japan led the way decades ago. South Korea followed with the enormous success of “hallyu” — also known as the Korean wave, referring to the global rise and spread of South Korean culture. Now Thailand
RSS