Harsh criticism of and strong opposition to Taiwan's planned UN referendum by US officials recently could stir up even more anti-US sentiment in Taiwan, academics said in a seminar yesterday.
"Recent public opinion polls show that US popularity in Taiwan has been decreasing as the latter has been leaning toward China in handling the Taiwan Strait issue," said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), a professor of politics at Soochow University, during a seminar organized by the pro-independence Taiwan Thinktank.
"The Americans should pay close attention to this," Lo said, because anti-US sentiment was almost non-existent during the past decades in Taiwan. If the sentiment develops into anti-Americanism, we will probably see a fundamental and structural change in Taiwan-US relations in future, he said.
Tung Li-wen (董立文), deputy executive at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, agreed that the intensity of anti-US sentiment is unprecedented, saying it resulted from the US "actually helping China change the status quo and pressuring Taiwan to kowtow to China."
"The worst-case scenario would be that Taiwan becomes not only an anti-communist country but also anti-US at the same time," Tung said.
Most Taiwanese have the impression that the US has been putting much more pressure on Taiwan than on China by failing to ask it to remove its missiles, improve human rights and stop squeezing Taiwan's international space, Lo said.
People have the impression that Taiwan's democracy, which the US had called for since the end of World War II, was not enough to give it the recognition it deserves internationally, said Chen Wen-hsien (陳文賢), a professor at National Chengchi University.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
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