A Chinese dissident yesterday urged Taiwan to insist on its values of democracy and human rights in its dealings with Beijing and be a partner in the international community’s effort of containing China, instead of taking China’s side.
Expressing concerns over Taiwan’s tilting toward China, former Chinese democracy activist Wilson Chen (陳破空), now a US-based writer, told a symposium that Taiwan “cannot become a gap in the global China-containment strategy.”
As outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) brought up the issues of a peace treaty and a military confidence-building mechanism in his farewell speech at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 18th National Party Congress last week, Chen said Beijing would likely keep pushing for political negotiations with Taiwan after the new leadership takes over.
Photo: Chen Hui-ping, Taipei Times
If Taiwan did enter into negotiations with China, its best bargaining chip would be democracy and human rights, Chen said.
Citing Japan as an example, Chen said Tokyo had misjudged the political situation and misused its culture, which values humility. However, its deference toward Beijing did not bear fruit and improve Japan’s ties with China.
Taiwan should instead pattern itself after the Western powers, such as the UK, the US and France, by engaging China while bringing up democracy and human rights issues at every opportunity, he said.
“At the end of the day, China would not cut off its exchanges with Taiwan or attack Taiwan with missiles in retaliation. Taiwan should be brave enough to be a voice that hopefully will someday bring about changes in China,” Chen said.
In an analysis of the future political situation in China, the writer said that the recently concluded national party congress marked a major victory for the CCP’s conservative wing, so there would be neither political reform in China nor dramatic changes in Beijing’s Taiwan policy in the near future.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of