Building on West Point success of Hu Chia-chi

Republic of China Military Academy cadet Hu Chia-chi (胡家琪), who is studying at the US Military Academy West Point, took part in the selection process for the West Point Summer Leadership Experience and was chosen from many applicants to serve as a cadet company commander, making her the first female cadet from Taiwan to serve in this position, according to media reports earlier this month. She is the third female Taiwanese military academy student to study at West Point and has performed very well in intercollegiate pistol shooting. As the US Army’s top academy, West Point has always been a dream destination for military cadets from all over the world. Its training is so strict that cadets who are only good at English, but fail the physical fitness tests or cannot adapt to the culture will be eliminated. In the past few years, two Taiwanese army cadets — one male and one female — who were sent to West Point failed to complete their studies. In recent years it has become common for women to join Taiwan’s armed forces. Hu’s two elder sisters are also in the military. Female volunteers perform as well as males, no matter whether they are serving in the Ministry of National Defense’s strategic units or in basic military units. At present, except for the navy’s Submarine Squadron, which is not yet open to females, all other combat units and combat support units of the army, navy and air force have female officers and troops. The nation’s armed forces have trained many female squad and platoon leaders, company commanders and even female frogmen with specialist skills, artillery troops, snipers and pilots who fly Mirage 2000 fighters. Ministry of National Defense data show that women now account for 15.6 percent of officers and privates, which is 3 percentage points higher than three years ago. The

By Yao Chung-yuan 姚中原

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Catastrophe stalks Afghanistan as the US and its allies dash for the exit

Military retreats from Afghanistan are problematic, as the British (1842) and the Red Army (1989) discovered to their cost. The cliffs of the Khyber Pass feature many memorials and plaques to departing or defeated foreign forces. This year’s Afghan withdrawal is less fraught — the US is not yet retreating under fire — but the march to the exit has nonetheless turned into an undignified sprint. Most Americans will welcome this accelerated end to an unpopular war, yet it spells catastrophe for Afghans who pinned their hopes and their nation’s future on Western support in fighting the Taliban and Islamist terrorism, and who believed the nation-building promises made by former US president George W. Bush and others. Fighting is spreading like a bushfire from district to district. There is no peace deal in place, no power-sharing, no intra-Afghan ceasefire, and growing fear of nationwide conflagration — and yet still the Americans are leaving. Two questions are unavoidable: After expending so much blood and treasure, what of lasting import was achieved? And what on earth will happen next? When US President Joe Biden set a withdrawal deadline of Sept. 11, exactly 20 years after the al-Qaeda attacks that triggered the US’ intervention, the Pentagon decided to get out as soon as possible. Britain and other NATO allies are following suit. It is now expected all foreign forces, plus 17,000 mostly US contractors, will be gone by the middle of next month. The outlook for the vast majority of Afghans who do not espouse extreme religious views and misogynistic feudal dogmas is simply terrifying. Civilian casualties rose 29 percent in the January-to-March period, compared with last year. Government figures recorded 4,375 terrorism-related deaths last month, up from 1,645 in April. Among last month’s civilian victims were 50 schoolgirls from a Shia Hazara neighborhood in Kabul, deliberately targeted by Sunni militants. Aid

By Simon Tisdall

COVID-19 surge claims brightest minds at Indian universities

Sajad Hassan sat at his professor’s hospital bedside for three nights, doing most of the talking as his friend and mentor breathed through an oxygen mask, and struggled with a suspected COVID-19 infection. Both were confident that the 48-year-old academic would be heading home soon, until a COVID-19 test came back positive and physicians ordered him moved to the isolation ward — known by many at the university hospital as the “dark room” because so few who enter come out alive. “I could visibly see fear in his eyes,” Hassan said. Two days later, his professor, Jibraeil, was dead — one of nearly 50 professors and non-teaching staff at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), one of India’s top universities, who fell victim to the virus as it ripped through the nation in April and last month. AMU’s tragedy was repeated across India as schools experienced similar blows to their faculty, and the loss of their knowledge — and in many cases friendship and guidance — has been devastating to the academic community. “The virus took away our brightest minds,” AMU spokesman Shafey Kidwai said. One of the oldest universities in India, AMU has produced generations of politicians, jurists and academics. The university has been the seat of modern education for many Muslims in the Indian subcontinent and an intellectual cradle for the community. It was primarily founded to educate the nation’s Muslims, who make up about 14 percent of its population. Over the past two months, local newspapers and the university’s Facebook page have been filled with the obituaries of its professors — all lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The zoologist “touched the lives of a generation of his students.” The physician was “an exceptional clinician, teacher and human being, who mentored many generations.” The psychologist was a “vibrant presence” and was “known for conducting high-quality research.” Jibraeil, an assistant professor of history

By Aijaz Hussain and Sheikh Saaliq

EDITORIAL: Chen Wen-chen text appropriate

When a memorial to Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) at National Taiwan University (NTU) was dedicated in February after a decade of campaigning, many were surprised that the plaque was made of polystyrene foam. The placeholder, which was removed after three days, read: “In memoriam of a hero who unyieldingly resisted state violence.” Apparently, many of the decisionmakers at the university disagreed with the phrase “state violence,” so no text has been displayed for the past few months, which is a shame given NTU’s colorful history and what Taiwanese endured to achieve its free and democratic environment. On Saturday, NTU finally approved the text after student representatives brought the issue to an online vote, winning 74 to 64. Some professors who voted against the text cited the need to “maintain tranquility on campus” — an egregious statement, as more people in Taiwan should learn about the atrocities that the previous authoritarian regime has committed. Tranquility is achieved by acknowledging history and reaching an understanding, not by ignoring issues. Chen, an assistant professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was visiting family in Taiwan when he was found dead near a library at NTU on July 3, 1981. The state ruled it a suicide, and although the facts are not entirely clear, evidence indicates that he was killed and thrown off the building, possibly by state security from the Taiwan Garrison Command, the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s main instrument for its nearly four-decade-long reign of White Terror. Chen was detained and interrogated the night before his body was found. The authorities claimed that Chen killed himself out of guilt for his “crimes” — ie, supporting Taiwan’s democracy movement. He was reportedly marked for donating money to Formosa Magazine, a major opposition publication that was the flashpoint of the Kaohsiung Incident two years earlier. Chen was reportedly followed

Public service amid a pandemic

On June 7, the Cabinet extended a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert until Monday next week. In line with disease control measures, local councils have suspended their proceedings. Councils were originally scheduled to hold regular plenary sessions during this period. For example, the Kaohsiung City Council reportedly has unfinished business scheduled for its fifth regular plenary session that includes general city governance interpolation, motions proposed by the city government, and second and third readings of motions proposed by councilors. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, people have been going out less and avoiding gatherings. In the workplace, private companies that are big enough or have been proactive about disease control were mostly prepared for the outbreak that began in Taiwan last month. Those that can conduct business remotely have arranged for staff to work from home, while those that cannot have reinforced disease prevention measures, such as disinfection, staggered work hours, parallel teams and employee health management. Government agencies can likewise take this opportunity to do more of their business online and improve online functions. They can improve software and hardware, and train staff to provide online processing and handling of applications, meetings, resolutions, petitions, appeals and so on. The Judicial Yuan has announced commensurate measures and is working on a special law on judicial procedures. Putting government business online and making it convenient for the public requires investment in budgets and training, along with long-term planning, implementation and updating. As well as being essential for epidemic and disaster prevention, this can also promote the development and progress of businesses such as those that provide digital conferencing software and hardware solutions. The European Parliament, the US Congress and local councils in other countries have been handling their agendas through videoconferences. They have introduced legislative amendments to deal with the legal and technical issues of videoconferences, such as how

By Tang Yung-yu 湯詠瑜

China rebranding as ‘respectable’

China has damaged its international image with its aggressive “wolf warrior” bullying, which is alienating it from much of the world. Facing fierce international criticism over its increasingly bellicose conduct on many issues, including Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as its unabated threats against Taiwan, the cover-up of the spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan and its expansionist designs in the South China Sea to name a few, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) recently offered a rare mea culpa when he said that it was necessary to improve Beijing’s tone when communicating to a global audience, as it raises its “international voice” in keeping with its growing status as the world’s second-largest economy. “We must pay attention to grasp the tone, be both open and confident, but also [be] modest and humble, and strive to create a credible, lovable and respectable image of China,” Xi told a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) study meeting. If the brilliant Dale Carnegie were alive, he would have probably handed over to the Chinese president a copy of his bestselling book How to Win Friends and Influence People. However, For Xi it is more than just making friends — he is, apparently, more interested in having a strategic foothold, particularly in countries that continue to do heavy trading and business with China even though they frown at its repressive character. A communique from this month’s G7 summit has, obviously, upset the Chinese leadership, although it professes to seek to repair relations with key Western powers, including the US. China needs to move away from the brash, aggressive and often insulting tone against foreign leaders as part of its “wolf warrior” diplomacy that has been recklessly smashing the diplomatic porcelain in many countries. It will not be easy for China to refurbish its image. It has also been treating other nations shabbily,

By Manik Mehta

CCP misses importance of academic freedom

This month, Jiang Wen-hua (姜文華), a researcher who had studied abroad before returning to China and joining the faculty at Fudan University, slit the throat of Wang Yongzhen (王永珍), a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary assigned to the university’s mathematics department. The incident attracted the attention not only of foreign media, but also of Chinese studying overseas. Even though many universities in China can compete with those in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in academic rankings, they cannot to shake the shadow of the CCP’s influence. No matter how much money the CCP throws at its academic talent recruitment drive, it will never be able to establish the foundations for academic freedom at its universities. Stuffing the system with cash — like fattening a goose to harvest foie gras — is simply not in the interests of the recipient of this “generosity.” Jiang obtained a doctorate from Rutgers in New Jersey. On his return, as is the convention at Chinese universities, he was initially employed for six years, during which he was expected to publish research papers and submit them to international academic periodicals. The university reviews the performance of people in that position, and a decision is made on whether to promote them person or offer them a long-term position at the university. Radio Free Asia reported that Jiang had passed the review, but his hopes for advancement were ultimately dashed by Wang’s veto. Factions exist within universities in Taiwan, too. I have taught a law instructor who spoke openly about being assigned by the government to a position at a state-owned bank, and there are cases of university lecturers being given posts due to their political views. In China, universities are still run like political worker cadres schools, at which the CCP oversaw who was promoted, leading to networks based on loyalty and a culture that

By Chang Hsun-ching 張勳慶

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Australia accused of ‘excessive and unnecessary’ secrecy

Australia’s suppression of information seen as pivotal to a free and open media is at the center of accusations that the country has become one of the world’s most secretive democracies. Last week, a former Australian spy was convicted over his unconfirmed role as a whistle-blower who revealed an espionage operation against the government of East Timor. It is the latest high-profile case in a national system in which secrecy laws, some dating back to the colonial era, are routinely used to suppress information. Police have also threatened to charge journalists who exposed war crime allegations against Australian special forces in Afghanistan, or a plan by bureaucrats to allow an intelligence agency to spy on Australian citizens. Australians do not even know the name of the former spy convicted on Friday last week. The Canberra court registry listed him as “Witness K,” while his lawyer referred to him more respectfully as “Mr K” in court. K spent the two-day hearing in a box constructed from black screens to hide his identity. The public and media were sent out of the courtroom when classified evidence was discussed, which was about half the time. The only sign that anyone was actually inside the box was when a voice said “guilty” after K was asked how he would plead. The Australian government has refused to comment on allegations that K led an Australian Secret Intelligence Service operation that bugged government offices in the East Timorese capital in 2004, during negotiations on the sharing of oil and gas revenue from the seabed that separates the two countries. The government canceled K’s passport before he was to testify at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2014 in support of the East Timorese, who said that the treaty was invalid because Australia had failed to negotiate in

By Rod McGuirk

The climate change fight is adding to the global inflation scare

The inflation scare that has become a major theme in markets is gaining fresh momentum from the climate change battle and the huge economic transformation under way. As governments recognize the importance of climate action and push every corner of the economy to decarbonize, industries from glass to steel to autos are being left with little choice but to change how they make products and, ultimately, what they sell. The technical hurdles and investment involved mean it is going to cost much more. Just two examples: Making glass without poisoning the planet costs 20 percent more, while cleaner steel is up to 30 percent more expensive. The potential price hit from the green revolution is adding to the arguments about the inflation outlook that are already brewing as economies reopen from COVID-19 lockdowns and some commodity prices surge to record levels. BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager, and the Bank of England put the issue in the spotlight this month, while others have also cited environmental demands as one reason the current inflation pickup is unlikely to be transitory. Hitting net-zero targets requires investment of US$5 trillion a year in energy systems by the end of the decade, more than double the average in the past five years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. There is another piece to the puzzle. As green-minded investors tell oil companies to scale back drilling, the resulting supply squeeze is seen pushing up oil prices before economies are anywhere near phasing out fossil fuels. “If I had to put my money on a single factor that was going to push up costs in the years to come, I would say it was the environmental emphasis and, in particular, the drive towards net zero,” said Roger Bootle, founder of Capital Economics Ltd and author of the 1996 book

By Rachel Morison

EDITORIAL: COVID-19 scams on the rise

Now that COVID-19 has managed to break through Taiwan’s formidable defenses, the nation has finally joined the rest of the world in experiencing the so-called “new normal” of pandemic life. Those who can are working from home, ordering food for delivery and “doomscrolling” to satiate a disquieting hunger for more information. As in other parts of the world, fraudsters have also found a windfall in exploiting pandemic anxieties. While this “normal” might not be new, its volume is. The FBI reported a record number of phishing complaints in the US last year, up 69 percent from 2019, while the UK National Cyber Security Centre thwarted more scams last year than in the previous three years combined. With less than two months of community transmission, Taiwan lacks the same kind of striking data, but there are certain metrics that could serve as indicators. For instance, in the 18 days from May 19 to June 6 alone, local governments received 201 complaints about false advertisements, many of which were for masks and other protective equipment, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee reported. Tactics have also been adapted with remarkable speed. In one of the more egregious examples, police warned of scammers swapping real-name registration QR codes outside businesses to send a text message to a toll number instead of 1922, all within days of the system’s implementation. Stay-at-home orders have also provided fertile ground for fraudsters. Aside from increased volumes of old e-commerce scams such as fake advertisements, suddenly the promise of contactless options for any number of services seem more plausible. Tainan police last week reported a number of recent cases involving loan companies promising fast approval online — as long as the client pays certain fees up front. Even for the most savvy, some schemes can elude detection. Consider the following two scenarios, only one

The Liberty Times Editorial: Unity essential in times of crisis

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and the virus makes inroads into Taiwan, a shortage of vaccines has become the primary concern facing the nation. At this critical juncture, like the coming of plum rains after a long drought, timely assistance came — first from Tokyo and then from Washington. Japan donated 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on June 4 and the US donated 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine on Saturday. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The moral support and meticulous planning of Tokyo and Washington’s coordinated response have left many Taiwanese grateful beyond words. Japan made its donation in the face of an all-out obstruction effort by China. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government overcame the obstacles and, with backing from former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, quickly pushed through with its plan. The doses donated by Japan are not part of the COVAX program. They were prioritized for Taiwan and transported free of charge, arriving in Taipei to coincide with the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. The Taiwan-Japan Relations Association sent Taiwan a morale boost, invoking the Japanese folk hero Momotaro and Tanjiro Kamado, the main protagonist from the Japanese manga Demon Slayer. It called on Taiwan to “resist the lure of the demon,” hold firm and keep walking forward with its partners toward a brighter tomorrow filled with hope. Suga, Abe and Japanese have come together to return the favor for Taiwan’s substantial aid following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Japan’s generosity during a difficult time for Taiwan shows the value of Tokyo’s friendship. Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) welcomed the Japan Airlines plane carrying the vaccines, and in the pouring rain bowed deeply to thank Japan on behalf of all Taiwanese. Taiwan expressed its heartfelt appreciation in other ways,

Biden pits Russia against China

At their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to once again exchange ambassadors, continue arms reductions and avoid nuclear war, but they continue to wrangle over cyberattacks and human rights issues. Since Biden took office, he has had only one unofficial telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), but he hurried to hold a summit meeting with Putin just after the G7 meeting. Biden’s reasons for these decisions invite speculation. Russia used to be a member of the G8 industrialized countries, but its membership was revoked after it instigated a referendum on Crimean independence in 2014. Biden choosing this moment for a summit seems to be a message to Putin that the West might be ready to allow Russia back into the G8. During his US presidential campaign last year, Biden wrote an article outlining his ideas on foreign policy. He viewed Russia as a military threat, and as an “archrival” or “opponent” of the US, while he viewed China as a threat in terms of trade and values, seeing it as a “competitor” of the US. As military conquest is a zero-sum game, a trade war can be a non-zero-sum game, and a contest of values can end in mutual respect, it is generally accepted that Biden sees Russia as the bigger problem strategically. Biden’s desire to reconcile with Russia might stem from China being the first country to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. China has continued its economic and military expansionism, which has resulted in rising anti-China sentiment in the US and the international community. Although the Indo-Pacific strategy was former US president Donald Trump’s attempt to contain China, the results wished for have been difficult to achieve because of India’s insistence on a non-alliance policy. Although Biden advocated for an alliance of

By Yang Chung-hsin 楊宗新

[ LETTER ]

Pandemic ‘prison’ no joke The thoughtless comments by Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) are yet one more indication that the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking various levels of havoc around the world, including here in the US (“Councilor apologizes for ‘prison’ comments,” June 19, page 3). Thankfully, there are enough government and business leaders who “get it” and are ensuring that their public (and hopefully private) comments encourage their constituents to keep a stiff upper lip and soldier through the (again, “hopefully”) temporary inconveniences of quarantining, wearing masks, getting vaccinations and so on. As a public relations professional now teaching future generations of PR and other communication pros the “fine art” of expressing opinions and wishes in such a way as to encourage acceptance and cooperation, it especially concerns me when I witness elected officials making thoughtless, uncaring comments regarding events that are having an effect on the public. Let’s hope that Councilor Miao fully understands this and is more careful in future. Kirk Hazlett, Adjunct professor, communication/PR University of Tampa, Florida

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EDITORIAL CARTOON

Tokyo Olympics promise to be weirdest ever for isolated athletes

Veteran Malaysian diver Pandelela Rinong has competed in three Olympics and is no stranger to the rigors of competitive sports, but never before has she experienced anything like the preparations for next month’s Tokyo Games. Living in a training bubble to keep out COVID-19, the 28-year-old has not seen her family for a year. Her life in Kuala Lumpur is stuck in a loop between a training facility and her residence, a three-minute walk away — although she must use a transit van to minimize interaction with potentially infected members of the public. The only company she keeps is with fellow athletes. “It’s not really healthy to be training like this in a quarantine base,” said the current women’s 10m platform champion, who has two Olympics medals. “We only train mostly inside and you cannot even leave the complex.” Pandelela would be among 11,000 athletes soon arriving in Tokyo as Japan presses ahead with the world’s biggest sporting event set to start on July 23 amid the worst public health crisis in a generation. There is a loud clamor domestically to cancel or delay the games again out of fears that it could be a COVID-19 superspreading event. Public health experts have called it irresponsible at a time when the pathogen and its more dangerous variants still take lives in many parts of the world. For the aspiring athletes, the road to this year’s Olympics and Paralympics has been long, uncertain and arduous. The event itself is likely to be strangely lifeless — no pomp and splendor, no revelry after victories and no families to offer support. Instead, just a smattering of domestic spectators would be silently watching in the stands. WELCOME PACKAGE Their welcome package is to contain a 70-page document outlining rules on movements and behavior during the games, as well as potential fines if

By Lisa Du