Media distracted by gossip
With the presidential and legislative elections over, it is a busy time for top government leaders to discuss new Cabinet members, and the handover of legislative affairs and national policies. Nevertheless, some news coverage has been out of touch, continuing to report on insignificant trivia.
For example, some media have focused on a female security guard of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), discussing how attractive she is, while praising the woman who used to be a host of the famous military education show Twilight Garden (莒光園地) as a highlight of the nation’s armed services.
The public might be used to this kind of gossip news, but what is the point of reporting such things? Irrespective of whether a presidential or vice presidential security guard is a military or police officer and regardless of their gender, whether the person is “good-looking” has nothing to do with their job as a guard. It seems only natural that a female president or vice president would have female personnel in their security detail.
What we should really care about is the person’s professionalism and skill in protecting a president or vice president, and whether they can serve as a buffer between the president or vice president and the public.
In the past, a male security guard of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was dubbed “special agent Andy Lau” (劉德華) for his similarity to the Hong Kong superstar, and two female guards were nicknamed “Little Black” (小黑) and “Little White” (小白) respectively because of their skin tones. Maybe they are adored by the public because they look dashing and spirited.
However, when they are on duty, they need to be fully focused, keep an eye on the whole scene and respond to any emergencies at any time. They are not here for a personal fan meeting, and the media should respect their professionalism and allow them to do their job. No one can afford to let the security work go wrong.
Hopefully, before Tsai leaves office on May 20, the media and public can understand this, which should be continued in the era of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and Hsiao.
Hung Yu-jui
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
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
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS