Since the opening of our offices in Taipei and Tel Aviv in 1993, Israel and Taiwan have maintained close cooperation to promote common development, particularly in the areas of trade, academia and culture. Since arriving in Taipei as Israel’s representative in summer last year, I have recognized the unique bond between our two peoples.
On a personal note, I have been deeply impressed by the Taiwanese people’s values and moral principles, often rooted in traditions dating far back, as well as based on our mutual liberal democratic way of living. Much like the Jewish people, Taiwan places great importance on education, freedom, family ties and tradition. These shared values lead us to similar conclusions as we look at the complex environment of the Middle East.
Against the backdrop of Iran’s large-scale ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent weeks and its continued aggression against Israel across the Middle East — including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis — Israel highly values Taiwan’s clear position in differentiating between the actions of terrorists and the self-defense measures taken by the world’s only Jewish state.
I feel that Israel’s urgent need to defend itself and its fight for existence is well understood by the Taiwanese people.
Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has never sought war. We have made repeated efforts to pursue peace with Palestine and our Arab neighbors, offering peace proposals.
Yet, despite Israel’s efforts to advance the peace process in the region and prioritize the sanctity of life, extremist forces seeking death and destruction still exist, aiming to erase the Jewish people from Israel — our ancestral homeland.
In recent weeks, Jews have once again been reminded of their millennia-old history. This month, Jews around the world celebrated the Jewish New Year, marking the year 5785 in the Hebrew calendar. For people who have survived for thousands of years, many existential threats and dangers have had to be overcome. The biggest of those threats was the Holocaust, yet this year, once again, the Jewish people are forced to stand up and fight for their survival.
Although recent media attention has focused on the worrying situation in Lebanon, Hezbollah has not ceased its attacks on Israel from Lebanese bases for over a year. There is also an immediate need to free the 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. We must not forget them.
As we mark one year since the war broke out, I have no doubt that the Jewish people would overcome the current dangers in the Middle East and continue to thrive. Our office remains committed to fulfilling the vision of bilateral exchanges in various fields and further enhancing relations between Israel and Taiwan.
I firmly believe that, with the continuous support of the Taiwanese people, we can build a brighter, more peaceful future for all.
Maya Yaron is the representative of Israel to Taiwan.
Pat Gelsinger took the reins as Intel CEO three years ago with hopes of reviving the US industrial icon. He soon made a big mistake. Intel had a sweet deal going with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the giant manufacturer of semiconductors for other companies. TSMC would make chips that Intel designed, but could not produce and was offering deep discounts to Intel, four people with knowledge of the agreement said. Instead of nurturing the relationship, Gelsinger — who hoped to restore Intel’s own manufacturing prowess — offended TSMC by calling out Taiwan’s precarious relations with China. “You don’t want all of
A chip made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was found on a Huawei Technologies Co artificial intelligence (AI) processor, indicating a possible breach of US export restrictions that have been in place since 2019 on sensitive tech to the Chinese firm and others. The incident has triggered significant concern in the IT industry, as it appears that proxy buyers are acting on behalf of restricted Chinese companies to bypass the US rules, which are intended to protect its national security. Canada-based research firm TechInsights conducted a die analysis of the Huawei Ascend 910B AI Trainer, releasing its findings on Oct.
In honor of President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, my longtime friend and colleague John Tkacik wrote an excellent op-ed reassessing Carter’s derecognition of Taipei. But I would like to add my own thoughts on this often-misunderstood president. During Carter’s single term as president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, despite numerous foreign policy and domestic challenges, he is widely recognized for brokering the historic 1978 Camp David Accords that ended the state of war between Egypt and Israel after more than three decades of hostilities. It is considered one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the 20th century.
In a recent essay in Foreign Affairs, titled “The Upside on Uncertainty in Taiwan,” Johns Hopkins University professor James B. Steinberg makes the argument that the concept of strategic ambiguity has kept a tenuous peace across the Taiwan Strait. In his piece, Steinberg is primarily countering the arguments of Tufts University professor Sulmaan Wasif Khan, who in his thought-provoking new book The Struggle for Taiwan does some excellent out-of-the-box thinking looking at US policy toward Taiwan from 1943 on, and doing some fascinating “what if?” exercises. Reading through Steinberg’s comments, and just starting to read Khan’s book, we could already sense that
RSS