To the woe of global investors, stocks markets sank after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs last week. Taiwan was no exception. Nearly all of the TAIEX’s 1,000-plus members fell. Benchmark companies lost ground, including a 3.8 percent drop by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the index’s top-weighted member. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co fell by the daily limit of 10 percent, while MediaTek Inc lost 5.95 percent.
Like many other countries, Taiwan has reached out to the US for talks after Trump’s announcement. The Executive Yuan has announced that it would allocate NT$88 billion (US$2.69 billion) to assist industrial and agricultural sectors affected by the tariffs. President William Lai (賴清德) has proposed a zero-tariff regime with the US, while a negotiation team led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) is ready to begin talks.
Despite the government’s countermeasures, the nation’s two largest opposition parties have latched onto the opportunity to whip up anti-US sentiment. Using TSMC as an example, they said that despite the firm’s promise last month to invest an additional US$100 billion in the US, Washington still slapped a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports, which is a manifestation of the US’ capricious character and unreliability.
Now that Taiwan has laid its cards on the table, it is no longer in a position to negotiate for zero tariffs. Similar to the narrative of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who claimed that “Taiwanese people consumed American pork, bought US arms, but still didn’t get COVID-19 vaccines from the US,” the opposition’s “ungrateful US” narrative is another page from their playbook. The difference is that they are using Trump’s tariffs to portray the Lai administration as a power-hungry government that is focused on the movement to recall KMT lawmakers, and that they are using it as a smokescreen to hide their incompetence instead of seeking cross-party collaboration to confront a national crisis.
However, the blue and white camps have stopped merely acting as China’s mouthpiece. By making unconstitutional amendments to allocate 60 percent of funding to local governments, they are pushing a plan to hollow out the central government. That evolution suggests something more sinister — that the Chinese Communist Party is implicitly pulling the strings.
To put a stop to the undermining of the government, the recall campaigns were launched to counter legislators who do not have Taiwan’s best interests at heart, regardless of Trump’s tariffs and the performance of the stock market. Similar to Trump’s comparison of tariffs to surgery — “The operation is over! The patient lived and is healing” — the recall movement is surgery to remove malignant tumors eating away at Taiwan’s vibrant democratic body. Without the recall bids, pro-China forces would proliferate and metastasize, paving the way for an easier takeover by Chinese forces.
On a deeper level, Trump’s trade war is a de facto “recall” movement against China. His tariff policy aims to strike at the heart of China’s manufacturing juggernaut — a clutter of factories, assembly lines and supply chains that manufacture and ship just about everything.
As one of the US’ most trustworthy allies and partners, Taiwan cannot bear to lose its democracy and national integrity by turning a blind eye to pro-China lawmakers. Over the past few months, the public has witnessed the opposition-led legislature distort and abuse legislative procedures to an unprecedented degree. The recall movement might be hard work and time-consuming, but it is necessary — a means to preserve Taiwan’s identity and democracy.
If Trump understands the necessity of tariff “surgery” to counter China, it is imperative that Taiwanese know the same about the recall movement.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. It is high time that Taiwanese pick up the lancet before it is too late.
You wish every Taiwanese spoke English like I do. I was not born an anglophone, yet I am paid to write and speak in English. It is my working language and my primary idiom in private. I am more than bilingual: I think in English; it is my language now. Can you guess how many native English speakers I had as teachers in my entire life? Zero. I only lived in an English-speaking country, Australia, in my 30s, and it was because I was already fluent that I was able to live and pursue a career. English became my main language during adulthood
Somehow, US intelligence identified “the Houthis’ top missile guy” and pinpointed his exact location. At 1348 hours (Washington time), March 15, President Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz texted, “positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend’s building.” The unsuspecting Romeo entered. High above, the drone monitoring the building registered a flash. When the smoke cleared, Mr. Waltz texted, “…And it’s now collapsed.” RIP. The star-crossed “top missile guy” had been target number one in the now uproarious US Navy bombing campaign on that Sunday against the Yemeni rebels who have been holding the Red Sea hostage since October 19,
Taiwan on Monday celebrated Freedom of Speech Day. The commemoration is not an international day, and was first established in Tainan by President William Lai (賴清德) in 2012, when he was mayor of that city. The day was elevated to a national holiday in 2016 by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Lai chose April 7, because it marks the anniversary of the death of democracy advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who started Freedom Era Weekly to promote freedom of expression. Thirty-six years ago, a warrant for Deng’s arrest had been issued after he refused to appear in court to answer charges of
The Opinion page has published several articles and editorials over the past few weeks addressing Taiwan’s efforts to leverage unique or strong aspects of its culture to increase international awareness of the nation. These have included submissions by foreign journalists and overseas students, highlighting how bubble milk tea, Guinness World Record attempts, the entertainment sectors, impressive scenery, world-class cuisine and important contributions to the high-tech supply chain can enhance Taiwan’s recognition overseas and therefore its soft power. That entails competing for attention in already crowded sectors. Other nations, after all, offer popular entertainment exports, beautiful scenic spots and great food.
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