As SARS continues to wreak havoc in this nation, China has not only failed to express any regret, but has mobilized countries to shoot down Taiwan's bid to become an observer at the World Health Organization (WHO).
China is indeed at the center of the world. Not only does the Earth revolve around China, but WHO members take their cues from Beijing. The British envy Lord Macartney refused to kowtow to the Manchu Emperor Qian Long -- now everyone scrambles to kowtow to Beijing in order to win business opportunities in China. Hopefully such limitless business opportunities will materialize -- otherwise all the deaths from SARS in this country and elsewhere will have been a waste.
But every defeat is also a revelation. At least two things are clear. One, never believe the chatter about justice and morality coming from the mouths of international political leaders. Two, China will not soften its suppression of Taiwan no matter how hard Taipei tries to appease it.
It is time for President Chen Shui-bian's (
Since SARS first appeared in Hong Kong, the Department of Health has twice suggested that the Chen government temporary stop all passenger traffic between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. But the government was under pressure from business interests and was also worried about obstruction by the opposition parties. As a result, it not only ignored the department's suggestion but also tried to curry favor with the pro-unification forces, thereby missing the opportunity to readjust cross-strait relations.
Only after Kinman County, led by the New Party's Lee Chu-feng (
Many other countries have imposed restrictions on travellers from China, but this government has adamantly defended cross-strait exchanges. If the Chen government attaches such great importance to business opportunities in China, how can it blame those countries which kowtowed to China at the World Health Assembly meeting? What reason do we have to accuse others of injustice?
Chen should remember that a leader is not a people-pleaser, much less someone led by the nose by the pro-unification camp. After three years in office, he no longer has any excuse for being soft in the face of opposition arm-twisting. At a time when the country is in the grip of the SARS epidemic and its efforts to join the WHO has been frustrated once again, what is needed is a leader who can lead the entire citizenry, not a politician held hostage by business and pro-unification voters.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry