An interview of President Chen Shui-bian (
The interview invited so much attention because of Chen's supposedly strong and unsubmissive posture toward China, as well as a quote about "refusing to succumb to US pressure" on issues such as national referendums. But after reading both the Post article and the transcript of the conversation between Chen and the Post's Beijing correspondent, John Pomfret, one can hardly find anything that Chen hasn't said before.
From statements about Taiwan "[taking] our own road" and "one country on each side [of Taiwan Strait]" to talks about holding national referendums and rewriting the Constitution, to rebuttals about the existence of a "one China" principle, to refusal to acknowledge the so-called "1992 consensus" between China and Taiwan, nothing was new. The people of Taiwan have heard it all before. Even Chen's language wasn't much stronger than he has used before.
Nowhere in the Post article, however, is a quote from Chen about "refusing to succumb to US pressure." Instead it was Pomfret who made the observation, "Chen said he would not bow to US pressure," after quoting Chen as saying, when asked about US pressure regard his recent moves (ie, rewriting the Constitution and national referendums) was, "Any kind of democratic reform is our own affair. I don't think any democratic country can oppose democratic ideals."
The Chinese-language transcripts provided by the Presidential Office cite Chen as saying, "Any kind of democratic reform is the internal affair of Taiwan and the ideals and goals to be pursued by the 23 million Taiwanese people, which is [not something] that any other country can oppose and restrict. The US is a democratic country, [and therefore] will naturally respect the choice and decisions of the people of another country."
Whether Pomfret's observation was correct is open for discussion. While some people may agree, others could say that Chen was simply dodging the question by noting that Washington repeatedly has said that it takes no position on Taiwan's domestic affairs.
For example, in response to an inquiry last month about Taiwan's plan to hold a referendum on the issue of World Health Organization (WHO) participation, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's said that such a referendum would not be particularly helpful to that cause. He then said "this is the business of the people of Taiwan, not the United States."
The typical US response to any issues regarding Taiwan follows a basic framework -- stressing the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, acknowledging a duty to assist Taiwan's self defense under the Taiwan Relations Act, recognizing the "one China" principle" and otherwise leaving things up to the two sides of Taiwan Strait.
In view of this, since Boucher's response to Chen's interview remained within the four corners of these long-existing US policies, it is really nothing extraordinary. Nevertheless, the pro-unification media in Taiwan has blown the Post interview completely out of proportion. For example, the Post article was titled "Chen dismisses fears in US of rising tension," yet some media translated the word "dismiss" as "contemptuously repel" (
When US budget carrier Southwest Airlines last week announced a new partnership with China Airlines, Southwest’s social media were filled with comments from travelers excited by the new opportunity to visit China. Of course, China Airlines is not based in China, but in Taiwan, and the new partnership connects Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 30 cities across the US. At a time when China is increasing efforts on all fronts to falsely label Taiwan as “China” in all arenas, Taiwan does itself no favors by having its flagship carrier named China Airlines. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is eager to jump at
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme
Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised eyebrows recently when he declared the era of American unipolarity over. He described America’s unrivaled dominance of the international system as an anomaly that was created by the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Now, he observed, the United States was returning to a more multipolar world where there are great powers in different parts of the planet. He pointed to China and Russia, as well as “rogue states like Iran and North Korea” as examples of countries the United States must contend with. This all begs the question:
In China, competition is fierce, and in many cases suppliers do not get paid on time. Rather than improving, the situation appears to be deteriorating. BYD Co, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer by production volume, has gained notoriety for its harsh treatment of suppliers, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability. The case also highlights the decline of China’s business environment, and the growing risk of a cascading wave of corporate failures. BYD generally does not follow China’s Negotiable Instruments Law when settling payments with suppliers. Instead the company has created its own proprietary supply chain finance system called the “D-chain,” through which
RSS