Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
Wen's remarks were laughed at in Taiwan's media circles. Beijing has never implemented democratic politics but instead has repeatedly trampled on human rights. Now one of its leaders is at the UN, which passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 1948, and is vociferously attacking the democratic reforms being carried out by the people of Taiwan in accordance with the basic spirit of that declaration. Such a scene flies in the face of the UN's raison d'etre and is a blow to its dignity. The UN should not become a venue from which authoritarian countries can threaten democratic ones. It also should not become a place where bullies can interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Wen, you have given the UN a bad name.
We must ask: how could Taiwan's holding of a referendum in accordance with modern democratic procedures become splittism? When was Taiwan part of the People's Republic of China? Besides, hasn't the Chinese government always emphasized that a majority of the Taiwanese people long for unification with the motherland? In that case, wouldn't that majority vote for unification if a referendum on the unification-independence issue were actually held? Beijing would then be able to take over Taiwan without wasting a single soldier and fulfill its stated wish of "peaceful unification."
In this respect, Beijing should be bending over backward to encourage the people and government of Taiwan to hold various referendums, including one on the unification-independence issue, so that the people of Taiwan can choose their political future in a most peaceful and democratic way. What reason does Beijing have to attempt to stop the holding of referendums in Taiwan? What is Beijing scared of?
Responding to misgivings about the referendum issue on Sunday, President Chen Shui-bian (
Consider the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the more recent India-Pakistan missile crisis. In both cases, the missile deployments provoked an immediate and belligerent response. Now, China has deployed 496 missiles across the Taiwan Strait. Facing such a serious military threat, can't Taiwan promote a referendum to express its opposition to the missile threat and the threat of war? We must call on the US government, which has always prided itself on human rights and democracy, not to dance to Beijing's evil tune. Nor should it make comments that Taiwan is provoking Beijing by holding referendums.
If Wen really understands American democracy, and if he still has some conscience, he will understand why the people of Taiwan are unwilling to accept another alien regime that wants to enslave them.
A recent report concerning a student who is suing his teacher posed the question in its headline: Does failing a student in two subjects constitute bullying? The college student in Chiayi County apparently sought NT$2 million (US$63,603) in state compensation, but a court dismissed the case. The first reaction of many might have been to ask: What has happened to students nowadays? Some say that teachers have lost their authority, while others say students are overindulged. Some even start reminiscing over the days when “whatever the teacher says goes.” However, the real issue might be overlooked if emotional reactions like that are the
When I visited Taiwan last summer, I called on the nation to use its status as a technology superpower to build superweapons. It is obvious to me as I return a year later that Taiwan is now answering that call. By 2030, Taiwan envisions a domestic drone hub, capable of producing large quantities of drones per year. The nation continues to tighten cooperation across the private sector, scientific researchers and the elected government, on creating new and innovative production avenues for defense, while efforts to become central to the “democratic supply chain” are only increasing. Anduril is seeing all of these positive
Singaporean former Prime Minister and current senior minister Lee Hsien- Loong(李顯龍) last month stood on Chinese soil and told Beijing that Singapore cooperates because of “shared interests”, not because of common “ethnic descent,” a significant statement that has upended China’s cognitive warfare tactics of “ethnic nationalism.” Along with using its military buildup and economic growth to expand its international dominance, China has long deployed ethnic politics to promote the idea that all ethnic Chinese around the world, regardless of citizenship, share a tight bond with the Chinese motherland, by which it means the regime of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
President William Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) May 20 second-anniversary address was not just a routine policy review; it was damage control. US President Donald Trump’s remarks — that he did not want to see anyone move toward independence and that the delivery of a major Taiwan arms package could depend on the progress of US-China relations — unsettled Taiwan’s public and created an opening for opposition parties to question whether Taiwan was being treated as a bargaining chip in Washington’s dealings with Beijing. Lai’s speech was designed to close that opening. The address covered the expected ground: sovereignty, cross-strait relations, defense spending,
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