On Wednesday, Zhang Mingqing (
Missile exercises during the 1996 campaign; saber-rattling comments by then-premier Zhu Rongji (
This year, enraged by President Chen Shui-bian's (
Then there is the fact that Beijing has turned a blind eye to the recent grand opening of a pan-blue campaign headquarters in Shanghai -- which, coincidentally, is right next to the Taiwan Affairs Office building. It is hard to believe that Beijing didn't know what was going on -- after all, Chinese authorities keep a tight leash on all political activities. How could Beijing not have realized that a group of Taiwanese businesspeople -- many of whom are not only wanted fugitives in Taiwan but are well connected with high-ranking Chinese officials -- were establishing a campaign office?
On Wednesday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
Even more interesting is the way the Taiwan Affairs Office was so quick to deny any attempt to meddle in the election, and the Shanghai authorities' ban on campaigning after the KMT came under attack in Taiwan for its election-related activities in China. Since when has Beijing ever cared about criticism from Taiwan? The only possible explanation is that it does not want to be seen to be doing anything that might negatively impact Lien's campaign. Under the circumstances, despite the pan-blue's denials, it is obvious that Beijing favors Lien.
The bird flu outbreak at US dairy farms keeps finding alarming new ways to surprise scientists. Last week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that H5N1 is spreading not just from birds to herds, but among cows. Meanwhile, media reports say that an unknown number of cows are asymptomatic. Although the risk to humans is still low, it is clear that far more work needs to be done to get a handle on the reach of the virus and how it is being transmitted. That would require the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
On April 11, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a speech at a joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington, in which he said that “China’s current external stance and military actions present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge … to the peace and stability of the international community.” Kishida emphasized Japan’s role as “the US’ closest ally.” “The international order that the US worked for generations to build is facing new challenges,” Kishida said. “I understand it is a heavy burden to carry such hopes on your shoulders,” he said. “Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder
Former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) used to push for reforms to protect Taiwan by adopting the “three noes” policy as well as “Taiwanization.” Later, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) wished to save the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) by pushing for the party’s “localization,” hoping to compete with homegrown political parties as a pro-Taiwan KMT. However, the present-day members of the KMT do not know what they are talking about, and do not heed the two former presidents’ words, so the party has suffered a third consecutive defeat in the January presidential election. Soon after gaining power with the help of the KMT’s