President Chen Shui-bian (
China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in its battle against independence and democracy, claimed in a statement on May 17 that "if Taiwan's leaders should move to provoke major incidents of `Taiwanese independence,' the Chinese people will crush their schemes firmly and thoroughly at any cost."
In response to Chen's speech, Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesman Zhang Mingqing (
Although it has been nearly seven years since Hong Kong's handover to China, the people of Hong Kong are increasingly displeased at its deteriorating economy, as well as Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's (
Even more oddly, in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, China's Department of National Security accused Taiwan of using overseas dissidents to collect information through family and friends in China, as well as helping to organize a Chinese opposition party abroad. There seem to be some inconsistencies in the timing, location and people involved, however. The directors of Taiwan's intelligence and cross-strait affairs agencies have denied these claims. This is clearly an attempt by Beijing to kill two birds with one stone: to attack overseas organizations of Chinese dissidents and tarnish Taiwan's image.
China's measures against independence and democracy are familiar to many people in Taiwan. During the period of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule, communists, advocates of Taiwanese independence and people "outside the party" were viewed as a "three-in-one" enemy. The KMT's high-pressure tactics forced many democracy advocates into exile. Although these hateful methods delayed the emergence of democracy in Taiwan, they also strengthened democratic ideology so that it was able to respond more powerfully when its time came.
The KMT, which seemed set to rule for 10,000 years, has now been pushed out of office through a popular election which placed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in power in its stead.
China should study the path taken by Taiwan's democracy, which has become immune to tyrannical methods through its experience with the KMT. If China's senior government officials think they can continue to threaten their citizens in China and Hong Kong, they should take a look at what has happened to the KMT, to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe's communist regimes. The democratic spirit expressed in the phrase "the needs of the people are always in my mind," is the best way to deal with the threat of separatism.
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:
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
Liberals have wasted no time in pointing to Karol Nawrocki’s lack of qualifications for his new job as president of Poland. He has never previously held political office. He won by the narrowest of margins, with 50.9 percent of the vote. However, Nawrocki possesses the one qualification that many national populists value above all other: a taste for physical strength laced with violence. Nawrocki is a former boxer who still likes to go a few rounds. He is also such an enthusiastic soccer supporter that he reportedly got the logos of his two favorite teams — Chelsea and Lechia Gdansk —
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