Former US president Ronald Reagan passed away on June 5 and the following day was the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Two major news items, but a single theme: freedom.
Reagan was a hero in the battle against communism; during his two terms as president in the 1980s, he led the free world in a determined fight against communism and bravely declared the Soviet Union to be an "evil empire." He also called on former Soviet presient Mikhail Gorbachev, saying: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this [Berlin] wall." He did not shrink from shouldering the moral burden of being a leader of the free world. He was resolute in the face of threats from the communist camp and undeterred by the obstruction of the political left in the West. He upheld his principles and ideas, emerging as a victor of the Cold War, and impelled the collapse of communism in Europe and around the world. As for the Normandy landings, they were the beginning of the end of World War II and a means of destroying the Nazis.
After the imbecilic Democratic president Jimmy Carter established diplomatic relations with China, Taiwan found itself facing hard times. Not long after, Reagan defeated Carter by a wide margin and took over the White House.
The resolute anti-communist was concerned for Taiwan's safety and in his second year as president (1982), he gave the famous "six assurances" to Taiwan, in which he promised to set no date for the termination of arms sales to Taiwan, and that the US would not consult with China over such sales; that the Taiwan Relations Act would not be altered; and that the US would not formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan. These principles have long protected Taiwan's safety. That subsequent US administrations have been able to assist and protect Taiwan is largely the result of the policy foundation established by Reagan.
It was Reagan's unwavering adherence to his principles, his insistence on moral values that won him the love of the American people. And it is not just the American people. The people of Eastern Europe freed from communist tyranny after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and those all over the world who were freed with the rollback of communism, all feel gratitude to this leader of the free world. He was not only a "guardian of Taiwan," but he was also a "guardian of liberty," and in this role he will be remembered and missed by freedom-loving people all over the world.
Cao Chang-ching is a writer based in the US.
TRANSLATED BY Ian Bartholomew
The White House’s decision to take a 9.9 percent stake in Intel Corp is looking like very shrewd business indeed. Since the government bought in at US$20.47 a share last August, the US chipmaker’s surging stock price has delivered the US a US$43 billion return. One of the reasons the investment has so far proved so sound is that the White House has made sure of it. According to The Wall Street Journal, Howard personally pushed deals on Intel’s behalf with some of the most lucrative clients imaginable. They include Nvidia Corp, the company at the heart of the AI
A single photograph can cut through a lot of noise, but it can also be used to misrepresent the truth. At the very least, it can concentrate the mind on something that requires further investigation. On Monday last week, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) and former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) held a news conference in which they showed a photograph of former foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), now Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy chairman. In the image Hsiao is seated next to Xiamen Taiwan Businessmen Association chairman Han Ying-huan (韓螢煥). The two men were holding
I first met Professor Ray Jiing (井迎瑞) as a film and documentary student at Shih Hsin University’s (SHU) Department of Radio Television and Film in 1988. The following year, he went on to become the director of the Chinese Taipei Film Archive — forerunner of the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI). Over his eight-year tenure, Jiing rescued and restored over 200 classic Taiwanese films. In 1997, he established the Graduate Institute of Studies in Documentary and Film Archiving at Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA), and I joined the program in his third cohort of students. Beyond a
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
RSS