In the world of sport, Japan has come up against both Taiwan and China recently, competing against the latter in the Asian Cup soccer and against the former in baseball at the Athens Olympics. The Japanese teams won on both occasions, but the reactions of the Taiwanese and Chinese fans were in complete contrast. Chinese fans, driven by nationalist sentiment, caused riots, while Taiwanese fans recognized the outstanding performance of their rival, but still felt proud of their achievement.
The reactions to the results of these competitions reflect the general attitudes and socialization on the two sides of the Strait. Japan's soccer and baseball teams are clearly stronger than those of Taiwan or China. That is simply a fact, and the Taiwanese people are able to make a rational judgment about this. Although we hope to see Taiwan win, we do not become emotional and irrational if we do not.
However, the Chinese government, the soccer association and the Chinese media have stirred up nationalism among their people. As a result, the public's emotions could hardly be controlled. This led to attacks on the Japanese team's bus and harassment of its fans.
This difference in the two societies is reflected in their contrasting policies and manner of dealing with the cross-strait issue. Due to the power struggle between Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Premier Yu Shyi-kun's recent comments in New York about China being a "source of chaos" threatening world peace come as no surprise. Government reports indicate that Chinese surveillance ships sailed close to Japanese territorial waters 14 times last year and seven times this year. This threatening behavior has caused considerable unease in Japan. Surveillance ships have also sailed "numerous times" off Taiwan's east coast. In his speech, Yu pointed out that by pushing its surveillance further into the Pacific Ocean, China aims to break through the encirclement of the island chain that stretches from Japan to Taiwan and the Philippines, to project force directly into the Pacific and directly confront the US there. This is a considerable threat to peace in Asia.
The threat of China's military force is not only Taiwan's problem. It also affects Japan, Korea and southeast Asia. Though they all feel the heat, they can only swallow their anger. Even Singapore has bowed before the punitive diplomatic and economic moves made against it after Lee Hsien Loong (
If members of the international community, due to their own selfish concerns, continue to allow China to act against its neighbors with impunity, they will be fostering the creation of a tyrannical regime akin to the Nazis.
China's popular sentiment, political structure and military deployments have become a threat to peace and security in Asia. If the international community does not protest Beijing's immoderate language and actions, they will be a party to this ominous development.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
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