As a Singaporean, I found it fitting that new Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (
Our Taiwanese friends should not regard Lee's comments in a negative way. After all, at no time did Lee express any regrets over his four-day visit to Taipei last month. He merely regretted that such a visit caused some hiccups in Singapore-China relations. Also it should be noted that Lee never apologized to China for visiting Taiwan.
It is evident that Lee felt his visit to Taiwan was necessary. I believe many Singaporeans, including myself, supported the prime minister's visit. It would have been absurd for Lee to cancel the visit just because Beijing opposed it. Singapore is not a state of China and if it was to succumb to China's unreasonable demands, it would have cast a doubt over the sovereignty of the nation. Singapore is a small city-state but our integrity and sovereignty will never be compromised as a result of threats from a major power.
Having followed the cross-straits issue since 1999, I share the sentiments of Presidential Office General Su Tseng-chang (
On Lee's remarks that "Singapore would not support Taiwan if the it provoked a cross-strait conflict," I wonder what, then, the position of my country's leadership would be if a conflict is provoked by China? I believe Lee is merely urging Taiwan's government to be responsible in maintaining a cool and passive stance.
Lee probably meant well when he indicated that the Taiwanese media generally has a localized approach. Based on experience of Taiwan, I would say that I share that observation. The perception from the international community is that the Taiwanese people are more interested in which celebrity is dating which, rather than the latest news from Iraq. This is where the media plays a crucial role. Credit should be awarded to some media organizations which not only cover local and entertainment news. One example of this is the Taipei Times, which I read online daily. I hope the Taiwanese people would adopt a more globalized outlook and be wary of international events. Su's graciousness ad humility (and probably that of Chen's administration) is exemplified by his willingness to study Lee's overall observations about Taiwanese society and its politics and then seek to amend the mistakes if what Lee said is true.
In a way, I feel that the ball is in now China's court. They should adopt a more proactive approach to improving cross-straits relations. A strategy of `give and take' is inevitable if both sides are to benefit. While I am not optimistic of such an approach by Beijing in the near future, I am optimistic that relations between Singapore and Taiwan will be maintained at their warm, cordial level.
I sense that continuous levels of cultural, economic, political and educational exchanges between the two countries would benefit both Singapore and Taiwan.
Jason Lee Boon Hong
Singapore
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
Taiwan ranks second globally in terms of share of population with a higher-education degree, with about 60 percent of Taiwanese holding a post-secondary or graduate degree, a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed. The findings are consistent with Ministry of the Interior data, which showed that as of the end of last year, 10.602 million Taiwanese had completed post-secondary education or higher. Among them, the number of women with graduate degrees was 786,000, an increase of 48.1 percent over the past decade and a faster rate of growth than among men. A highly educated population brings clear advantages.
In the opening remarks of her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) framed her visit as a historic occasion. In his own remarks, Xi had also emphasized the history of the relationship between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Where they differed was that Cheng’s account, while flawed by its omissions, at least partially corresponded to reality. The meeting was certainly historic, albeit not in the way that Cheng and Xi were signaling, and not from the perspective
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