Taiwan's unprecedented two gold and three silver medals at the Athens Olympics excited the nation as a whole. President Chen Shui-bian (
So, with the Beijing Olympics only four years away, what should Taiwan do? Various approaches are already appearing. Senior presidential advisor Peng Ming-min (
Chen's talk of winning seven gold medals in the Beijing Olympics suggests that Taiwan not only intends to take part in the 2008 Games, but will also send its top athletes to create a stir there. This will certainly heighten international awareness of Taiwan. The country does not have the resources to play tough with China over the cross-strait issue, and any victory will have to be the result of strategic flexibility. There is no hurry on the issue of Taiwan's name. The question of whether or not to go to Beijing is a problem, but there are many variables to deal with in the meantime, and Taiwan has no need to make a snap decision about it.
The private sector in Taiwan is already exploring the possibility of winning the bid to host the Olympics in 2016. This is food for thought for both the government and the public. In competing for this bid, Taiwan will show itself to have a place and status in the international community, earning a higher degree of visibility within it.
Bidding to host the 2016 Olympic Games is a campaign that will require the mobilization of society as a whole. In addition to the participation of the entire sports sector, the assistance of the government and non-governmental organizations will be necessary. The process would also help consolidate Taiwanese unity and stimulate citizens' sense of honor. Of course, China's attitude will be key to a Taiwanese bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
When Beijing was bidding for the 2008 Olympic Games, Taiwan cast its vote of approval, disregarding cross-strait tension. This allowed Beijing to stand out from its major competitors and win the bid. Therefore, this would be the best time for China to return the favor and express its goodwill toward Taiwan.
If China opposes an Olympic bid by Taiwan, the international community and the Taiwanese people will clearly see the true face of Chinese arrogance. But if Beijing supports a Taiwanese bid, and the two countries' teams were to appear side by side in Taipei, it would be the ultimate reflection of the peaceful spirit of the Olympics. The host of the 2016 Olympic Games will be decided prior to the 2008 Olympic Games. Perhaps Taiwan could decide whether to attend the event in Beijing based on China's attitude toward a Taiwanese Olympic bid.
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
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