An open letter to Singapore
This letter is to protest your Taiwan-bashing comments at the UN. There is no reason to say, as your foreign minister did, that an independence platform escalates the tension between Taiwan and China. You even criticize former president Lee Teng-hui's (
I doubt that any reputable nation would have blamed former US president John Kennedy for "escalating tension between Russia and the US" during the Cuban missile crisis.
China has prevented Taiwan from having normal diplomatic relations with other nations or having a say in the community of nations, including access to the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross -- although such access would have been especially useful during the 921Earthquake and last year's SARS outbreak.
I do not understand how you in Singapore can forget your own struggle to break away from Malaysia. Taiwan has shown its tolerance and restraint in the face of the mischief that China has dished out. Since the Republic of China (ROC) fled to Taiwan, the Taiwanese people accepted the new immigrants and most Chinese have accepted Taiwan as well, although indigenous languages and identity were suppressed. Human rights for all did not exist. President Chen Shui-bian (
Nevertheless, the Taiwanese people threw off the shackles of the old totalitarian regime to create a democracy. Taiwan has more to contribute to the world in this regard. Indeed, Taiwan even assists in your nation's military training.
With friends like you, Singapore, it must be hard for Chen -- and the Taiwanese people -- to tell friend from foe.
Rao Kok-sia
Boston
Mark Chen has got a pair
Foreign Affairs Minister Mark Chen (
Chen minister is the most courageous foreign minister since the one who presided over the ROC's dismissal from the UN in 1971.
Ken Huang
Memphis, Tennessee
Congratulations to China’s working class — they have officially entered the “Livestock Feed 2.0” era. While others are still researching how to achieve healthy and balanced diets, China has already evolved to the point where it does not matter whether you are actually eating food, as long as you can swallow it. There is no need for cooking, chewing or making decisions — just tear open a package, add some hot water and in a short three minutes you have something that can keep you alive for at least another six hours. This is not science fiction — it is reality.
A foreign colleague of mine asked me recently, “What is a safe distance from potential People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s (PLARF) Taiwan targets?” This article will answer this question and help people living in Taiwan have a deeper understanding of the threat. Why is it important to understand PLA/PLARF targeting strategy? According to RAND analysis, the PLA’s “systems destruction warfare” focuses on crippling an adversary’s operational system by targeting its networks, especially leadership, command and control (C2) nodes, sensors, and information hubs. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, noted in his 15 May 2025 Sedona Forum keynote speech that, as
In a world increasingly defined by unpredictability, two actors stand out as islands of stability: Europe and Taiwan. One, a sprawling union of democracies, but under immense pressure, grappling with a geopolitical reality it was not originally designed for. The other, a vibrant, resilient democracy thriving as a technological global leader, but living under a growing existential threat. In response to rising uncertainties, they are both seeking resilience and learning to better position themselves. It is now time they recognize each other not just as partners of convenience, but as strategic and indispensable lifelines. The US, long seen as the anchor
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
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