China recently proposed drawing up an "anti-secession" law, which is basically a unification law. The target of this law is Taiwan.
For many years now, each side of the Taiwan Strait has developed in their own way, one as a free country and the other as an authoritarian one.
Those in Taiwan who oppose China's attempts to achieve hegemony have called for the formulation of an "anti-annexation" law, and six delegations have been planned to explain to people in the US, Asia and Europe that China is using the law against Taiwan, and that in doing so it is altering the status quo and putting regional peace at risk.
A few days ago, Taiwan and China came to an agreement over charter flights for the Lunar New Year. These are direct transport links in all but name. Despite the fact that China still has 600 missiles targeting Taiwan, and that it is drawing up an anti-secession law to wage a war against Taiwan through legal means, both the government and the opposition are delighted with the deal. With this kind of attitude, how can we even talk about opposing the anti-secession law? China has consistently insisted that the flights are "domestic," which is just a consequence of their "one China" principle.
In the past, political figures who called for protecting the Republic of China have now shifted from opposing the People's Republic of China to toadying up to it. They have recognized a thief as their father, and even go so far as to declare "long live [Chinese President] Hu Jintao (
Reports indicate that there are now over 67,000 Chinese spies operating in Taiwan. Even as the US is increasing its support for Taiwan, we ourselves are failing to be self-reliant, and instead are willing to flirt with Beijing. This is degrading.
From former president Lee Teng-hui's (
Taiwan must choose between becoming self-reliant or becoming slaves of a communist regime. In his book How We Lost the Vietnam War, former prime minister of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Cau Ky said that his regime's defeat was a crime committed by the US. But in fact, the former Republic of Vietnam must bear considerable responsibility for the defeat. Even with all the manpower and the material support the US provided, the South Vietnamese government was unable to become self-reliant. This is what brought about their defeat.
Rampant defeatism and the opposition's rejection of the US arms bill has led the US to doubt Taiwan's commitment to holding off an invasion. Now, with calls for "three links," Lee's "no haste, be patient" approach has been abandoned in favor of a "go west" policy.
This has been called "efficient management," but it is all hot air. For all we are doing is strengthening China's economy at the expense of our own, and helping them build missiles that can be used to target us. We will get what we deserve.
In the face of China's anti-secession law, all politicians -- whatever their affiliation -- should think deeply about the nation's future and not fall victim to dangerous illusions.
Tseng Chao-chang is chairman of the National Bar Association
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
With each passing day, the threat of a People’s Republic of China (PRC) assault on Taiwan grows. Whatever one’s view about the history, there is essentially no question that a PRC conquest of Taiwan would mark the end of the autonomy and freedom enjoyed by the island’s 23 million people. Simply put, the PRC threat to Taiwan is genuinely existential for a free, democratic and autonomous Taiwan. Yet one might not know it from looking at Taiwan. For an island facing a threat so acute, lethal and imminent, Taiwan is showing an alarming lack of urgency in dramatically strengthening its defenses.
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US
I still remember the first time I heard about the possibility of an invasion by China. I was six years old. I thought war was coming and hid in my bed, scared. After 18 years, the invasion news tastes like a sandwich I eat every morning. As a Gen Z Taiwanese student who has witnessed China’s harassment for more than 20 years, I want to share my opinion on China. Every generation goes through different events. I have seen not only the norms of China’s constant presence, but also the Sunflower movement, wars and people fighting over peace or equality,