While the US and Japan are busy expressing their concern over China's "anti-secession" legislation, the EU's silence leaves one to wonder if the union has disappeared from the face of the earth -- or has become the paid-for lackey of the autocrats in Beijing.
The past few years have shown us that the EU is partial to China when it comes to the cross-strait issue, believing that its business interests are best served by kowtowing to Beijing. It is also clear that the EU's desire to be seen as a competitor of the US in the international political arena has overwhelmed its common sense.
If it wants to be taken seriously in world affairs, then the EU might consider adopting some of the mannerisms of a serious player. It might consider being pragmatic, rather than simply posturing like a vain peacock.
The EU should remember that Taiwan has a larger population than two-thirds of the world's countries, and that its economy is bigger than many of the EU member states' economies. So if the EU wants to opt out of the market and leave the US and Japan to do business with Taiwan, then good luck to it.
Europe was the center of world power prior to the rise of the US, and the founding of the EU has given Europe the chance to rise to the position of global leadership once again.
But the irony is that the EU is failing to exhibit any of the traits of leadership. It cares nothing about the security situation in Asia nor about China's neglect of human rights. Instead, the EU is colluding with China, and the two even appear to be treating the US as their joint enemy. This has meant that the EU is ready to sacrifice Taiwan -- a stable democracy -- simply to differentiate itself from the US and pander to China.
How pathetic.
The details of the "anti-secession" law that were released on Tuesday show that Beijing regards Taiwan as an issue which is a remnant of the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the KMT.
This is wrong.
In 1683, the Qing general Shi Lang (
Taiwan has had a hodgepodge of invaders and imperial conquerors, and its people are a diverse reflection of the land's long history as a strategic crossroads.
So wherein lies the legitimacy of China's claim to sovereignty over Taiwan?
The only masters of Taiwan are the people of Taiwan.
The EU should recognize that being a force in the international political arena brings responsibilities, not just benefits.
How sad that after the hand-wringing rhetoric of some EU members in the build-up to the war in Iraq, that those same members are now glibly trying to justify selling advanced weapons to China.
The bureaucrats in Brussels need to open their eyes.
China wants advanced weapons to fight a war, and it wants an "anti-secession" law to legitimize that war.
Is this what the EU supports?
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association. Signed in February 2024, the MOU stipulates that Taipei would decide the number of migrant workers and which industries would employ them, while New Delhi would manage recruitment and training. Employment would be governed by the laws of both countries. Months after its signing, the two sides agreed that 1,000 migrant workers from India would
In recent weeks, Taiwan has witnessed a surge of public anxiety over the possible introduction of Indian migrant workers. What began as a policy signal from the Ministry of Labor quickly escalated into a broader controversy. Petitions gathered thousands of signatures within days, political figures issued strong warnings, and social media became saturated with concerns about public safety and social stability. At first glance, this appears to be a straightforward policy question: Should Taiwan introduce Indian migrant workers or not? However, this framing is misleading. The current debate is not fundamentally about India. It is about Taiwan’s labor system, its
Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as US President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government would formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World War II, Japan spends enough on its own
On March 31, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released declassified diplomatic records from 1995 that drew wide domestic media attention. One revelation stood out: North Korea had once raised the possibility of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In a meeting with visiting Chinese officials in May 1995, as then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) prepared for a visit to South Korea, North Korean officials objected to Beijing’s growing ties with Seoul and raised Taiwan directly. According to the newly released records, North Korean officials asked why Pyongyang should refrain from developing relations with Taiwan while China and South Korea were expanding high-level
RSS