As a taxpayer, I would very much like to know whether there is a specific person in Taiwan in charge of correcting and responding to the statements, news and announcements broadcast on the official Web site of China's Taiwan Affairs Office. If not, I strongly insist on building a mechanism to do this. If there's already someone in a position paid to do such things, we'd like for him or her to do the job -- if not well, at least not this errantly.
After the media reports on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) visit in China, there is a rosy picture of the China-Taiwan relations, which were devastated by the "Anti-Secession" Law. Two of the headlines were "CPC [Chinese Communist Party] Taiwan Work Office, KMT delegation hold talks" and "Top adviser calls for earlier reunification." I exerted all my efforts trying to find the relevant statement by our officials to correct these deliberate distortions. But to no avail -- there was no coverage at all.
We all know how difficult it is to battle with China in the global arena -- politically, economically and diplomatically. But is having people do their job too much to ask? All we want is our own statement from an equal level, such as an official institution, to clear up this intentional ambiguity.
Tell me, what's wrong with our national apparatus? Why isn't our national apparatus working, while China is distributing messages and news that jeopardizes our existence, both in the present and future? There is no equivalent clarification while China is foisting its nebulous language on the international arena. We want our own statements to also be heard in the international arena.
Looking at the political spectrum in Taiwan, we know there are plenty of different opinions in Taiwan's political climate. Despite having different standpoints and ideas, we respect the right of free speech! However we can't be deprived of our own right of speech by someone who poses as being a delegation on our behalf. Lien stands for his own party and the advocates of the party -- no more, no less. That's only one of the colors of the spectrum.
Lien was appointed by no one! We don't want to be represented by Lien, who is nothing but a chairperson of a party. The people of Taiwan, will never put our trust in him. He is not there to communicate the will of the people in Taiwan nor the message of "earlier reunification."
Rudy Chen
Belgium
A failure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to respond to Israel’s brilliant 12-day (June 12-23) bombing and special operations war against Iran, topped by US President Donald Trump’s ordering the June 21 bombing of Iranian deep underground nuclear weapons fuel processing sites, has been noted by some as demonstrating a profound lack of resolve, even “impotence,” by China. However, this would be a dangerous underestimation of CCP ambitions and its broader and more profound military response to the Trump Administration — a challenge that includes an acceleration of its strategies to assist nuclear proxy states, and developing a wide array
Eating at a breakfast shop the other day, I turned to an old man sitting at the table next to mine. “Hey, did you hear that the Legislative Yuan passed a bill to give everyone NT$10,000 [US$340]?” I said, pointing to a newspaper headline. The old man cursed, then said: “Yeah, the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] canceled the NT$100 billion subsidy for Taiwan Power Co and announced they would give everyone NT$10,000 instead. “Nice. Now they are saying that if electricity prices go up, we can just use that cash to pay for it,” he said. “I have no time for drivel like
Young supporters of former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) were detained for posting the names and photographs of judges and prosecutors believed to be overseeing the Core Pacific City redevelopment corruption case. The supporters should be held responsible for their actions. As for Ko’s successor, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), he should reflect on whether his own comments are provocative and whether his statements might be misunderstood. Huang needs to apologize to the public and the judiciary. In the article, “Why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?” the late political commentator Nan Fang Shuo (南方朔) wrote
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) reportedly told the EU’s top diplomat that China does not want Russia to lose in Ukraine, because the US could shift its focus to countering Beijing. Wang made the comment while meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on July 2 at the 13th China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue in Brussels, the South China Morning Post and CNN reported. Although contrary to China’s claim of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, such a frank remark suggests Beijing might prefer a protracted war to keep the US from focusing on