The Taipei Times and other newspapers reported that James Soong emphatically stressed in a speech on Sunday to Taiwanese businessmen in Shanghai that "Taiwan independence" is not a choice (or option) for Taiwan.
The next day, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), during a TV interview, criticized Soong, saying, "You can oppose Taiwan independence, but you can't say Taiwan independence is not one of the choices." This debate about whether "Taiwan independence" is or isn't a choice sounds to me like debating whether we have a choice to build the Shihmen Reservoir. This, obviously, isn't a choice, because the reservoir is already there. It's a fact. Taiwan independence is also an indisputable fact, already realized. Taiwan is not ruled by Beijing, or anybody else outside Taiwan for that matter. It is ruled -- now -- by its people, who regularly elect their president and legislature in accordance with a democratic constitution.
Independence has already been achieved in the last 10 years or so. Taiwan's residents should now cherish and defend their independence.
Colman Bernath
Taipei
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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