The suicide of taxi driver Chen Tsai-fu (
What added to the anxiety the Peng Wan-ju case caused was that it came just days after the murder of Taoyuan county commissioner Liu Pang-you (
As for the Liu and Peng killings, since the police announced late yesterday that blood and fingerprint evidence showed that the hapless Chen was not Peng's killer, both cases remain unsolved.
The Liu-Peng-Pai cases were interpreted by many as showing that society was becoming unacceptably violent and dangerous. Eventually massive demonstrations occurred demanding the ouster of Lien Chan(
Yesterday's brief resurrection of the Peng case served to remind us of the absurd gestures that Taiwan cops seem prepared to make to prove they are on top of high profile cases. The problem is that when they don't follow through on these promises, as they invariably don't, they compound the impression of bad police work by appearing to have a regrettable lack of personal integrity. And if the top cops can't be trusted, what can be said about the small fry? The problem these cases showed up two years ago was how unprofessional Taiwan's police were since the force, for 40 years under martial law an adjunct to the military, was versed almost entirely in crowd and traffic control. What worries us is that, as these cases are now almost forgotten, so is the need for change.
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 Province, 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