An evolution of ties
After President Chen Shui-Bian (
I think that period could be instructive. President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) has recently asserted that China's self-unifying expansion is historically inevitable. I can accept its inevitability but its terms are still unclear. China's expansions into Tibet, Eastern Russia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Macau and the South China Sea have been driven as much by the need for land and resources as for the purpose of national defense.
But China's desire to annex Taiwan has created a situation in which both sides are rejecting traditional solutions. Taiwan rejects the traditional solution of being a province of China. China rejects the traditional solution of Taiwan being a sovereign state.
These rejections leave us with a situation much like the silence after the election; no one has a name for the way the situation is evolving. Perhaps this is the best state of affairs. Perhaps, regardless of the uncertainty over Taiwan's future, Taiwan and China are pioneering a new form of international relations.
I would like to make several suggestions: One, all parties to the dispute agree to disagree. Two, all parties to the dispute stop trying to put one name or one formula on the situation. Three, all parties to the dispute agree that evolution rather than war is the best process for resolving the dispute. Four, all parties to the dispute put as much energy as possible into the myriad constructive links that are moving Taiwan and China slowly toward a workable future together.
David Cornberg
Taipei
Bad treatment by Japan
Taiwanese residing in Japan are compelled by Tokyo to have their nationality registered as "Chinese." For years, many Taiwanese have requested the Immigration Bureau to correct it to "Taiwanese," only to be ignored, or even rudely humiliated. This has been a major insult and a cause of pain for people from Taiwan living in Japan. Taiwan's dignity has also been crassly trampled upon by the Japanese government.
For that reason we launched an all-out protest in Japan
yesterday against the Japanese government's false recording of nationality. We will demand that our nationality be corrected as "Taiwanese." Meanwhile, we will appeal to the Japanese people, media and politicians and seek support from all sides.
We hereby call on our fellow Taiwanese to show their concern over the issue by lodging protests with Japan's representative office in Taipei, the Interchange Association (
Let's fight together for the dignity of Taiwanese in Japan.
Lin Chien-liang
Chairman, Taiwanese Association in Japan
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