Kennedy misses the mark
Some time ago your columnist Brian Kennedy wrote a surreal column attacking the burning of ghost money because of the fire risk involved. At the time I attributed his dereliction of duty and gross contempt of a deeply-felt religious practice of Taiwanese people to a fit of pique.
But his column ("`Soft talk, big stick' the only policy," Sept. 13, page 8) confirms my suspicions and seriously compromises Kennedy's claim to human rights advocacy.
Apart from the ludicrousness of quoting that classic anti-establishment figure, Malcolm X, in rhetorically framing future US-sanctioned violence in response to this week's events Kennedy dares to salute Israel for its conduct in recent years, conduct which has included the legalized torture of criminal suspects. He also regards that state as "an example well worth following" in dealing with security matters. This is a recipe for unending catastrophe. What's next, Brian? A pat on the back and a bouquet for Ariel Sharon?
Suicidal terrorists are fueled by righteous indignation and their belief in pursuing a cause to death is the reason why they are so profoundly dangerous. The weapons they can now carry are microscopic, and can cause human damage in numbers exponentially greater than that experienced in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
So, without understanding the complexity of world conflict, without noting the enduring lack of interest of Americans in the conduct of their government overseas and without cooperation from most Islamic and Arab states, it is hard to see how any amount of future US government chest-thumping will prevent these and future terrorists from doing this all over again.
Averting future tragedy on a colossal scale requires wisdom at every level, not just that relating to intelligence collection and dropping smart bombs. As we enter a new era of insecurity and sorrow, Kennedy would do well to read the admirably sober Taipei Times editorial accompanying his article and try to transcend sloganeering and name-dropping.
Martin Williams
Taipei
We must fight hatred
The horrific terrorist attacks in the US are a poignant warning to human civilization. What is the aim of civilization? If we are guided by hatred, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for our exploration of civilization. I was shocked, like others. Do we have enough modern tools to eliminate hatred and improve the lives of all humans?
The US is not alone in its tragic encounter. The elites all over the world should together think up a way to handle our real enemy: hatred. Terrorists have become the cheap, horrific alternative to atomic weapons.
Ni Kuojung
Hsinchu City
No `old immigrants'
I read Taitzer Wang's (
However, I'd like to point out his use of the misleading terms "old and new immigrants." There can be only new immigrants, not old ones. The offspring of new immigrants are all natives, just as my parents are new immigrants from Taiwan but I am a native-born American. I am not an immigrant in any normal sense of the word. It has been my understanding that the Aboriginals and those who were born in Taiwan are all native Taiwanese, and only those who were born in China and later came to Taiwan are immigrants.
Tessa Hildebrand
Littleton, Colorado
`Jihad' is misunderstood
It was quite surprising how Chen Shin-min (
Being a Muslim, I've never come across jihad being used for the purpose of "spreading the teachings of Allah."
Sure, it may be about the protection of religion but it is more about the protection of national populations, protection of land resources and ensuring that the country exists in peace.
Jihad can only be applied in a country where the main religion is Islam and the law is based on the Shariah, which is Islamic law. To "spread the teachings of Islam," the fundamental rule in Islam is not to inflict pain or cause massacres.
Muslims are not allowed to "Bible-thump" or bribe a person into religion because it is a sin to do so. The reason for this is that to do so is to insult Islam rather than promote it. This is clearly documented.
If Muslim countries were intolerant of other religions then why do I see churches, synagogues and temples in those countries?
Jihad is clearly what the declaration of war is today. Any outside force that decides to come in, cause massacres and force you to change your beliefs, then that country has the right to declare a Jihad, which, trans-lated, means "struggle."
Yahya Saeed
Birmingham, UK
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US