A name to be proud of
Reasonable people, including the US president, will never consider Taiwan's using its own name as provocative ("Nervous nellies or diplomats?," Mar. 1, page 12). Besides, the US has had "American Institute in Tai-wan" for years, while the rest of the world calls the island nation of Taiwan "Taiwan." Unfortu-nately Taiwan calls itself something else. The name is inflated to ROC or deflated to "Taipei" or "Chinese Taipei."
The name that fits the size of Taiwan is "Taiwan."
When President Chen Shui-bian (
It's time to normalize our country's name to "Taiwan" throughout the world. A true name without a footnote is the first step for Taiwan to speak smoothly in the world.
It's also time to change "Passport issued in Taiwan" to "Taiwan Passport" so that the people of Taiwan can travel easily, without having to make explanations.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
The price of a bad move
There has been a surge reported in the number young people petitioning the Taiwan government to recognize their degrees from universities and schools in China. I can't help wondering what a dilemma this must be for the parents of these young people, who years ago, against government advice, decided to moving their capital and busi-nesses from Taiwan to China under the impression that such a move was their last chance to strike it rich.
This business migration to China undoubtedly contributed to the hollowing out of Taiwan's capital and exerted extra pressure that contributed to the downward spiral of Taiwan's economy and the accompanying rise in the unemployment rate. Ironically, what migrated businesspeople once deemed their best business decision is now jeopardizing the future of their own children.
This unfortunate drama should serve as a wakeup call to anyone who is thinking of shifting their business across the Strait -- think twice before you leap.
Ching H. Li
Jersey City, New Jersey
China's stage-management
Hsu Tung-ming's (
Just as communists are not representatives of the Chinese people, Bush's audience was not representative of the entire Tsinghua student body. It may have been even worse.
The Tsinghua audience was carefully selected and the questions had to be authorized in advance, something the media in the US and Taiwan should make clear every time the event is mentioned. Then the picture becomes very clear why the students asked the questions they did and what they expected of the answer.
Another important aspect of Bush's speech was his mention of Chinese textbooks. What these books say about the US is intentionally misleading and they teach hatred. Such books, together with the Chinese media's promotion of violence and hatred towards US and Taiwan, show exactly what a terrorist state will do and why a terrorist state becomes what it is.
Chen Ming-chung
Chicago, Illinois
Time to scuttle commission
I congratulate the Cabinet for its timely decision to scrap the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs commission ("Commission gets the boot from Cabinet" Mar. 4, page 1). Such a step is long overdue, given that Mongolia is a member of the UN and is recognized by over 140 countries.
The Tibetan government-in-exile headed by the Dalai Lama does not recognize the commission nor does it appreciate the commission's activities. The existence of the commission has been a stumbling block to improved relations between Taiwan and Tibetans. I urge the Cabinet to take immediate steps to abolish the commission and make necessary amendments to our Constitution.
Anita Tseng
Taipei
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under