Shame on Lions Clubs International for unilaterally changing the name of the Taiwan chapter from "ROC Lions Clubs International" to "China Taiwan Lions Club." Bravo to the Taiwan chapter for standing up and defending the dignity of the nation.
It is outrageous enough that the chapter's name was changed after more than 50 years and all the contributions made by generations of Lions in Taiwan. The underhanded way in which the name change was done by the Lions Clubs International Board of Directors,without first informing the Taiwan chapter or asking its consent, simply rubbing salt into the wound. The board apparently lacked the backbone to stand up to Chinese pressure and was desperate to accommodate two new chapters in Guangdong and Shenzen.
The conduct of this international organization is completely at odds with its founding ideals -- to establish local business clubs that could "expand [its] horizon from purely business concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large." It is difficult to associate the board's conduct with such beautiful words. How does insulting the 23 million people of Taiwan by downgrading their country into a mere Chinese province accomplish these lofty goals? It is equally baffling how caving into pressure from the politically strong and trampling on the politically weak furthers these goals.
Let's not forget that the organization's conduct directly violates one of its own "Lions International Objects" -- "to provide a forum for the open discussion of all matters of public interest; provided, however, that partisan politics and sectarian religion shall not be debated by club members." By siding with China on the very politicized issue of Taiwan, the Lions could not possibly have been more partisan. They have proven to be nothing more than pussycats. At least the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz knew he lacked courage and wanted to get some. Lions Clubs International doesn't even realize how spineless it is.
The only positive aspect to this disgraceful business is the refusal of the Taiwan chapter to just roll over and die. It has done just about everything possible to rectify the situation, ranging from staging protests and protesting within the organization to filing a lawsuit. These efforts deserve a round of applause. They are proof that not all businesspeople have dollar signs in their eyes.
As a result of the protests, the chapters from Taiwan and China are banned from using membership flags that feature their respective national flags during the organization's annual convention in Osaka, Japan this week. However, the Taiwan chapter alone will be identified solely by the chapter's district number -- MD300.
It is quite obvious that, in its quest to destroy Taiwan's standing in the international arena, China is digging its claws not only into inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but also into social groups. This is a trend not to be ignored, as a central pillar of Taiwan's diplomatic strategy is to seek to expand its international presence through NGOs. If Taiwan cannot defend itself within the realm of NGOs, it will be left with virtually no breathing space in the international community. That is one blow Taiwan cannot afford to take.
It is sad enough to watch foreign business interests and governments kowtow to Beijing's territorial ambitions. Can't non-profit groups that aim to serve others do any better?
On May 7, 1971, Henry Kissinger planned his first, ultra-secret mission to China and pondered whether it would be better to meet his Chinese interlocutors “in Pakistan where the Pakistanis would tape the meeting — or in China where the Chinese would do the taping.” After a flicker of thought, he decided to have the Chinese do all the tape recording, translating and transcribing. Fortuitously, historians have several thousand pages of verbatim texts of Dr. Kissinger’s negotiations with his Chinese counterparts. Paradoxically, behind the scenes, Chinese stenographers prepared verbatim English language typescripts faster than they could translate and type them
More than 30 years ago when I immigrated to the US, applied for citizenship and took the 100-question civics test, the one part of the naturalization process that left the deepest impression on me was one question on the N-400 form, which asked: “Have you ever been a member of, involved in or in any way associated with any communist or totalitarian party anywhere in the world?” Answering “yes” could lead to the rejection of your application. Some people might try their luck and lie, but if exposed, the consequences could be much worse — a person could be fined,
Xiaomi Corp founder Lei Jun (雷軍) on May 22 made a high-profile announcement, giving online viewers a sneak peek at the company’s first 3-nanometer mobile processor — the Xring O1 chip — and saying it is a breakthrough in China’s chip design history. Although Xiaomi might be capable of designing chips, it lacks the ability to manufacture them. No matter how beautifully planned the blueprints are, if they cannot be mass-produced, they are nothing more than drawings on paper. The truth is that China’s chipmaking efforts are still heavily reliant on the free world — particularly on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Last week, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) unveiled the location of Nvidia’s new Taipei headquarters and announced plans to build the world’s first large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer in Taiwan. In Taipei, Huang’s announcement was welcomed as a milestone for Taiwan’s tech industry. However, beneath the excitement lies a significant question: Can Taiwan’s electricity infrastructure, especially its renewable energy supply, keep up with growing demand from AI chipmaking? Despite its leadership in digital hardware, Taiwan lags behind in renewable energy adoption. Moreover, the electricity grid is already experiencing supply shortages. As Taiwan’s role in AI manufacturing expands, it is critical that
RSS