Every time the president visits one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, opposition parties invariably grumble about "money diplomacy." It's as if they are afraid no one will believe they are protecting the taxpayers' money if they aren't accusing the government of going on a spending spree.
If Taipei has had to depend on money diplomacy to maintain relations with its current roster of 28 allies, it is highly unlikely that China could have enticed some of Taiwan's former allies away without spending any money. After all, Beijing has used money as a diplomatic tool far longer than Taipei has -- look at the 1860km-long Tanzania-Zambia Railway that it built between 1968 and 1976.
Opposition parties should know that Taiwan's diplomatic relations belong not just to the ruling party, but rather to the state and the entire people. Taiwan needs visibility on the world stage; it needs to maintain diplomatic relations with an adequate number of countries in order to maintain that visibility. The president therefore has to visiting allies and spend some money overseas.
Politicians who ridicule the nation's allies as "places where not even birds would lay eggs" should not only dismiss any dreams they might have of becoming president but should first apologize to those they have insulted. They are also completely missing the point with their penny-pinching and nit-picking and succeed only in making themselves appear ridiculous.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
Taiwan is moving toward greater transparency in its foreign policy and investment proposals. Opposition lawmakers need to do their homework more carefully, instead of launching inane and unfounded attacks aimed solely at grabbing headlines or political power. It seems as if they are trying to reduce the roster of allies even further, driving friendly nations into China's arms, since they appear willing to stop at nothing to attack the president's reputation and damage the diplomatic relations.
Once again the KMT and PFP have proven that they are the main obstacles to the nation's economic and diplomatic development -- even bigger obstacles than Beijing, with its constant effort to denigrate and intimidate Taiwan.
Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in late February. During their various meetings with Taiwan’s leaders, this delegation never missed an opportunity to emphasize the strength of their cross-party consensus on issues relating to Taiwan and China. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Their instruction upon taking the reins of the committee was to preserve China issues as a last bastion of bipartisanship in an otherwise deeply divided Washington. They have largely upheld their pledge. But in doing so, they have performed the
It is well known that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ambition is to rejuvenate the Chinese nation by unification of Taiwan, either peacefully or by force. The peaceful option has virtually gone out of the window with the last presidential elections in Taiwan. Taiwanese, especially the youth, are resolved not to be part of China. With time, this resolve has grown politically stronger. It leaves China with reunification by force as the default option. Everyone tells me how and when mighty China would invade and overpower tiny Taiwan. However, I have rarely been told that Taiwan could be defended to
It should have been Maestro’s night. It is hard to envision a film more Oscar-friendly than Bradley Cooper’s exploration of the life and loves of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. It was a prestige biopic, a longtime route to acting trophies and more (see Darkest Hour, Lincoln, and Milk). The film was a music biopic, a subgenre with an even richer history of award-winning films such as Ray, Walk the Line and Bohemian Rhapsody. What is more, it was the passion project of cowriter, producer, director and actor Bradley Cooper. That is the kind of multitasking -for-his-art overachievement that Oscar
Chinese villages are being built in the disputed zone between Bhutan and China. Last month, Chinese settlers, holding photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), moved into their new homes on land that was not Xi’s to give. These residents are part of the Chinese government’s resettlement program, relocating Tibetan families into the territory China claims. China shares land borders with 15 countries and sea borders with eight, and is involved in many disputes. Land disputes include the ones with Bhutan (Doklam plateau), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin) and Nepal (near Dolakha and Solukhumbu districts). Maritime disputes in the South China