Upon hearing the proposal of PFP Legislator Tsao Yuan-jhang (
Tsao was reported as saying that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait hold common ground on the issue of the Tiaoyutai Islands. How can that possibly be? The response of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was that the islands are part of "Chinese territory." In contrast, the position of the Taiwan government is that the islands belong to the ROC. If the Taiwan government was right, then the only way these islands could also be part of "Chinese territory" would be that both they and Taiwan are Chinese territory -- that is simply untrue.
The ROC government on Taiwan has every right to assert claims over these islands on its own without conceding with respect to the Chinese sovereignty issue. After all, historical records dating as far back as the 1500's to the more recent post-WWII era consistently indicate that these islands have always been treated as accessories to Taiwan. Their disposition was usually treated as a side dish to the disposition of Taiwan. For example, in 1895, after the first Sino-Japanese War, China had ceded both Taiwan and these islands to Japan. In 1940, a jurisdictional dispute had arisen between Taiwan, then still a Japanese colony, and Okinawa over the Tiaoyutai Islands. A Tokyo court ruled in favor of Taiwan at the time. After WWII, again Japan handed over both Taiwan and these islands to the ROC government.
Under the circumstances, the Taiwan government is fully justified in its claim that the Tiaoyutais belong to whomever has a rightful claim over Taiwan. Since the ROC on Taiwan is an independent sovereign country, the Tiaoyutai Islands are obviously part of its sovereign territory.
Reportedly, many pan-blue lawmakers are pushing the government to send troops over to these islands. This is definitely out of the question. For one, thus far, Japan has not taken any military action. It would be highly dangerous and inappropriate to escalate the situation to that level. This is not to mention the fact that any military conflict or even tension between Taiwan and Japan over these islands may just give China an excuse and the golden opportunity for military intervention followed by a military takeover of Taiwan.
It is really funny to hear to some members of the pro-unification camp saying that if no military action is taken against Japan today, tomorrow it may take it upon itself to invade Taiwan. Between China and Japan, China is by far the greater military threat. No matter how much Japan may lust for any oil deposits that may be on or near the Tiaoyutais, it cannot possibly have the slightest interest about taking over Taiwan. For one, it will first have to deal with China, which wants Taiwan for itself, and the US.
The Taiwan government is absolutely right in saying that the matter must be dealt with through diplomatic channels and means. There is no point in acting in haste. After all, Taiwan has a much bigger enemy -- China -- lurking behind its back.
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