Taiwan lifted martial law many years ago, but the pan-blue media, which represent the feudal forces, apparently have not lifted their martial law. Over the past few days, many foreigners who witnessed the martial-law era were back in Taiwan to attend seminars and visit the places where human-rights violations were committed. Many of these people had been blacklisted by the authorities because of their sympathy for Taiwan's democracy movement.
Today, there is a different political party in power. We believe these friends of Taiwan must be very sad as they look back at the past. But the absence of other friends from the "A Journey of Remembrance and Appreciation" conference has raised some questions. One person notable by her absence was Tina Chou (
Chou's reporter's license was revoked by the Government Information Office (GIO) after she voiced suspicions in her reports about the role of the Taiwan Garrison Command in the 1981 death of Carnegie Mellon associate professor Chen Wen-cheng (
Even setting aside the question of whether Soong's personal fears may have somehow influenced Chou's decision, it is clear the pan-blue media -- including the China Times and the United Daily News -- still have the martial law mindset of Soong's GIO days. Neither paper saw a need to report on the conferences or the visits of so many old foreign friends. It is as if these papers exist in some parallel universe.
Most voters are forgetful -- and conservative. This is why corrupt and venal officials can still get elected by re-packaging themselves. Martial law was lifted more than 10 years ago but the roles that Soong and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Indeed, Soong has been the eternal "Director-General Soong" of the GIO. The pan-blue media's journalistic judgments are based on Soong's personal interests. This reminds us of a comment from KMT spokesperson Alex Tsai (
For 50 years people were used to reading the pro-China pan-blue media. They view the pan-blue media's ideological framework as normal and take it for granted. They don't notice the brainwashing going on. Any media with a Taiwanese awareness are criticized as "extremist" and "biased."
The furor over the Special Report VCDs showed just how petulant the pan-blue media -- and politicians -- can be when its weaknesses and bias are exposed. They can dish it out, but they can't take it. The VCD incident reminds us: the message disseminated by the pan-blue media, which represent the ancien regime, is full of poison.
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
A recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. It is a fair question, but it focuses on the wrong issue. The problem is not last year’s outcomes failing to meet the bilingual education vision; the issue is that the ministry has abandoned the program that originally justified such a large expenditure. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) earlier this month said it is necessary for her to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and it would be a “huge boost” to the party’s local election results in November, but many KMT members have expressed different opinions, indicating a struggle between different groups in the party. Since Cheng was elected as party chairwoman in October last year, she has repeatedly expressed support for increased exchanges with China, saying that it would bring peace and prosperity to Taiwan, and that a meeting with Xi in Beijing takes priority over meeting
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva on Monday said that Manila’s claims in the South China Sea are backed by international law. Villanueva was responding to a social media post by the Chinese embassy alleging that a former Philippine ambassador in 1990 had written a letter to a German radio operator stating that the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) did not fall within Manila’s territory. “Sovereignty is not merely claimed, it is exercised,” Villanueva said. The Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that found China’s sweeping claim of sovereignty in
RSS