EU, US should cooperate
The implicit agenda in France's heavy-lifting for China is to assert that Paris' foreign policy is independent from Washington's, as well as being payback for the perceived slight by the administration of US President George W. Bush on the Iraqi War ("Et tu, Chirac?" Jan. 28, page 1).
The EU would commit a "grave error" by selling arms to China. Such sales violate the EU's own code of conduct on human rights and of not proliferating arms to "areas of conflict." China has 500 missiles aimed at Taiwan, and selling more arms to China will further tip the military balance in its favor.
The US will not welcome the prospect of having American EP-3s intercepted by Chinese pilots flying French Mirages. The US and the EU should work together to defuse this possibility.
Vincent Wang Wei-cheng
Virginia
The blind do not fear guns
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Apparently, they are not taking China's missiles seriously enough.
As a Taiwanese saying goes, "Blind people are not afraid of guns." I hope Lien and Soong are not blind. Probably, they will support the defensive referendum only after the first missile hits Taiwan.
Even if China launched its 496 missiles leisurely one after another at an interval of seven minutes per missile, Taiwan would be flattened in less than 58 hours. The referendum and sovereignty would be moot.
Lien and Soong claim that they already know the answers to the two referendum topics proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (
In the last four years, the opposition camp has opposed practically everything for the sake of opposition. The most typical opposition figure is Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with