The memorial service of Koo Chen-fu (
Remarkably, Koo's counterpart, China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) chairman Wang Daohan (
Coming on the heels of the commencement of charter flights for the Lunar New Year holidays, it would seem that the strained cross-strait relationship is currently undergoing a thaw. But the local and international media have been profligate in their use of terms such as "thaw" and "breakthrough" to describe the cross-strait currents.
In fact, China's proposed "anti-secession law" will be enacted in March to criminalize Taiwan consciousness. Also, President Chen Shui-bian (
These contradictory facts tell us that as long as China's attitude towards Taiwan remains unchanged, any single case of improvement in relations may be reversed, at any time. If Beijing still does not free itself from an insistence on the "one China" principle, there really isn't any opportunity for the two sides to break through the deadlock.
The most difficult thing is to explain the difference between "China" (
Literally, the word "China" refers to national identity, while the term "Chunghua" refers to the historical and cultural identity of the Han ethnic group. For example, Taiwanese themselves do not refer to "Chinese food," and instead refer to the full range of Chinese cuisines as "Chunghua cuisine" (
China is not the only country stuck in the dead-end "one China" mindset; the international community as a whole is immersed in it. One way out of the "one China" impasse is the adoption of the term "Chunghua." Both share the common symbol of "Chunghua" in their name, a symbol that transcends national boundaries and refers to a cultural community. With a shared sense of community, Taiwan and China can open a window of cooperation toward a future of mutual prosperity across the Strait. From the perspective of a cultural community, the "one China" principle should refer to a common community of "Chunghua" rather than a single Chinese nation.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry