In the face of China's unreasonable and vicious diplomatic oppression, as well as the threat of its 706 ballistic missiles, Taiwan needs to build a defense system to effectively protect national security.
The core of this system lies in Taiwan, with its very limited resources, being able to find a mechanism to not only reduce tension between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also promote peaceful coexistence and joint prosperity based on equality, mutual trust and reciprocity to maximize the benefits to the people of both countries.
The anti-terror issue has been the pivot of US diplomacy after the Sept. 11 attacks. Although China has offered its support in the US war on terror, in exchange it has demanded that Washington abide by its "one China" principle.
According to a recent report from the Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan is gradually losing its military edge as a result of the growth of China's national power and its military modernization. Meanwhile, Beijing is launching its so-called "three warfares" approach, attempting to force Taiwan into submission by means of psychological, legal and media attacks.
In the face of the constantly changing threats from China, Taiwan needs a macroscopic vision if it is to safeguard stability and safety in the Strait. This vision includes two aspects:
First, solid national defense is the basis of Taiwan's survival. We must face the fact that China is constantly increasing its military threat againstTaiwan. We should actively push to strengthen the military while bolstering the public's psychological defenses. The ruling and opposition parties should support and pass major arms procurement initiatives to stabilize the cross-strait situation.
Second, Taiwan and China can build a mechanism of bilateral mutual trust. They can improve bilateral relations through this mechanism of transparent exchanges, negotiate about cooperation and take joint action on the basis of equality and reciprocity. Perhaps the two sides can start with pragmatic issues, and slowly accumulate their experience of cooperation. They can then establish more channels for dialogue and set up a bilateral mechanism for military mutual trust. In the future, they can even form a "peace zone" in the Strait, and move toward demilitarization and eternal peace in this region.
Chen Lung-chu is the chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
RSS