On Friday, as the countdown to the passage of China's "anti-secession" law continued, China sent an invitation to Taipei to negotiate on direct cross-strait charter flights for the April 5 tomb-sweeping holiday. Beijing's move suggests that it may have failed to fully grasp the sentiment of the Taiwanese. At the very least, it has misjudged the Taiwan government's position on the anti-secession law. This highlights how important it is for Taiwan to voice its opposition. Saying "no" to Beijing on charter flights is just a start.
According to the contents of the anti-secession bill that have come to light thus far, Beijing is still trying to draw a line between the people of Taiwan in general and its so-called "small minority of Taiwan independence forces," to create the illusion that the intended target of the law is just the latter. This is consistent with the near simultaneous issuance of a statement on Friday by Chen Yunlin (
Regardless of whether this is all part of a deliberate strategy to divide and conquer or the result of a serious misjudgment on Beijing's part, the people of Taiwan must make clear that the nation is absolutely unified in its opposition to the anti-secession law.
As a politically diverse and fully democratized society, Taiwanese people can and do differ on the issue of unification or independence. But over the years support for Taiwan's sovereignty has become the political mainstream. Even those who support unification do not want it to be unilaterally imposed by China, whether by military or other non-peaceful means. Across the political spectrum, Taiwanese people believe that they alone can decide the nation's future, through democratic means. That is why polls have consistently shown overwhelming opposition to the anti-secession law.
Unfortunately, some politicians, due to self-interest or party interests, have repeatedly sent the wrong signals to Beijing and the rest of the international community. The talk by politicians of respecting the "Republic of China" as defined in the Constitution -- a definition completely at odds with reality -- creates the impression that Taiwan considers itself part of China. That reinforces the perceived legitimacy of the anti-secession law's goal: to stop Taiwan from "splitting" from China.
On March 26 the people of Taiwan will take to the streets to protest against the anti-secession law. But because the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is running the event, the opposition pan-blue camp so far says it won't participate.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Lien Chan (
As for other pan-blue politicians such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
When he finally decided to take an open stand on the anti-secession law this past Friday, he called for the holding of an international press conference. While the the press conference is not a bad idea, why not participate in the march as well?
Because much of what former US president Donald Trump says is unhinged and histrionic, it is tempting to dismiss all of it as bunk. Yet the potential future president has a populist knack for sounding alarums that resonate with the zeitgeist — for example, with growing anxiety about World War III and nuclear Armageddon. “We’re a failing nation,” Trump ranted during his US presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris in one particularly meandering answer (the one that also recycled urban myths about immigrants eating cats). “And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War
Earlier this month in Newsweek, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to retake the territories lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. He stated: “If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [the PRC] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the treaty of Aigun?” This was a brilliant political move to finally state openly what many Chinese in both China and Taiwan have long been thinking about the lost territories in the Russian far east: The Russian far east should be “theirs.” Granted, Lai issued
On Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) met with a delegation from the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University in California, to discuss strengthening US-Taiwan relations and enhancing peace and stability in the region. The delegation was led by James Ellis Jr, co-chair of the institution’s Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region project and former commander of the US Strategic Command. It also included former Australian minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne, influential US academics and other former policymakers. Think tank diplomacy is an important component of Taiwan’s efforts to maintain high-level dialogue with other nations with which it does
On Sept. 2, Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal called “The US and Taiwan Must Change Course” that defends his position that the US and Taiwan are not doing enough to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from taking Taiwan. Colby is correct, of course: the US and Taiwan need to do a lot more or the PRC will invade Taiwan like Russia did against Ukraine. The US and Taiwan have failed to prepare properly to deter war. The blame must fall on politicians and policymakers