According to a recent nationwide poll, 45 percent of Taiwan's people support Lien Chan's visit to China while 42.5 percent are against it.
The poll result is amazing in the current situation in Taiwan and around the world. It must be the effect of Stockholm Syndrome.
On Aug. 23, 1973, two machine-gun toting criminals entered a bank in Stockholm, Sweden. The two bank robbers held four hostages, three women and one man, for the next 131 hours. The hostages had dynamite strapped to them and were held in a bank vault until they were rescued on Aug. 28.
After their rescue, the hostages exhibited a shocking attitude notwithstanding that they were threatened and abused and feared for their lives for more than five days. In their media interviews, the hostages said they had begun to feel their captors were actually protecting them from the police. One of the female hostages later became engaged to one of the criminals and another started a legal-defense fund to help their captors pay their lawyers. Clearly, the hostages had "bonded" emotionally with their captors. This emotional "bonding" with captors is known as "Stockholm Syndrome" in psychology.
Since 1949 until its defeat in the 2000 election, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has kidnaped, tortured and murdered hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese. After half a century of captivity and after becoming a free nation, the Taiwanese are still bonding emotionally with their former captor, the KMT.
The Taiwanese people are confused and need help to heal from the Stockholm Syndrome.
Ken Huang
Memphis, Tennessee
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.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing