The Wall Street Journal, in its Wednesday, Aug. 24 editorial entitled "Taiwan Fiddles," said that "Taiwan spends a small fortune lobbying Washington so the US will ride to its rescue in case of a Chinese attack. Yet more than four years after the US offered a package of advanced defense weapons, politicians in Taipei still haven't decided to buy them. This isn't helping Taiwan's cause in Washington .... If Taiwan wants the US to risk its blood and treasure in the event of an attack, paying for an adequate defense would seem to be a minimum prerequisite."
The Wall Street Journal is one of the most popular and influential newspaper in the US.
It is read by leaders in business, politics, and education.
The editorial is sarcastic and condemning, which does not help Taiwan's survival and certainly damages the image of Taiwan in the US and throughout the world.
It portrays Taiwan as a nation whose leaders are selfish, irresponsible, and possess no pride.
The Taiwanese must understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch in the free world.
International support is important for Taiwan's survival in the current political situation, but the American public is now tired of going to war to fight for another country after seeing what is happening in Iraq.
The bad timing is also unfortunate, because Taiwan is now trying to get into the UN and needs all the public support it can get.
It is time the Taiwanese people wake up, shake up, stand up and tell Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Ken Huang
Memphis, Tennessee
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