In view of the recent brouhaha over whether cable station TVBS should be shut down -- a majority of its shares are Chinese-owned, which violates the Satellite Broadcasting Law (
Chen's statement is tantamount to pardoning a monster. It is as if he is saying, "Come and get me, for no matter what you do, even if you attack me, I will not get you."
TVBS general manager Lee Tao (
Whether capital is from Hong Kong or China, it is not Taiwanese and is therefore foreign capital. The law stipulates that direct foreign investment in a TV station should not exceed 50 percent. Lee, therefore, was swearing on his life that TVBS is 100 percent funded by foreigners.
It's a clear violation of the law, so why has the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration taken so long to act?
Most likely one can attribute this to the administration's own wishful thinking that pro-China media outlets will be nicer to it in return for not intervening.
Apparently, the administration has not learned its lesson, despite the number of times it has been cut and bruised by the pro-China media with smearing and false accusations.
Sometimes, offense is the best defense. If the government can't be trusted to stand up for Taiwan's interests, then the task rests with the Taiwanese people.
The Northern Taiwan Society on Monday urged members of the public to donate NT$100 to help gather the necessary cash for the budget in lieu of the long-stalled arms-procurement bill.
The group expects that 1 million people will support the drive.
Coincidentally, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (
NT$100 is not a very big sum. If both parties are serious about these proposals, it will be interesting to see how each group fares.
It could be viewed as a kind of pocket-change referendum on what the public prefers: maintaining national security or propping up a cable station that has willingly helped China push its agenda in Taiwan.
American civil-rights vanguard Rosa Parks, who passed away aged 92 last Monday, was the first woman to lie in honor in the US Capitol Rotunda -- a tribute formerly reserved for presidents, soldiers and prominent politicians. She was no shrewd legislator, charismatic politician nor an articulate talkshow host. She was but an ordinary woman who simply had the guts to say, "I'm tired of giving up my seat."
The majority of the Taiwanese public could learn from her example and end their mute reaction to pro-China media manipulation.
We need more people like Parks -- people who can dare to stand up and defend the dignity and pride of the Taiwanese and refuse to be bullied.
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
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