You may be interested to know that your cartoon of Feb. 4 made it to a US Congressional hearing with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (on Thursday). We had given the cartoon to Congressman Steve Chabot, a Republican from Ohio, who made the following statement.
Gerrit van der Wees
Formosan Association for Public Affairs
Transcript of Representative Steve Chabot's comments to Condoleezza Rice at a Feb. 16 hearing:
In the time I've got left, let me just address one other issue -- cross-strait relations ... and our government's role in that area.
I've got a cartoon here which I believe came from the Taipei Times -- I'm sorry I don't have a better reproduction -- that shows a haggard looking fellow, labeled Taiwan, who is trying to extricate himself from a body of water because he is being approached by a shark, labeled China.
And he is being greeted by a rather large and menacing Uncle Sam, who appears to be holding a baseball bat. Uncle Sam is saying "Get back in there! We don't want to alter the status quo."
I use this cartoon as an illustration of the frustration I'm sure Taiwan's leaders must be feeling, and frankly, the frustration I am feeling.
It seems that every time Taiwan's democratically elected President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) opens his mouth, we read reports about consternation at the State Department and ominous quotes about Taiwan's attempts to change the status quo with its neighbor, the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Most recently, I understand that the State Department was gravely concerned about President Chen's decision to abolish the National Unification Council, a relic of the days when unification with China was advocated by the Taiwanese government.
Those days appear to be long gone. In fact, I'm told that the council has not met since 1999. It operated with an annual budget of US$31.
Thirty-one dollars. I think it might be a stretch to say it is a dangerous alteration of the status quo.
What I do think is a dangerous threat to the status quo is the ever-growing arms build-up in the PRC, especially the 784 missiles currently pointed at Taiwan -- a number which is increasing by around 100 per year.
That is a threat to the status quo. This increase comes after China's adoption of the so-called "Anti-Secession" Law, that, in effect, provides legal authority for China's leaders to invade democratic Taiwan. Another dangerous threat to the status quo, I would think.
Now, I will admit that I am not a big fan of our so-called "one China" policy.
I think it is wrongheaded and, frankly, dangerous, to pursue a policy that favors a dictatorship that continues to threaten war with Taiwan and has gained a reputation as one of the world's leading weapons proliferators.
Of course, I know the State Department position on "one China," but I wonder if the signals our diplomats are sending out to the world could be a little more balanced. Thank you, Madame Secretary.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association. Signed in February 2024, the MOU stipulates that Taipei would decide the number of migrant workers and which industries would employ them, while New Delhi would manage recruitment and training. Employment would be governed by the laws of both countries. Months after its signing, the two sides agreed that 1,000 migrant workers from India would
In recent weeks, Taiwan has witnessed a surge of public anxiety over the possible introduction of Indian migrant workers. What began as a policy signal from the Ministry of Labor quickly escalated into a broader controversy. Petitions gathered thousands of signatures within days, political figures issued strong warnings, and social media became saturated with concerns about public safety and social stability. At first glance, this appears to be a straightforward policy question: Should Taiwan introduce Indian migrant workers or not? However, this framing is misleading. The current debate is not fundamentally about India. It is about Taiwan’s labor system, its
Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as US President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government would formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World War II, Japan spends enough on its own
On March 31, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released declassified diplomatic records from 1995 that drew wide domestic media attention. One revelation stood out: North Korea had once raised the possibility of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In a meeting with visiting Chinese officials in May 1995, as then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) prepared for a visit to South Korea, North Korean officials objected to Beijing’s growing ties with Seoul and raised Taiwan directly. According to the newly released records, North Korean officials asked why Pyongyang should refrain from developing relations with Taiwan while China and South Korea were expanding high-level
RSS