On the eve of Premier Su Tseng-chang's (
Considering the bias toward China in contemporary Taiwanese society, China's reckless diplomacy in fact bolsters the case for Taiwanese independence. When the government called its Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development, it relegated the issues of direct links and lifting the 40 percent cap on investment in China to the heading of "other suggestions," irritating the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which had been working hard to block these issues. As a result, the TSU withdrew from the conference and planned to take its opposition to the streets. Other supporters of Taiwanese independence have also been deeply disappointed by Su working against former president Lee Teng-hui's (
The US would do well to retract its approval of high-level cross-strait dialogue. China's hostile actions have scuppered a visit by Chen Yunlin (
Even though these developments won't effect cross-strait charter flights for the Mid-Autumn Festival, direct cross-strait commercial flights will probably be put off indefinitely. At the risk of displeasing the Democratic Progressive Party, the TSU and much of the public, Su rescued the proposals for direct links and relaxing the 40 percent cap on investment in China at the development conference to give the Cabinet some leeway. Now that the dovish Su has been smacked in the face by China, relaxation of cross-strait restrictions is off the agenda. Chen and Lee can breathe a sigh of relief.
Every September at the UN General Assembly meeting, Taiwan applies for UN membership under the name the Republic of China (ROC), despite the fact that China mobilizes its allies to keep the issue off the agenda. Out of concern for its international image, the Taiwanese government has in the past applied using the ROC title, which few recognize. More and more Taiwanese feel that clinging to that unrecognized title is misleading. They feel that although applying for UN membership under the title "Taiwan" may fail, it will at least help promote Taiwan's international visibility.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs may think that it can buy off Taiwan's allies to suppress the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign state, but China's actions are instead driving the Taiwanese government toward a more pragmatic diplomacy that doesn't focus on money or how many diplomatic allies the country has. The Taiwanese public is not blaming the government for losing ties with Chad. Instead, Beijing is providing the strongest support for the opinion that Taiwan should follow its own path.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
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