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.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under