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.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) sits down with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday next week, Xi is unlikely to demand a dramatic public betrayal of Taiwan. He does not need to. Beijing’s preferred victory is smaller, quieter and in some ways far more dangerous: a subtle shift in American wording that appears technical, but carries major strategic meaning. The ask is simple: replace the longstanding US formulation that Washington “does not support Taiwan independence” with a harder one — that Washington “opposes” Taiwan independence. One word changes; a deterrence structure built over decades begins to shift.
Recently, Taipei’s streets have been plagued by the bizarre sight of rats running rampant and the city government’s countermeasures have devolved into an anti-intellectual farce. The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office has attempted to eradicate rats by filling their burrows with polyurethane foam, seeming to believe that rats could not simply dig another path out. Meanwhile, as the nation’s capital slowly deteriorates into a rat hive, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has proudly pointed to the increase in the number of poisoned rats reported in February and March as a sign of success. When confronted with public concerns over young
Taipei is facing a severe rat infestation, and the city government is reportedly considering large-scale use of rodenticides as its primary control measure. However, this move could trigger an ecological disaster, including mass deaths of birds of prey. In the past, black kites, relatives of eagles, took more than three decades to return to the skies above the Taipei Basin. Taiwan’s black kite population was nearly wiped out by the combined effects of habitat destruction, pesticides and rodenticides. By 1992, fewer than 200 black kites remained on the island. Fortunately, thanks to more than 30 years of collective effort to preserve their remaining
After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing, most headlines referred to her as the leader of the opposition in Taiwan. Is she really, though? Being the chairwoman of the KMT does not automatically translate into being the leader of the opposition in the sense that most foreign readers would understand it. “Leader of the opposition” is a very British term. It applies to the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, and to some extent, to other democracies. If you look at the UK right now, Conservative Party head Kemi Badenoch is
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