If the US State Department has a list of least favorite people, President Chen Shui-bian (
It could be that some State Department officials are so frustrated with Chen that they are pounding the table in their strategy rooms, complaining about the "trouble-maker," all the while scratching their heads and wondering why Chen is being so adamant this time in pushing for the referendum.
In case the US State Department hasn't realized, the answer is simple -- Chen is acting on behalf of the people of Taiwan.
As an elected president of a democratic country, Chen has the responsibility to look out for the best interests of the people of Taiwan.
And what are the people in Taiwan saying? A glance at recent polls tells it all.
A survey commissioned by the Institute for National Policy Research and conducted by the ERA Survey Research Center in June showed that more than 70 percent of participants supported the government's UN bid.
A separate survey carried out by the Taiwan Thinktank earlier this year suggested that more than 75 percent of Taiwanese expressed support for the idea of holding a referendum on the nation's UN bid.
More recently, a survey conducted by National Chengchi University's Election Study Center last week also found that more then 70 percent of the respondents supported a UN bid under the name "Taiwan."
Also, hundreds of thousands of signatures have been collected by the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for their respective referendum proposals.
It is understood that the US has come under increasing pressure from China on the referendum issue. But what is China afraid of? Doesn't the Beijing administration often trumpet that China "places its hope in the people of Taiwan?" So what is there to fear in having the people of Taiwan raise their collective voice to tell the world what they want?
And why does the US -- the Big Brother promoter of democracy -- all of a sudden fail to understand that exercising this universal right is a hallmark of democracy?
In the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV interview, Negroponte reiterated the US' friendship for Taiwan and Washington's support for Taiwan's democracy.
But what does it mean to "support Taiwan's democracy" and then work to the contrary and suppress Taiwanese from taking part in a referendum? What does it mean to "be Taiwan's friend" but then show disrespect for the decisions and will of that friend?
Sure, the US has its national interests to look after, but so does Taiwan. Chen, as the elected president, has the responsibility to work in the best interests of Taiwanese and continue to follow the people's call for the universal values of democracy and respect for human rights
After all, as two-time British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli put it: "I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?"
The US State Department should understand that it is not Chen who is being adamant in pushing the referendum, but Taiwanese themselves -- the true masters and stakeholders in the nation -- who are backing Chen up in the wish to exercise this universal right.
The conflict in the Middle East has been disrupting financial markets, raising concerns about rising inflationary pressures and global economic growth. One market that some investors are particularly worried about has not been heavily covered in the news: the private credit market. Even before the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, global capital markets had faced growing structural pressure — the deteriorating funding conditions in the private credit market. The private credit market is where companies borrow funds directly from nonbank financial institutions such as asset management companies, insurance companies and private lending platforms. Its popularity has risen since
The Donald Trump administration’s approach to China broadly, and to cross-Strait relations in particular, remains a conundrum. The 2025 US National Security Strategy prioritized the defense of Taiwan in a way that surprised some observers of the Trump administration: “Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority.” Two months later, Taiwan went entirely unmentioned in the US National Defense Strategy, as did military overmatch vis-a-vis China, giving renewed cause for concern. How to interpret these varying statements remains an open question. In both documents, the Indo-Pacific is listed as a second priority behind homeland defense and
In an op-ed published in Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said that Taiwan should not have to choose between aligning with Beijing or Washington, and advocated for cooperation with Beijing under the so-called “1992 consensus” as a form of “strategic ambiguity.” However, Cheng has either misunderstood the geopolitical reality and chosen appeasement, or is trying to fool an international audience with her doublespeak; nonetheless, it risks sending the wrong message to Taiwan’s democratic allies and partners. Cheng stressed that “Taiwan does not have to choose,” as while Beijing and Washington compete, Taiwan is strongest when
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) are expected to meet this month in Paris to prepare for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). According to media reports, the two sides would discuss issues such as the potential purchase of Boeing aircraft by China, increasing imports of US soybeans and the latest impacts of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. However, recent US military action against Iran has added uncertainty to the Trump-Xi summit. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) called the joint US-Israeli airstrikes and the
RSS