Neutral travelers fight back
CC: Johnny Neihu,
We were talking of the two English articles published recently in Taipei Times, which we are not very happy with, because the written content seems to favor the editor's own opinion, and some of our answers were even misinterpreted ("Swiss couple fall in love with Taiwan," Nov. 13, page 4, and Johnny Neihu's NewsWatch: "Truly the next best thing to China," Nov. 17, page 8).
But there was another article in the China Post, which matched more our feelings ("Global nomads make sojourn in Taiwan," Nov. 17).
Sometimes it's sad to spend so much time for interviews if the result can be so disappointing. Having said this, we are happy that all the other newspapers, which followed the DPP's press release of Oct. 13, are related more to the facts and realities of our world record journey and don't carry the "smell of politics."
We still want and have to point out that we don't carry any missions around the world, e.g. with political, religious, commercial or any other possible content.
We are and remain as neutral as Switzerland!
Emil and Liliana Schmid
Johnny replies: When I wrote about you guys it was obviously all in good fun. Now I'm not so sure. As neutral as Switzerland, eh? You gotta admire a country that has given safe haven to dirty money for decades but handed 25,000 Jews back to the Nazis.
Now that's neutrality.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath