In addition to stealing Taiwan's allies and thwarting the nation's attempts to participate in international organizations, China attempts to ensure that Taiwan is practically invisible.
Late last month, Malawi yielded to the old carrot-and-stick routine and abandoned 42 years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of ties with China. Within days, the Malawian minister responsible for brokering the deal has reportedly fled the country with millions of yuan meant as a "sweetener" for his president.
In such times of crisis, Taipei routinely berates Beijing for practicing "checkbook diplomacy." But the reality is that Taiwan's "financial aid" simply can't compete. As a result, Taiwan has lost nine diplomatic allies in eight years.
And yet, China is still not satisfied and never misses an opportunity to belittle Taiwan on the world stage. The most recent example of this occurred during the Women's World Cup of Golf this week at Sun City, South Africa, where Taiwan's Wei Yun-jye (
Together with the "autonomous regions" of Xinjiang and Tibet, Taiwan is claimed by China, which insists that no other country should meddle in its "domestic affairs."
In this light, it is odd that China has asked the US to condemn Taiwan's referendums on UN membership. It is even stranger that Washington has happily obliged, with everyone from American Institute in Taiwan Director Stephen Young to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying the plebiscites are unnecessary, provocative and of no real benefit.
Despite Taiwan's dutiful attempts to play a responsible role in the world, it seems most countries are happy to humor China by not publicly contradicting its claim to Taiwan. It is sad that so many nations lack the courage to do the right thing.
In his New Year address last month, President Chen Shui-bian (
In view of this imminent threat, it is remarkable that Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Yes, increased trade with China may boost the economy. But that does not mean that the threat posed by China should be laughed off. And yet that is the message being sent by the country's presidential candidates, notwithstanding Ma's recent lecture on boosting the military.
Hsieh may be trying to neutralize Ma's "it's the economy, stupid" argument, but that makes his actions only marginally more forgivable.
If this is the mindset of the men who are competing to lead this country, then China doesn't need missiles to annex Taiwan: All it needs is patience.
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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