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LETTERS: Nations are two-faced

While we may congratulate the nations that have recently recognized Kosovo for their boldness or principled assertions of self-rule, we may now take fresh occasion to scold them all for their continued scorn of Taiwan's national sovereignty. And while the merits of Kosovo's case for independence have at least lingering grounds for debate, there is no uncertainty, outside the scope of China's flagrantly false propaganda, that Taiwan is anything but an independent nation.

For the sake of clarity, let it be understood that Taiwan has first, a polity of citizens, second, a democratically elected president and legislature, third, a military that is comprised of citizens, fourth, a national currency that is recognized internationally, fifth, a national passport recognized internationally and sixth, clearly defined national borders and territory, which are not in dispute.

If a declaration of independence is necessary, then many of the speeches made by the sitting president or his predecessor would suffice, as they contain such verbatim phrases. If historical reference is necessary, one may see that Taiwan and the outlying islands that constitute its national territory have never at any time been the property or jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China. While nations accept Taiwan's money and passports (not to mention technology exports), they continue the disrespectful, two-faced behavior of voting against Taiwan's annual appeals to join the UN.

Mark Cartwright

Yuanlin, Taiwan

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