The Dalai Lama is scheduled to leave today following a six-day visit comforting victims of Typhoon Morakot. The trip has provided a timely reminder of the increasing sway Beijing holds over many things, from the way the international media reports on certain subjects to Taiwanese politics and politicians.
One of the clearest examples of the former was the disproportionate amount of coverage given to a token number of pro-unification protesters who have followed the Nobel peace laureate.
Any neutral person watching or reading these reports from abroad may have received the impression that pro-China views are in the ascendancy in Taiwan, yet polls show that support for unification is less popular than even independence, at about 7 percent or 8 percent.
While this kind of trashy, low-cost reportage is understandable from certain sections of the domestic media, such protests would receive little or no attention in other countries. The activities of this rag-tag bunch received far more coverage than they deserved. One would expect the international press to do a better job.
While many international media groups reported on the protests, almost all neglected to mention the mandatory subtext to the story: Many of the demonstrations had been organized by a fugitive pro-unification gangster on the lam in China who once cooperated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to eliminate dissidents.
Time magazine even went so far as to describe the protests as “Taiwan’s raucous democracy,” a statement that deserves extensive qualification.
Taiwan’s relationship with China is an important issue that attracts news editors around the globe because of the dramatic headlines it provides, but editors shouldn’t let a good story get in the way of the truth. Some facts about the background of these protesters would have provided readers with a balanced story.
We also look forward to the day that the international press stops framing the Taiwan issue in Beijing’s terms.
Another inconvenient truth revealed by the visit is just how much the KMT and its politicians are in the pocket of Beijing. Not one KMT official or politician had the courage to meet the Dalai Lama — an all-too clear demonstration of where the party’s loyalties lie.
These elected representatives pandered to Beijing’s whims by shunning a figure idolized by the majority of the people he represents.
How the KMT can continue to claim to represent Taiwan when its first reaction on domestic issues is to solicit China’s advice is beyond comprehension.
But it’s not all bad news. One thing we can be thankful for, even in the face of reams of pro-China propaganda and falsehoods in the pro-unification media, is that the majority of Taiwanese are still able to recognize the Dalai Lama for what he is: a peace-loving religious leader who has been demonized by a malevolent, authoritarian power.
Who knows? Perhaps this clarity of judgment may soon extend to the KMT itself.
The US Senate’s passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which urges Taiwan’s inclusion in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise and allocates US$1 billion in military aid, marks yet another milestone in Washington’s growing support for Taipei. On paper, it reflects the steadiness of US commitment, but beneath this show of solidarity lies contradiction. While the US Congress builds a stable, bipartisan architecture of deterrence, US President Donald Trump repeatedly undercuts it through erratic decisions and transactional diplomacy. This dissonance not only weakens the US’ credibility abroad — it also fractures public trust within Taiwan. For decades,
In 1976, the Gang of Four was ousted. The Gang of Four was a leftist political group comprising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members: Jiang Qing (江青), its leading figure and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) last wife; Zhang Chunqiao (張春橋); Yao Wenyuan (姚文元); and Wang Hongwen (王洪文). The four wielded supreme power during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but when Mao died, they were overthrown and charged with crimes against China in what was in essence a political coup of the right against the left. The same type of thing might be happening again as the CCP has expelled nine top generals. Rather than a
The ceasefire in the Middle East is a rare cause for celebration in that war-torn region. Hamas has released all of the living hostages it captured on Oct. 7, 2023, regular combat operations have ceased, and Israel has drawn closer to its Arab neighbors. Israel, with crucial support from the United States, has achieved all of this despite concerted efforts from the forces of darkness to prevent it. Hamas, of course, is a longtime client of Iran, which in turn is a client of China. Two years ago, when Hamas invaded Israel — killing 1,200, kidnapping 251, and brutalizing countless others
A Reuters report published this week highlighted the struggles of migrant mothers in Taiwan through the story of Marian Duhapa, a Filipina forced to leave her infant behind to work in Taiwan and support her family. After becoming pregnant in Taiwan last year, Duhapa lost her job and lived in a shelter before giving birth and taking her daughter back to the Philippines. She then returned to Taiwan for a second time on her own to find work. Duhapa’s sacrifice is one of countless examples among the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who sustain many of Taiwan’s households and factories,
RSS