The return of Al Jazeera
John Hanna can rest assured that Al Jazeera is still available from Chunghwa Telecom (Letters, June 18, page 8). It can be subscribed to for NT$5 a month and will appear as a separate item on the monthly phone bill. The station is provided to new MOD subscribers for a few months free of charge, but suddenly disappears. You can get it back again by calling their customer service line.
Americans in Taiwan should especially appreciate this fine offer, as Al Jazeera is reportedly only available from two cable companies in the US. That’s a shame, as it gives fairer and more insightful news coverage than any other English-language network. I seldom even watch the BBC anymore.
PETER DEARMAN
Sindian, Taipei County
The right to be a country
On June 4, US President Barack Obama declared in Cairo that “Just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s.”
Does this spirit apply to Taiwan? Do the Taiwanese deserve the same right? Former secretary of state Colin Powell and other US officials said that Taiwanese do not enjoy nationhood. The US has backed the “status quo” for Taiwan, and does not support a referendum on changing the national title, the Constitution or the structure of government.
Taiwanese are not Chinese, nor do they belong to “Chinese Taipei.” The majority of Taiwanese are not residents of Taipei; they belong to Taiwan. Unless the spirit of Obama’s declaration is universal, its validity is in doubt.
CHUNG NAN SHIH
Columbus, Ohio
The Chinese evil twins
“Chinese do not kill Chinese” is the cliche embraced by both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to instill fear in those who long to go their own way. It isn’t some newfound inspiration for peace that would rehabilitate the two political behemoths, which are viewed by many as the twin evils of modern China.
Even so, many Chinese believe that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the embodiment of the present-day KMT, will be a hero in Chinese history, eventually to be credited with not only bringing Taiwan into Beijing’s fold but also injecting modernity into China’s antiquated political culture.
This will be the case until the moment that they realize their idol has no steadfast objection to a government that slaughters unarmed civilians. Ma, with his recent comment on the Tiananmen Square Massacre, appears to be at the ready to whitewash acts of “Chinese killing Chinese.”
Equally enlightening for the public should be Ma’s self-appointment — or running unopposed, as dictated by convention — as chairman of the KMT in preparation for a momentous rendezvous with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Ma seems to be hoping that the chairmanship will precipitate a reversion of Taiwan’s status to “Nationalist-occupied Taiwan,” the term most often used internationally during the Chiang era.
Taking up the chairmanship would represent an important step in realizing Ma’s dream of unification given that Beijing recognizes neither the Republic of China nor Taiwan’s president. However, Beijing fully acknowledges the KMT as being the CCP’s rival during the civil war as well as the entity that occupied Taiwan.
The cross-strait quarrel could then be reduced to a remnant of the war — nothing that the kowtowing “head of Nationalist-occupied Taiwan” couldn’t help resolve.
To make this possible, Ma has to nullify 20 or so years of Taiwan’s democratization.
The problem is that he derives his legal power from the Taiwanese public through elections. Once democracy has been shelved, the legitimacy of Ma’s power, as well as his mandate to represent Taiwan, would vanish.
So, too, would Ma’s only pillar of strength in dealing with Hu.
HUANG JEI-HSUAN
Los Angeles, California
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