In past years September has seen headlines about Taiwan’s bid for UN membership ahead of the annual UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Despite setbacks deriving from Chinese obstruction, the bids helped raise Taiwan’s international profile, showing the international community that the Taiwanese people want to be recognized.
The annual bid was also symbolic, with the government proclaiming to the world its sovereignty and that Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The distinction between the Republic of China and the PRC, however, is blurring as the former gradually fades on the international stage with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in power.
One example of this was the nation’s bid to rejoin the UN last year in which Ma’s administration departed from the usual path of having Taiwan’s allies speak on its behalf at the UN General Assembly for full membership in the organization. Instead, the government, citing Ma’s modus vivendi foreign policy, which the government describes as a “more pragmatic and practical strategy,” proposed Taiwan be allowed to “participate meaningfully in the activities of UN specialized agencies.”
While the government hailed Taiwan’s accession to the World Health Assembly as an observer in May as a manifestation of this new approach, it failed to offer a clear account of dubious dealings with China in the process.
This year, not only has the Ma administration decided against a bid for full UN membership, it has yet to finalize in what ways and in which affiliated organizations it plans to participate.
So much for seeking Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in UN specialized agencies.” It appears the government isn’t really enthusiastic about pushing Taiwan’s interests in this regard.
“Given the current international environment, flexible diplomacy, which is pragmatic and practical, is the most accurate diplomatic approach for Taiwan to take,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) has said.
However, under Ma’s diplomatic ceasefire with Beijing, the government appears to be disarming itself diplomatically as China continues to encroach on Taiwan’s visibility.
While some may argue that the result of this is warming relations with China, the truth is that Taiwan’s sovereignty is being diminished.
It is pathetic that the president of a democratic country would so easily relinquish the opportunity to fight for his country’s place in the world and assert his nation’s sovereignty.
Despite the government’s lack of interest in pushing for UN membership, a group of ardent Taiwanese flew to New York this week to campaign for Taiwan’s inclusion. However, there is only so much civic groups can do.
If the government cannot be bothered to fight for recognition on the global stage, it will only be a matter of time before the world starts to view Taiwan as a natural part of China.
Taiwan’s higher education system is facing an existential crisis. As the demographic drop-off continues to empty classrooms, universities across the island are locked in a desperate battle for survival, international student recruitment and crucial Ministry of Education funding. To win this battle, institutions have turned to what seems like an objective measure of quality: global university rankings. Unfortunately, this chase is a costly illusion, and taxpayers are footing the bill. In the past few years, the goalposts have shifted from pure research output to “sustainability” and “societal impact,” largely driven by commercial metrics such as the UK-based Times Higher Education (THE) Impact
History might remember 2026, not 2022, as the year artificial intelligence (AI) truly changed everything. ChatGPT’s launch was a product moment. What is happening now is an anthropological moment: AI is no longer merely answering questions. It is now taking initiative and learning from others to get things done, behaving less like software and more like a colleague. The economic consequence is the rise of the one-person company — a structure anticipated in the 2024 book The Choices Amid Great Changes, which I coauthored. The real target of AI is not labor. It is hierarchy. When AI sharply reduces the cost
The inter-Korean relationship, long defined by national division, offers the clearest mirror within East Asia for cross-strait relations. Yet even there, reunification language is breaking down. The South Korean government disclosed on Wednesday last week that North Korea’s constitutional revision in March had deleted references to reunification and added a territorial clause defining its border with South Korea. South Korea is also seriously debating whether national reunification with North Korea is still necessary. On April 27, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung marked the eighth anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, the 2018 inter-Korean agreement in which the two Koreas pledged to
I wrote this before US President Donald Trump embarked on his uneventful state visit to China on Thursday. So, I shall confine my observations to the joint US-Philippine military exercise of April 20 through May 8, known collectively as “Balikatan 2026.” This year’s Balikatan was notable for its “firsts.” First, it was conducted primarily with Taiwan in mind, not the Philippines or even the South China Sea. It also showed that in the Pacific, America’s alliance network is still robust. Allies are enthusiastic about America’s renewed leadership in the region. Nine decades ago, in 1936, America had neither military strength
RSS