In a speech on Wednesday to the nation’s civil servants, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said that maintaining sovereignty and ensuring the interests of Taiwanese remained the guiding principles of the government’s cross-strait policy.
“We should not do things that are not beneficial to the public. Those who execute cross-strait policies should act as gatekeepers when necessary and step on the brakes where necessary to maintain these principles,” the premier said.
Wu did not provide examples in the government’s current China policy that could be considered “putting the brakes on.” He would do well to look into a set of regulations recently promulgated by the Ministry of Education and — in his own words — “step on the brakes” to make sure Taiwanese interests are upheld.
A notice on Oct. 2 that the ministry issued to all local government education bureaus demanded they provide schooling assistance to Chinese spouses’ adopted children or children from previous marriages, as outlined in the Guidelines Governing the Education of the Children of Outstanding Overseas Science and Technology Talents (境外優秀科學技術人才子女來台就學辦法).
The notice immediately led to mixed interpretations. While Tainan City councilors across party lines interpreted the notice as an instruction to local education bureaus to give these children preferential treatment — such as enrolling them in public schools and giving them bonus points on college entrance exams — the ministry said the articles would not apply to this group, and that children from China would not be granted preferential benefits.
It is understandable that the ministry wishes to address the rights of China-born children and provide them with an amicable educational environment. However, a fair set of rules must be mapped out to ensure Taiwan-born children’s rights are not harmed as a result.
Details are yet to be clarified, but the fact that the notice was issued specifically in regard to Chinese spouses’ children from previous marriages is intriguing enough.
Why must the government single out children of Chinese spouses and allow them to use such guidelines? Such a decision could spur cases of forgery and fake adoption.
Local media recently reported that more than one in three Taiwanese colleges are likely to close in the next 12 years because of a shortage of students as the nation’s birth rate falls.
These regulations from the ministry will hardly encourage families to have more children if they believe that one day their children’s rights will be undermined.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is a master of making up rules to benefit strategic groups of people, as preferential treatment for military personnel and teachers attests to. The government under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) leadership now appears to be planning to create yet another group of privileged people.
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) recent visit to Beijing and her upcoming visit to Washington will serve as a high-level test of her diplomatic mettle. In Beijing, Cheng was received with symbolic gestures, a warm reception, and high-level access. In Washington, she will receive far less pomp and far sharper questions about the KMT’s vision for the future of Taiwan. Her challenge will be to persuade Washington that the KMT’s engagement with China can coexist with strong deterrence. Cheng’s April 7-12 visit to mainland China coincided with an intense period of conflict in Iran. Despite the strategic significance of Cheng’s trip,
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent the vast Asian chemicals industry into a tailspin. Deprived of the likes of Qatari natural gas and Saudi Arabian oil, the region’s fertilizer and plastics plants are slowing production or even shutting down. Everywhere except China, that is. In petrochemicals, China is unique. As well as a traditional industry that uses oil and gas as feedstock, it has parallel output that relies on its abundant domestic coal. Unsurprisingly, India and other regional powers want to copy and paste the Chinese method. This would not be easy — or climate friendly. The
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says he knows how to fix the problems facing Indonesia. Yet his economic mismanagement and authoritarian tendencies are steering the nation toward a familiar mix of currency instability and political chaos. The world’s fourth-most populous nation risks reversing the hard-won democratic and business reforms that came after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. At that time, the rupiah collapsed and the political upheaval that followed forced former president Haji Mohamed Suharto from power. Prabowo’s administration is ignoring similar warning signs. That disconnect was apparent in a national address on Wednesday, when Prabowo projected the swagger that has
“Of course you can choose not to be Taiwanese, just do not stay here,” chairwoman of Taipei 101 operator Taipei Financial Center Corp Janet Chia (賈永婕) said in an online interview with local entertainer Tai Chih-yuan (邰智源), triggering intense discussion on social media, with politicians across party lines weighing in. In the interview, which was aired on May 14, Chia and Tai’s discussion over a meal in Taipei 101 covered Chia’s career change from entertainer to chairwoman and US climber Alex Honnold’s free solo climb up the Taipei 101 building. During the interview, Chia said, “Being on this land, we
RSS