The world’s most severe earthquakes of recent memory are notable for taking place in states that are politically stable — or at least those that have a working infrastructure. The Sichuan Earthquake in China, the Kashmir disaster of 2005, the Bam quake in Iran in late 2003 — all took place in regions that were remote and/or poverty-stricken, but there was at least some hope of response by central officials. International assistance, where it was welcomed, had to be moderated to some extent by sovereign considerations.
In Haiti, a state that has been struggling to get on its feet after decades of authoritarian rule, gang warfare and economic ruin, and which remains the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, coping with the outcome of frequent hurricanes has been challenge enough. The shallow 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on Tuesday is remarkable, however, in that the already compromised capacity of central government services has been rendered utterly impotent.
The result of this disaster is an international relief and rescue effort that may come to rival the response to the Indian Ocean tsunami of late 2004 in geopolitical terms.
The US has led the way, as it should, in pledging and delivering relief to Haitians. It has also been encouraging to note the quick response of other countries in the region, including Venezuela, which for once is not in the news for scuttling its own infrastructure in the service of presidential folly.
Haiti is a Taiwanese ally, one of only a few. It is paramount that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs develop a long-term relief strategy that coordinates with other major donor nations. It is important to do so not because of the possibility that a Chinese injection of aid and assistance might lead to the severing of ties between Haiti and Taiwan, but because after years of cash flowing to Haiti from Taipei, the improvements in local conditions and bilateral benefits have been marginal at best.
Honor and strategy both dictate that Taiwan help protect Haitians from the natural elements and from the terror of lawlessness. There is much more that Taipei can do to fulfill this responsibility.
The US will be the main protector of Haiti as it enters a new period of despair, fear and (probably) violence, but Taiwan must make its presence felt. The ruination of Haiti and the attendant social breakdown would mark a regional crisis that could ensnare several neighboring nations in a morass of unmanageable refugee migrations. Taiwan has the money, the manpower and a certain level of expertise to help the US stop this from happening.
Taiwan’s government can complain all it likes about a lack of recognition in the international community, but unless it is prepared to display leadership, generosity and intelligence in its dealings with blighted ally nations, then it will have traveled only the shortest distance from a time when its allies included some of the most malevolent governments in modern history.
The unspeakable disaster in Haiti provides this administration with a real chance to prove itself worthy of the name “nation” — and to follow up pretty language with a comprehensive, well-financed, long-term commitment to the future of all Haitians.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
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