Betrayal of the free market
The government’s desire to sign an economic framework agreement (ECFA) with China must be vigorously resisted by anyone who cares for their freedom.
Not only is the Chinese government run on a fraudulent and malicious modus operandi, but where there should be a clear demarcation between the actions of China’s government and those of so-called “private” Chinese companies, there is nothing but the blur of fascism. If a Chinese company defrauds you, you are no longer dealing with a company that you can take to court and sue for compensation, but the customs policy of the People’s Republic of China government itself.
Yet the question is whether the same is increasingly true of Taiwan, with its blurry state-private empires in the healthcare and education markets. Is it also a trend embraced by the US under the present administration. Consider the extent of this fascistic blur in commercial banking, energy, housing, insurance, automotive and healthcare industries in the US.
Although the Taiwan Solidarity Union has pursued a referendum on an ECFA, which has garnered much support, I cannot applaud their stance. And for all the fight they are showing, I’m sure that in private, their mood remains pessimistic.
If they fail in their attempts to force the government into offering a referendum on an ECFA, then where democracy fails, only the market will be left to stand against state predation. It will be up to the Taiwanese to decide whether they accept the cost by refraining from purchasing Chinese goods and services wherever possible.
We must never surrender our freedom to the fascists in Beijing or those in Taipei. The issue is very simple and it is and will always be the same: Do you want to live by the power of the market or the power of the government? Will you choose to embrace freedom of association and exchange or will you try to live under the threat of violence if you don’t get what you want? Will you stand up in defiance of tyrants or will you grovel and whine on the floor, begging to be absolved of responsibility, like a slave?
MICHAEL FAGAN
Tainan
Give ambulances right of way
Recently, I had my second trip in an ambulance from a hospital in Taipei to a hospital in Linkou and can no longer remain silent about an appalling and dangerous situation. It concerns other drivers on the streets of Taipei and on the freeway when an ambulance is in the vicinity.
I can’t say that this behavior applies to all of Taiwan, but one would think that Taipei would perhaps be a bit more forward thinking than other areas of the country.
The problem is that most drivers are unconcerned about a speeding ambulance and its occupants. If it was a member of your family being rushed to hospital in a life-or-death situation, would you not try your best to get out of the way so the ambulance could get by as safely and as quickly as possible?
On both of my ambulance trips, my condition was not exactly a matter of life or death — I’m a cancer patient — but I remain astounded by the behavior of motorists in Taiwan. In general, Taipei is a more civilized city than it was even 10 years ago, and I’ve been living here off and on since 1983. But there’s something about peoples’ behavior when they are behind the wheel of a car, and it can’t just be because they are in a hurry.
When an ambulance is behind you with its siren wailing, how can a driver not have the presence of mind to get out of the way? On a trip that lasted perhaps 20 minutes, I counted no less than 17 cars that appeared to be totally oblivious to our presence. Yes, many drivers did the right thing and moved out of the way, but then almost immediately there was another that didn’t seem to care — even when the driver turned the siren up even louder.
Part of the problem with this issue is the lack of proper driving skills. A friend of mine from Canada recently told me that several of his Taiwanese buddies have asked him why he looks over his shoulder when he’s driving. He tells them it’s to check if there’s a car in your blind spot, but he is met with uncomprehending blank stares, as if they’ve never been told about blind spots.
I don’t want to wax indignant about this problem as I expect it will make little difference, but for anyone reading this — if you’re out driving and there is an ambulance with its siren on and you see it in your rear-view mirror — get out of the way. The life you might help save may be someone you know and love.
JOSEPH RUPP
Linkou
When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) sits down with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday next week, Xi is unlikely to demand a dramatic public betrayal of Taiwan. He does not need to. Beijing’s preferred victory is smaller, quieter and in some ways far more dangerous: a subtle shift in American wording that appears technical, but carries major strategic meaning. The ask is simple: replace the longstanding US formulation that Washington “does not support Taiwan independence” with a harder one — that Washington “opposes” Taiwan independence. One word changes; a deterrence structure built over decades begins to shift.
Taipei is facing a severe rat infestation, and the city government is reportedly considering large-scale use of rodenticides as its primary control measure. However, this move could trigger an ecological disaster, including mass deaths of birds of prey. In the past, black kites, relatives of eagles, took more than three decades to return to the skies above the Taipei Basin. Taiwan’s black kite population was nearly wiped out by the combined effects of habitat destruction, pesticides and rodenticides. By 1992, fewer than 200 black kites remained on the island. Fortunately, thanks to more than 30 years of collective effort to preserve their remaining
After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing, most headlines referred to her as the leader of the opposition in Taiwan. Is she really, though? Being the chairwoman of the KMT does not automatically translate into being the leader of the opposition in the sense that most foreign readers would understand it. “Leader of the opposition” is a very British term. It applies to the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, and to some extent, to other democracies. If you look at the UK right now, Conservative Party head Kemi Badenoch is
A Pale View of Hills, a movie released last year, follows the story of a Japanese woman from Nagasaki who moved to Britain in the 1950s with her British husband and daughter from a previous marriage. The daughter was born at a time when memories of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki during World War II and anxiety over the effects of nuclear radiation still haunted the community. It is a reflection on the legacy of the local and national trauma of the bombing that ended the period of Japanese militarism. A central theme of the movie is the need, at
RSS