Deal with reality
Gerrit van der Wees appears to engage in what foreign policy analysts describe as “rhetorical escalation” and “oversell” in his article (“The US will continue to support Taiwan,” May 16, page 8). The practice is common among foreigners who seek to prove their love for Taiwan. They put on a pair of “rose-colored glasses” and “go native,” but these “great white fathers” unwittingly do a great disservice to their cause. They spread misinformation and a distorted view of reality.
Yes, Taiwan is a democracy, but it has little or no strategic value to the US. As one US official explained recently, no one has considered the nation a strategic asset to the US since General Douglas MacArthur. On the other hand, the US needs China’s cooperation to handle a host of pressing problems involving nuclear proliferation, international terrorism, heath issues, environmental concerns and the global economic meltdown, to name just a few.
And let’s talk about economics. Everyone knows that US economic interests in Taiwan would not be threatened by unification with China any more than US economic interests in Hong Kong were threatened after the handover in 1997.
And what about US economic interests in China? Do your homework. Who holds the US’ debt? Which country has the second--largest economy on earth? Which country has the fastest growing economy in the world?
It’s time for all of the “Taiwan-centric” analysts to wake up and smell the coffee.
We can all love Taiwan without ignoring the world around us and how it has changed.
DENNIS HICKEY,
Springfield, Missouri
Create Taiwan’s future
On the issue of the WHO addressing Taiwan improperly in their internal confidential document, the WHO’s dwarfing of Taiwan by categorizing Taiwan as a “province of China” created great hubbub in Taiwan.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添), Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達), Government Information Office Minister Philip Yang (楊永明) and other officials, held a press conference at the Presidential Office to express their solemn protests. With the assistance of many allies, they also protested to the WHO.
This reminds me of a story about a boy who was born with a nature to lie and steal. No matter how hard his family taught him, he could not correct his habit of lying and stealing. One day, he stole the deed to his family’s house and gave away the title to someone else. Later, his family found out the status of their home and asked the boy to protest and get back the ownership of the house. Do you think this was possible?
At this time, the whole family should calm down, unite as one and find out wise ways to get back their home, not be so stupid to wait for the boy to solve their dilemma. Of course, this lying boy will want to help, but can the family trust him now? Can you get back the deed to the home by just blaming the boy and hope he will solve the problem himself?
All intelligent Taiwanese should have woken up by now. Let’s all get together to discuss the most intelligent way to get back the deed to our home. Do not keep blaming this “liar” because you are asking for something impossible. If you continue to force liars to solve the problem instead of working on the issue yourself, you will eventually find yourself at a loss and without an abode.
Taiwanese need to learn to be smart now. The WHO does not even recognize Republic of China passports. If the whole world recognizes that Taiwan is part of China, Taiwanese might as well jump into the ocean.
YANG LIU HSIU-HWA
Taipei
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