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
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
RSS