Bad driving is not cultural
I cannot believe there are people who oppose the sentiment that Taiwanese drivers as well as all drivers around the world should follow the traffic laws and drive more responsibly and all pedestrians and cyclists have a right to safe travel.
It is unfathomable that we would hurl invective at someone for openly discussing their fear, frustration or anger at being put in bodily or mortal danger while traveling to work.
For these supermen who think it is a fun challenge to stay alert, I would like to remind you that children and the elderly are not always alert.
It is pretty Darwinian to suggest that all of the people hurt or endangered by traffic accidents have only themselves to blame. Suggesting that someone on a scooter or in a fast car deserves to drive however they like with impunity because this is “cultural” or because they have a lesser risk of injury because they are in a bigger vehicle, is nonsense.
Finally, to suggest Taiwan’s (bad) driving tradition goes back ages and is thus forgivable is complete nonsense. Taiwan has changed a lot in a very short period, and the availability of motor vehicles to the middle and even lower class has transformed this country.
The infrastructure, knowledge of the traffic laws and their enforcement seem to have not kept up in the least.
Aaron Andrews
Greater Taichung
Dalai Lama’s confusion?
In an hour-long interview with Piers Morgan on a CNN talk show the other day, the Dalai Lama equated the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of China with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
When asked who the real rulers of nations were, the Dalai Lama said: “The world belongs to humanity, not this leader, that leader, kings or religious leaders. The world belongs to humanity. Each country belongs essentially to their own people.”
When asked how he felt about China and if he was hopeful for the future of freedom inside China, the Dalai Lama said — and this is from the transcript of the interview: “Oh, yes. Now, as I mentioned earlier, my fundamental belief is China belongs to 1.3 billion people, the Chinese people, not the communist party, or the Kuomintang [KMT] party.”
Was His Holiness the Dalai Lama equating the CCP with the KMT? Where does he get his information from?
Was he saying that China and Taiwan are the same place?
Dan Bloom
Chiayi
Government should fund ICRT
Isn’t Lee Chia-tung’s (李家同)argument for free English-language listening comprehension content (Letters, April 28, page 8) adding to the suggestions seen in the Taipei Times recently for International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) to change its programming at night from music to all-English?
The evening programming could be divided into native speaker level content, such as newscasts, and basic level English content (with input from Lee).
The government financially supports ICRT through Hakka lessons. Would that aid not be better spent buying hours of all-English evening content?
Elizabeth Ann McGooden
Taipei
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with