Pro-lifers all about control
In a rather appalling attempt to stir up some controversy, the Taipei Times gave an ardent pro-lifer print space (Letter, Nov. 14, page 8), instead of supporting female reproductive rights.
Pro-life attitudes are the leftover expression of male dominance over women.
For thousands of years, most cultures subjugated women so that men could use them as they pleased. Luckily, with the rise of modern democracy and human rights, women have managed to reclaim their bodies from male subjugation in many countries.
The pro-life movement was recently rejected even by the relatively conservative US electorate, and all around the world there is a trend for reproductive rights and family planning to be integral parts of democratic governments that uphold human rights, as well as sensible population policies.
As primatologist Jane Goodall, who recently visited Taiwan has pointed out, controlling population growth is one part of the equation to reduce the environmental footprint of humanity, the other being curbing reckless over-consumption.
In this context, it is interesting to note that most pro-lifers have no interest in protecting the environmental well-being of babies once they are born, as they usually oppose any government regulations to protect the environment.
And yes, Mister Misogynist, abortion is just like having a tooth removed, because the baby is an integral part of the mother’s body until it is born, and it could not survive without the mother’s body.
So the next time you deny me the rights to my womb and the rights of all the other women on this planet, I will call for the removal of all men’s testicles, because then we will have solved the problem of abortion once and for all.
So stay out of my womb.
Flora Faun
Taipei
Living in a desensitized world
Recently, I read an opinion piece in the Taipei Times (“China’s liberals indifferent to Tibetan suffering,” Nov. 14, page 9), that discussed the apathy that Han Chinese feel toward Tibetans self-immolating. I have followed this story for a while and I understand the issues involved. It is quite sad to see the Chinese government fail to address this issue.
However, the concept of people ignoring a particular issue is not only plaguing China.
After seeing a Jewish friend of mine post an online comment about how Israel and Gaza have been going at it recently, I realized that most people will just browse over her status update — some might comment, others might “like” it — but ultimately most people will just feel saddened, then move on. They will go on to “LOL” at the next status or meme, then “like” a picture and possibly post one of their favorite songs online.
My point is that we can sit here and criticize the Chinese for being totally oblivious to the Tibetan situation, but when we take a good hard look at ourselves, we are doing the same thing in our everyday lives.
We are a desensitized population that ignores the wrongs in life if they do not directly affect us.
God forbid if China ever does attack Taiwan, because if I post the news on Facebook, the people who “like” my status or comment on it will not help me one bit.
If people want China to address the Tibetan issue, then they should also ask other governments to address other issues that are just as pressing.
Harry Adamopoulos
Taipei
KMT’s disturbing US pull
A week ago, I happened to be in Taipei, so I stopped by the Presbyterian church near Taipei Main Station. There was a cage there representing the confines of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). I stepped inside to get a feel and was roundly cursed at in perfectly good English by some doddering old coot.
If that is really what his cell was like — there is barely enough room to lie dow — then it is a good thing Chen is short.
In the US, embezzlers are put in “Club Fed,” not a dog cage. Could there not be a cell somewhere in between, in terms of amenities?
Also, regarding the story in Friday’s Taipei Times about Chen Chih-chung’s (陳致中) houses in the US being confiscated (“US seizes houses bought by Chen Shui-bian’s family,” Nov. 16, page 1), something sounds fishy to me.
Taiwan is not even a “real” country, at least not by UN standards.
The US Department of Justice is busy confiscating the property of drug lords and embezzlers of “real” countries.
Does it really have the time to waste on alleged embezzlers? Do they not have bigger fish to fry? And how does the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have the political pull to make the US do its bidding?
Has Taiwan not become irrelevant since China is now the goose with the golden egg?
I love Taiwan. It is a very real country to me. I only say this because it is not a member of the UN — the authority on “real” countries. I do not say this to put down the lovely “Ilha Formosa.”
You are welcome to print this letter. Or if not, I would at least like a somewhat clearer editorial about how this situation is even possible. It really seems ridiculous.
Shervin Marsh
Luodong, Yilan County
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry