Get up to speed on cycling
The Taipei Times should properly cover bicycle racing in Taiwan. The nearly finished 2014 Tour of Taiwan has several UCI top-division teams and numerous second and third-division teams, as well as several Taiwanese teams, but it has garnered only minimal coverage in the paper’s news section — a dynamic it shares with the Taiwan KOM Challenge — and not a word thus far in the sports section.
The paper does a great job of covering European professional cycling, for which I am grateful. However, the paper is missing a tremendous opportunity to cover a sport followed by many Taiwanese as fans and active participants in local races. Also, given Taiwan’s position as the world’s No. 1 bicycle manufacturer, this race warrants coverage on that basis alone. Please consider increasing the paper’s coverage of future races — the Taipei Times is missing a great opportunity to share with the nation world-class sporting events in Taiwan.
Tom Simonson
Taichung
Fisherman vs atomic energy
Last week, the Bureau of Energy said that even if Taiwan does not start operating the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City, there will not be an energy shortage due to the efforts to save energy. This statement blows a big hole in the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ lies.
I am not sure about other industries, but the impact of nuclear power plants on the fishing industry is significant. In Kenting, the coolant water discharged by the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant on the Hengchun Peninsula has killed a lot of coral reefs, so that the catch for fishermen like me is shrinking every year. Even worse, Chinese fishing boats often use trawls or even poison or electricity, which makes it difficult for fishermen and people in other related industries to survive.
Last week saw some news to be happy about. The abalone farming industry has successfully planted new abalone along the north coast. The question is how they will continue their farming if the fourth nuclear power plant becomes operational and starts discharging large volumes of wastewater.
The energy bureau’s report said that its statement that there will not be a lack of energy was based on strict energy savings in the business community. It is the government’s responsibility to manage private businesses, otherwise one cannot help but wonder how a small nation like Taiwan can shoulder the environmental cost.
The news of test runs at the fourth nuclear power plant shows a complete disregard of the general public and future generations. That is why last week, thousands of people defied the bad weather and took to the streets to protest against nuclear power in an attempt to monitor the government.
The mistakes cannot continue to happen.
Hsia Wen-tung
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.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing