In view of Taiwan’s predicament on the diplomatic front, the constant wrangling among domestic politicians, the government’s apparent inability to protect taxpayers’ interests, and a slew of vacillating policies and broken promises, it can at times be difficult to view the nation’s future optimistically.
Depressing reports about China’s incessant malicious moves to reduce the nation’s global presence and the promise of judicial reform, which appears to be moving at a snail’s pace, to name just two issues, have made Taiwanese cynical about the government’s pledges to improve the nation and to pessimistically wonder where the country is headed.
Frustrating news about Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co, which defaulted on a NT$20.5 billion (US$677.1 million) syndicated loan, and allegations of questionable loans of by state-run Mega Financial Holding Co to Chien Chi Asset Management Co, have the public doubting the government’s resolve to get to the bottom of suspected irregularities at large companies.
Fortunately, Taiwanese are taking action, with or without the government’s help.
Hualien native Huang Chun-tang (黃群棠) single-handedly cultivated fields of flowers and organized music festivals in hopes of promoting tourism in his hometown.
Eager to revitalize and beautify the town, he paid for sunflower seeds and distributed them to local residents and public schools “to create and sustain a themed scenic attraction to have a vibrant tourism industry.”
Volunteers, undaunted by setbacks caused by Chinese pressure, are willingly sacrificing their weekends to stand on the streets all around Taiwan and petition for Taiwan’s national team to take part in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics as “Taiwan” instead of “Chinese Taipei.”
These people’s efforts, not to mention that of a group of Japanese who initiated the campaign, puts the Democratic Progressive Party administration to shame.
During this year’s Taipei Summer Universiade, Taiwanese athletes such as world No. 1 women’s singles badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) and many more quietly and diligently made the nation proud and helped put Taiwan on the map.
All the examples suggest that while the nation’s future may look bleak at times — with China’s incessant obstruction of Taiwan internationally and the government seemingly at its wits’ end in dealing with that country, along with grievances about the Cabinet dragging its feet on reforms — there is still hope.
Taiwanese people’s willpower, passion and diligence have helped them inject doses of confidence and optimism.
There are many more kind and diligent souls in Taiwan who are unselfish and ready to take matters into their own hands in hopes of polishing the nation’s name and advancing the welfare of the nation’s people.
One can only hope politicians and the government will start to do their fair share to improve the nation.
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
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