An objective comparison
Last month, western Japan also experienced torrential rains, with as many as 220 people confirmed dead, with over 20,000 households affected.
Among the fatalities, 114 were in Hiroshima, with another 64 from Okayama. According to figures released by the Japan Meteorological Agency, in the 12 consecutive days of heavy rainfall from June 28 to July 8 in western Japan, the highest amount of rainfall was 570.5mm in Uchiguroyama in Akiota in Hiroshima’s Yamagata District, while 565.5mm fell in Onbara in Kagamino, Tomata District, Okayama. An accumulated rainfall of over 500mm each in two districts alone caused almost 200 deaths.
Compare this with the recent torrential rains in central and southern Taiwan in which, according to figures announced by the Central Weather Bureau, we saw 833mm of rainfall in just two days on Aug. 23 and 24, in Zengwen New Village in Tainan’s Nansi [District (楠西)] and 807.5mm in the same period in Yongle Village in Dapu [Township (大埔)], Chiayi County.
In two short days there was considerably more rainfall in central and southern Taiwan than in almost two weeks in Japan’s Hiroshima and Okayama.
Considering the death and devastation caused in those two areas on Japan with less rain and over a longer period, one can only imagine the scale of the disaster that would have been visited upon Tainan and Chiayi County had the local governments in those two areas not have been vigilant in their water control measures.
This is certainly not to say that there isn’t room for improvement considering the damage and misery caused by the flooding. However, neither should the destruction and pain wrought by natural disaster be exploited by the media and opportunistic politicians looking for a reason to score political points.
Here I refer, for example, to how local disaster victims and the media accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of failing to empathize with the victims because she traveled around the affected area in an armored vehicle when she visited the disaster area to assess the situation, and did not get out and walk around in the flooded streets with everyone else.
The Presidential Office made clear that Tsai had not traveled to the affected areas in an armored vehicle, but that this was the vehicle of choice to move around the disaster-hit areas most efficiently, and that she had, indeed, got out of the vehicle when she was assessing the situation in specific locations.
It is only natural that the president cannot visit every single flood-hit area of the country. And yet sections of the media and certain politicians insisted on making a meal out of the armored vehicle thing.
If you make an objective comparison of the situations in Taiwan and Japan, you might come to a different conclusion from these people.
Tsai Chuo-li
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