Harsh criticism of and strong opposition to Taiwan's planned UN referendum by US officials recently could stir up even more anti-US sentiment in Taiwan, academics said in a seminar yesterday.
"Recent public opinion polls show that US popularity in Taiwan has been decreasing as the latter has been leaning toward China in handling the Taiwan Strait issue," said Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), a professor of politics at Soochow University, during a seminar organized by the pro-independence Taiwan Thinktank.
"The Americans should pay close attention to this," Lo said, because anti-US sentiment was almost non-existent during the past decades in Taiwan. If the sentiment develops into anti-Americanism, we will probably see a fundamental and structural change in Taiwan-US relations in future, he said.
Tung Li-wen (董立文), deputy executive at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, agreed that the intensity of anti-US sentiment is unprecedented, saying it resulted from the US "actually helping China change the status quo and pressuring Taiwan to kowtow to China."
"The worst-case scenario would be that Taiwan becomes not only an anti-communist country but also anti-US at the same time," Tung said.
Most Taiwanese have the impression that the US has been putting much more pressure on Taiwan than on China by failing to ask it to remove its missiles, improve human rights and stop squeezing Taiwan's international space, Lo said.
People have the impression that Taiwan's democracy, which the US had called for since the end of World War II, was not enough to give it the recognition it deserves internationally, said Chen Wen-hsien (陳文賢), a professor at National Chengchi University.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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