A Chinese dissident yesterday urged Taiwan to insist on its values of democracy and human rights in its dealings with Beijing and be a partner in the international community’s effort of containing China, instead of taking China’s side.
Expressing concerns over Taiwan’s tilting toward China, former Chinese democracy activist Wilson Chen (陳破空), now a US-based writer, told a symposium that Taiwan “cannot become a gap in the global China-containment strategy.”
As outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) brought up the issues of a peace treaty and a military confidence-building mechanism in his farewell speech at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 18th National Party Congress last week, Chen said Beijing would likely keep pushing for political negotiations with Taiwan after the new leadership takes over.
Photo: Chen Hui-ping, Taipei Times
If Taiwan did enter into negotiations with China, its best bargaining chip would be democracy and human rights, Chen said.
Citing Japan as an example, Chen said Tokyo had misjudged the political situation and misused its culture, which values humility. However, its deference toward Beijing did not bear fruit and improve Japan’s ties with China.
Taiwan should instead pattern itself after the Western powers, such as the UK, the US and France, by engaging China while bringing up democracy and human rights issues at every opportunity, he said.
“At the end of the day, China would not cut off its exchanges with Taiwan or attack Taiwan with missiles in retaliation. Taiwan should be brave enough to be a voice that hopefully will someday bring about changes in China,” Chen said.
In an analysis of the future political situation in China, the writer said that the recently concluded national party congress marked a major victory for the CCP’s conservative wing, so there would be neither political reform in China nor dramatic changes in Beijing’s Taiwan policy in the near future.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS