Taiwan should give up the Republic of China’s (ROC) conventional foreign policy framework that seeks to compete with Beijing for the “representation of China,” and should not concern itself with the number of diplomatic allies it has under that framework, former premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday.
“Taiwan’s diplomatic allies will show up when the ROC’s diplomatic allies have decreased in number. Only [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平) should worry about the ROC’s diplomatic allies; we do not need to be troubled,” Yu said in response to Panama yesterday announcing that it was switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
Yu on Facebook yesterday reposted an opinion piece he wrote late last year when Saint Tome and Principe severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
According to the opinion piece, then-US president-elect Donald Trump’s verbal recognition of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as the president of Taiwan changed the situation for the nation, and the government should respond with a new diplomatic strategy.
Taiwan should dedicate amounts of money to international aid that are in accordance with UN policy and not waste its attention on maintaining a certain number of ROC diplomatic partners, he said.
The idea that the ROC’s sovereignty extends to “mainland” areas and that the ROC is in competition with the People’s Republic of China over the right to represent “China” should be abandoned, he said.
International politics is controlled by the hegemonic powers, and Taiwan should base its diplomacy on survival by dedicating its resources to cultivating ties with the US, Japan and the EU, he said.
Taiwan’s survival in the international arena should be the supreme directive of the nation’s diplomacy, Yu said, adding that Taiwan should pursue opportunities to participate in international organizations under the name “Taiwan” and encourage other states to recognize the nation without demanding that they to derecognize Beijing.
The strategy of encouraging recognition of Taiwan and China might serve as a deterrent to China undermining the ROC’s diplomatic partners, because such actions could lead to the recognition of Taiwan as a state, Yu said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address