Under pressure from China’s years-long infiltration of international organizations and use of its influence, “Chinese Taipei” has become the only name Taiwan can use at international competitions. However, during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese public broadcaster NHK referred to “Chinese Taipei” as the “Taiwanese” team in its reporting. It was an expression not only of the good relationship between Taiwan and Japan, but also helps Taiwan take a giant leap toward lifting the “Chinese Taipei” curse. When NHK host used the name Taiwan for the Olympic delegation, it was almost certainly not a spur-of-the-moment decision by one individual. A reasonable conclusion would be that it was an official decision, as the Japanese government is taking increasingly concrete and open action in support of Taiwan. However, many domestic media outlets continue to refer to the Taiwanese team as the “Zhonghua [Chinese]” team (中華隊), although everyone knows that during the party-state era, referring to the English name “Chinese Taipei” as Zhonghua Taibei” (中華台北) in Chinese was a matter of self-deceit to maintain the view that the Republic of China was the true representative of China, when it was simply “Zhongguo [China] Taibei” (中國台北). The additional use of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee’s emblem further reinforces the fact that the party emblem is also the national emblem and that Taiwan remains unable to separate Zhonghua from Zhongguo. Even more disappointing, as many TV stations, print media outlets and social media continue to refer to the “Zhonghua team,” the Central News Agency (CNA), which is supposed to speak up for Taiwan, also continues to use the outdated name “Zhonghua team” on its Chinese-language Web site. Leaving aside the question of whether Taiwan would be able to get the International Olympic Committee to agree to changing “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan” or “Formosa,” that CNA is unable
Japan last month released its annual defense white paper with the aim of presenting a more confident and firm strategic posture. Since then, its strategic outlook, particularly its concerns about Taiwan’s strategic future, has caught the attention of international media and policy circles alike. The first Japanese defense white paper was issued in 1970. Since 1976, it has released the paper annually to take stock of the nation’s security interests and anxieties, and share such systematic assessments with its people. Issuing white papers on “matters that matter”’ has become a key feature of Japanese polity — a feature worthy of emulation by fellow Asian democracies. The “overall military balance between China and Taiwan is tilting in China’s favor, and the gap appears to be growing year by year,” this year’s white paper says, highlighting Taiwan’s growing security vulnerabilities. It suggests a range of trends and moves to address the Chinese challenge. Contrary to popular belief, the apparently confident tone of this year’s defense paper is not the only signal Japan has sent to the Indo-Pacific region in general and to its major stakeholders — China and the US — in particular. Statements by top Japanese leaders, including Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his deputy, Taro Aso, as well as aid to Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia are in sync with Japan’s more than a decade-old policy of establishing a rules-based order and supporting the Indo-Pacific construct while also dealing with China’s predatory Belt and Road investments in Southeast Asia. Japan is mincing no words while addressing its equation with China. For one, Aso recently stated that China-Japan relations have never been smooth. Addressing the intricacies in its relations with Beijing is not the only thing Tokyo is doing openly. Japan has been pushing the boundaries with China at multiple fronts. During his time
The soundbite “one island, one life,” with its idea that “we are all in this together,” is meant to show that all types of people are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that every person should do their part in prevention measures. Yet, migrant workers have been on their own, due to inconsistent and incomprehensive laws and protections. Following a cluster of infections at King Yuan Electronics, the Ministry of Labor on June 7 temporarily banned the transfer of migrant workers between employers, citing a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert in effect. On June 16, the ministry abruptly proposed an amendment to the Employment Services Act (就業服務法) that would require migrant workers planning to change jobs to use a government-run employment service agency, with priority being given to workers transferring to a similar line of work. Under the existing work environment, caregivers and fishers are overworked, underpaid, without labor insurance and regular holidays, and, above all, outside of the legal protection offered by the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法). Given the opportunity, they would naturally transfer to factories, which provide legal protection. Assuming that the Legislative Yuan amends the Directions of the Employment Transfer Regulations and Employment Qualifications for Foreigners Engaging in the Jobs Specified in Items 8-11, Paragraph 1, Article 46 of the Employment Services Act (外國人受聘僱從事就業服務法第46條第1項第8款至第11款規定工作之轉換雇主或工作程序準則), caregivers and fishers would be fully deprived of what little opportunity they had to transfer between employers. Non-governmental organizations and academics have been critical of the approach. Not only has the ministry failed to provide migrant workers with protective measures during the outbreak, but it has also taken advantage of the circumstances to put in place stricter regulations. This approach runs contrary to international human rights standards and Taiwan’s obligations as a nation. A comparison of what international experts have recommended and what the government has done is
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Two teams, from two Chinese cities, confronting each other on a badminton court, thwacking the shuttlecock back and forth. Nothing unusual there. In China, teams play each other all the time. For the mixed doubles pairing from Beijing that emerged victorious, the match had the banality of any other domestic competition. “Because we know each other so well,” said the woman on the winning team, Huang Yaqiong (黃雅瓊). “There’s nothing different.” Except this was an Olympic semifinal at the Tokyo Olympics. And for China, the rare privilege of being able to field two distinct teams — one from the Chinese mainland, in bright communist red, the other from its territory of Hong Kong, in a royal blue — was essentially giving it two bites at the Olympic cherry. That is two routes to securing another of those shiny Olympic gold medals that Chinese communist leaders so crave as proof they are doing a sterling job. China’s double-teaming of the Olympics — the equivalent, say, of the US fielding both a national team and another of athletes solely from New York — has never been much of an issue at the Olympics and is not becoming one so far in Tokyo. However, two things are happening that could weigh on the equation. First, Hong Kong is winning, like never before. Tokyo is the most successful games ever for the territory of 7.5 million people on the south China coast. A gold medal in the men’s foil event for fencer Cheung Ka Long (張家朗) was Hong Kong’s first since the one-time British colony was reabsorbed by China in 1997. Cheung was born just 20 days before that momentous change in Hong Kong’s trajectory. When windsurfer Lee Lai-shan (李麗珊) won Hong Kong’s first and only previous gold, at the Atlanta Games in 1996, God Save
What is the most problematic tech company in the world? Facebook? Google? Palantir? Nope. It is a small, privately held Israeli company called NSO that most people have never heard of. On its Web site, it describes itself as “a world leader in precision cyberintelligence solutions.” Its software, sold only to “licensed government intelligence and law-enforcement agencies,” naturally, helps them to “lawfully address the most dangerous issues in today’s world. NSO’s technology has helped prevent terrorism, break up criminal operations, find missing people and assist search-and-rescue teams.” So what is this magical stuff? It is called Pegasus and it is ultra-sophisticated spyware that covertly penetrates and compromises smartphones. It is particularly good with Apple phones, which is significant because these devices are generally more secure than Android ones. This is positively infuriating to Apple, which views protecting its users’ privacy as one of its unique selling points. How does Pegasus work? Pay attention, iPhone users, journalists and heads of government: Your cherished and trusted device will emit no beep or other sound when it is being hijacked. However, the intruder has gained entry and from then on everything on your phone becomes instantly accessible to whoever is running the spyware. Your camera can be secretly activated to take photographs, for example, and your microphone switched on at the whim of a distant watcher or listener. Everything you type on iMessage or WhatsApp will be read and logged. And you will have no idea that this is happening. You have been “Pegasused,” as it were. And the perpetrator might well be a government, which is interesting if you happen to be a president like Emmanuel Macron or a prime minister like Imran Khan, but potentially fatal if you happen to be a journalist like Jamal Khashoggi. Those of us who follow these things
Having posted a series of 360-degree videos on its YouTube channel since early last year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications took the concept a few steps further with Taiwan Traveler, a dedicated Web site featuring dozens of lengthy 360-degree videos, with integrated maps, of popular tourism destinations. The ministry considers its NT$90 million (US$3.22 million) collaboration with Taiwan AI Labs to be a “new model for tourism,” but not everyone sees it the same way. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) on July 25 blasted the project as a “waste of people’s hard-earned money,” especially egregious as it was built using funds from the COVID-19 relief budget intended to help battling physical industries. Unfortunately, funneling money into inconsequential high-tech projects seems to be a favorite pastime of many government agencies. In pursuit of buzzword goals such as “digital transformation” or “virtual-physical integration,” officials believe it is their duty to create projects using the latest technologies. They seem to prioritize the hottest tech for its own sake, with little thought for basic questions such as for whom or what purpose the project is intended. To further this point, Kao criticized another of the ministry’s failed projects: a traffic integration app called Umaji (遊買集) that was launched in 2018. About NT$150 million and 23,000 downloads later, the ministry in May last year removed Umaji from app stores and government Web sites, promising that after revisions it would be “even better than Google Maps.” The app is still down. Of course, the transportation ministry is not the only one entranced by trendy tech. The Taipei City Government seems particularly enthralled with apps, as an investigation by Taipei City Councilor Yang Ching-yu (楊靜宇) showed in May. Over the past few years, the city has created a shocking 71 apps for a total of more than NT$22 million,
On July 23, the Tokyo Olympics finally began, having been postponed by one year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the opening ceremony, athletes entered the stadium according to the order of the Japanese phonetic script. It seemed almost as if the organizers, when setting the running order, had purposefully used “Taiwan” to place the nation under the “ta” syllabogram, rather than use “Chinese Taipei,” which would have placed it under the “chi” syllabogram, further down the syllabary. This meant that the Taiwanese athletes entered the stadium ahead of the Chinese. Correspondingly, although Taiwan was introduced as “Chinese Taipei” by the official voice-over, Japanese state broadcaster NHK and its announcer Mayuko Wakuda referred to Taiwan’s national team as “Taiwan.” Japan was not the only place where Taiwan was receiving recognition. The Lithuanian government early last month announced that it intends to establish a trade office in Taiwan by the end of the year and would allow Taiwan to reciprocate by establishing a “Taiwanese Representative Office” — the first in the world — in its capital city, Vilnius. National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center released the results of its latest opinion poll on Taiwanese self-identification on July 20. Since the end of the Chinese Civil War, there have been ongoing changes to what it means to be “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese,” the result of an innate confusion among the inhabitants of these islands over their identity and the subjectivity of Taiwan’s national construct. “Taiwanese identity confusion” can be seen by examining the results of the poll. Who am I? This is an organic cycle that is formed from a combination of personal recognition, identity and a belief that transcends the individual. Supposing this definition is used as the criteria to evaluate the poll’s findings, by analyzing the poll from its inception in 1992 to the present,
The US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 15 introduced the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement (EAGLE) Act. The act, if passed by the US Congress, would provide powerful support for Taiwan, including a requirement that the US secretary of state enter negotiations with the Taiwan Council for US Affairs to rename the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington to the “Taiwan Representative Office.” The effort to rename Taiwan’s representative office in Washington has long been a priority for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) US diplomats. Taiwanese based in the US, as well as Taiwanese lobbying groups, have expended a great deal of money and effort over the years, diligently working toward this goal. With the relationship between Taiwan and the US riding high, this presents a golden opportunity for advocates in Washington and Taipei to seize the initiative and rename Taiwan’s representative office. Washington breaking off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 marked Taiwan’s lowest point on the international stage. At the time, I had just taken the national civil service exam and entered MOFA’s ranks as a fresh recruit with the Department for US Affairs. The Taiwan Relations Act, passed by the US Senate in April that year, established the American Institute in Taiwan. The Executive Yuan reciprocated by establishing the Coordination Council for North American Affairs to handle non-official relations with its estranged ally. However, many Taiwanese were confused by its name and could not comprehend the role or function of this new organization. In 1994, the administration of US president Bill Clinton carried out a review of policy regarding Taiwan. One of the requirements stemming from the review was that Taiwan’s representative office in Washington change its name to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, which is still in use to this
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), founded in 1987, has made great contributions to industrial development, charity and national defense over the past three decades, and even successfully procured 5 million doses of the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for Taiwan. The company is sometimes referred to as a “sacred mountain protecting the country,” a well-deserved description. When visiting several Taiwanese biotechnology companies on Feb. 17, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said he hoped that those companies would build another sacred mountain through the production of COVID-19 vaccines. Given the extremely high potential of the local pharmaceutical industry, such companies deserve greater attention and support. Becoming a pillar of industry in Taiwan does not only require sufficient funding and good industrial and economic policies; the public’s attitude toward the industry is just as crucial. For example, there are numerous semiconductor wafer foundries around the world, but TSMC and United Microelectronics Co are the ones most frequently mentioned in Taiwan. Many people might not know much about wafer manufacturing, but TSMC is a name known to almost everyone. The government’s frequent touting of those big foundries is also important to the public’s familiarity with them. In contrast, the public seems to hold a different attitude toward the pharmaceutical industry. Despite the strength of the industry, people seem to believe that the grass is greener on the other side. Today, demand for painkillers has surged following the launch of a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination drive, as officials and media advise people to buy Panadol in case they need to relieve any pain after being inoculated. Central Epidemic Command Center specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that the side effects from vaccination were quickly alleviated by Panadol. This brand is made from acetaminophen, the primary ingredient in hundreds of other painkillers on the market. Acetaminophen is produced by many Taiwanese companies,
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The US agency leading the fight against COVID-19 gave up a crucial surveillance tool tracking the effectiveness of vaccines just as a troublesome new variant of the virus was emerging. While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May stopped comprehensively tracking what are known as vaccine breakthrough cases, the consequences of that choice are only now beginning to show. At the time, the agency had identified only 10,262 cases across the US where a fully vaccinated person had tested positive for COVID-19. Most people who became infected after vaccination showed few symptoms and appeared to be at low risk of infecting others. Yet in the months since, the number of vaccine breakthrough cases has grown, as has the risk that they present, and while the CDC has stopped tracking such cases, many states have not. Bloomberg gathered data from 35 states and identified 111,748 vaccine breakthrough cases through the end of last month, more than 10 times the CDC’s tally for the end of April. Breakthrough cases are expected, and the number and proportion of them should rise as more people are vaccinated, simply because there are more vaccinated people who could get infected. The CDC said at the time that it would continue to collect data on breakthrough cases only if the infections resulted in hospitalization or death — a rare occurrence, as vaccines provide significant protection. The decision was made to “help maximize the quality of the data collected on cases of greatest clinical and public health importance.” That decision is now being questioned, including by state officials dealing with the virus on the front lines. At the same time, the CDC stopped tracking the cases, the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 began to spread in the US. Small numbers of Delta variant cases were identified in mid-April. The strain began to
In another dispiriting setback for the US’ efforts to stamp out COVID-19, scientists who studied a big outbreak in Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the virus as those who did not get the shots. Health officials on Friday released details of that research, which was key in last week’s decision by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the US where the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is fueling infection surges. The authors said the findings suggest that the CDC’s mask guidance should be expanded to include the entire country, even outside hot spots. The findings have the potential to upend past thinking about how the disease is spread. Previously, vaccinated people who became infected were thought to have low levels of virus and to be unlikely to pass it to others, but the new data show that is not the case with the Delta variant. The outbreak in Provincetown — a seaside tourist spot on Cape Cod in the county with Massachusetts’ highest vaccination rate — has so far included more than 900 cases. About three-quarters of them were people who were fully vaccinated. Travis Dagenais, who was among the many vaccinated people infected, said “throwing caution to the wind” and partying in crowds for long nights over the Independence Day holiday was a mistake. “The dominant public messaging has been that the vaccine means a return to normal,” the 35-year-old Boston resident said on Thursday. “Unfortunately, I’ve now learned it’s a few steps toward normal, not the zero-to-60 that we seem to have undertaken.” Dagenais credits being vaccinated with easing the worst of the flu-like symptoms in a couple of days. He has recovered. Like many states, Massachusetts lifted all
On July 1, the Ministry of Finance released its annual list of top tax evaders — and the listed individuals and firms are almost the same as in previous years. The ministry defines wealthy tax defaulters as individuals who owe at least NT$10 million (US$357,577) or companies that owe at least NT$50 million. This year’s list included 955 wealthy tax evaders, one fewer than last year, but the amount owed rose by NT$1.916 billion to NT$100.14 billion. Since 2010, the ministry has posted the names of top tax evaders on its Web site over the last six months of the year in the hope of pressuring them to pay their share. Late business tycoon Huang Jen-chung (黃任中) again tops this year’s list of individuals, and two of his family members are also in the top five, with the family owing NT$5.066 billion in unpaid taxes. The Kaohsiung-based family of real-estate businessman Huang Cheng-chih (黃承志) is third, with NT$1.493 billion in outstanding taxes, but since his indictment over allegedly fraudulent loans in 2001, he has been hiding in China. The Holiday Inn Asiaworld Taipei, which changed ownership to become the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei, once again tops the list of corporate tax evaders, with NT$2.473 billion in back taxes. The No. 2 corporate evader is Yang Hwa Technology Corp, a green energy company in Hsinchu County that made the list for the first time, with a NT$1.23 billion tax bill, while Procomp Informatics, which in 2004 defaulted on NT$2.98 billion in corporate bonds, is still third, with NT$1.175 billion in outstanding taxes. While the ministry hopes that public opinion would prompt some listed firms and individuals to get current on their taxes, people are wondering if the list still packs any punch, as this year’s top 20 are similar to those of previous years,
I was a bit startled last week when Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) suggested that the United States could extend official recognition to an independent Taiwan if China were to launch an invasion. While I think Speaker You is correct, I am not sure it is a helpful point of view. Naturally, there are contingency plans in Washington on diplomatic actions that could deter Chinese military action, but they contemplate the continuity of a democratic Taiwanese government that could survive offshore in exile if part or all of Taiwan is occupied by communist Chinese forces. China’s threat that “Taiwan independence means war” must, as Speaker You clearly argues, be confronted with the consensus of the international community that “War means Taiwan Independence.” He also correctly understands that creating such an international consensus relies on the diplomatic leadership of the United States. What Speaker You is not arguing is: “Hey, guys! I have an easy way to achieve independence.” During the 1990s and the 2000s, the Clinton and Bush foreign policy teams were convinced that Taiwan’s leaders were trying to get the United States into a war with China in order to gain recognition of Taiwan’s independence. The Chinese secret services also effectively spread disinformation about Taiwan independence fanatics to sour President George W. Bush’s sentiments toward Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). This resulted in the so-called “strategic ambiguity” policy which supposedly left both Beijing and Taipei uncertain of America’s commitment to Taiwan. President Obama was never worried about President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) because Ma’s policies favored close ties with China. President Trump never worried about President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) because China’s behavior toward the US had become aggressive and hostile. President Tsai understands that the Biden Administration China strategy is still nascent and she values the trust the new administration
For the past year and a half, Taiwan’s higher education institutions have suffered a huge blow to their recruitment of international students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector is grappling with what it needs to do to attract international students again and return to a semblance of normality in a post-COVID-19 world. Based on my experience in this field, I see three areas schools can look to exploit: First, the online curriculums that have over the past 18 months been developed out of necessity will not fall away once the pandemic subsides. Many institutions have said that classrooms of the future would not predominantly be physical. Instead, courses would feature a mix of online and offline elements. My organization’s research has shown that in the area of Chinese language studies, prospective students from overseas prefer online courses over conventional classes. We expect significant developments in distance learning. Second, in addition to teaching, student recruitment will also mostly move online. The manifold online activities that have sprung up in response to COVID-19 have accelerated the digitization of overseas student recruitement. Finally, the pandemic has also transformed subject preferences for international students. Interest in Taiwan’s medical and public health education courses has increased strongly, overtaking engineering, and is second only to business management. Schools should look to exploit the recruitment and financial possibilities of the increased interest in Taiwan’s outstanding medical and public health system. Once the pandemic subsides, more international students will want to select Taiwan to further their studies due to its liberal democracy and the high quality of its academic institutions. Allen Hung is chief executive officer of the Association of International Cultural and Educational Exchange Taiwan. Translated by Edward Jones
China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) founder Chang An-le (張安樂), known as the “White Wolf,” on July 15 and 16 attended a political forum in Shanghai called “Chinese Compatriots Across the Strait: Joining Hands to Realize the Chinese Dream.” During the forum, Chang said that on the day China annexes Taiwan by force, he would call on the nation’s military commanders to surrender. This reminded me of an interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave to NBC News prior to his meeting with US President Joe Biden last month. When the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was mentioned, Putin scoffed. I initially assumed that Putin did that out of embarrassment, but I asked some friends who are knowledgeable about Russia, and they gave me an insightful answer. My friends had worked for the Russian Federal Security Service and have long-standing contacts with the Russian military, which is privy to private information about affairs in China. They said that Putin scoffed because China does not have a comprehensive plan for attacking Taiwan. As far as Russia is concerned, they said: “When China announces that it will forcibly annex Taiwan, it is just as ridiculous as if the South Korean government announced that it would invade Japan. It is a non-issue.” “In our eyes, China’s level of hybrid warfare is akin to a child playing in the sand,” they said. “If Taiwan is well-prepared, China cannot hurt you. Taiwan does not need to win, it just needs to not lose. On the other hand, an unsuccessful Chinese invasion would be catastrophic.” “Western countries often see Taiwan as an exemplar of democracy in the Chinese-speaking world,” they said. “That is absolutely not how we see things in Russia. Taiwan’s relationship with China is like Japan’s relationship with South Korea; two neighboring countries that carry historical baggage and do
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With COVID-19 deaths rising in Myanmar, allegations are growing from residents and human rights activists that the military government, which seized control in February, is using the pandemic to consolidate power and crush opposition. In the past week, the per capita death rate in Myanmar surpassed those of Indonesia and Malaysia to become the worst in Southeast Asia. The country’s crippled healthcare system has rapidly become overwhelmed with new patients sick with COVID-19. Supplies of medical oxygen are running low, and the government has restricted its private sale in many places, saying it is trying to prevent hoarding. That has led to widespread allegations that the stocks are being directed to government supporters and military-run hospitals. At the same time, medical workers have been targeted after spearheading a civil disobedience movement that urged professionals and civil servants not to cooperate with the government, known as the State Administration Council (SAC). “They have stopped distributing personal protection equipment and masks, and they will not let civilians who they suspect are supporting the democracy movement be treated in hospitals, and they’re arresting doctors who support the civil disobedience movement,” said former UN special rapporteur for Myanmar Yanghee Lee, who is a founding member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar. “With the oxygen, they have banned sales to civilians or people who are not supported by the SAC, so they’re using something that can save the people against the people,” she said. “The military is weaponizing COVID.” Burmese Deputy Minister of Information Major General Zaw Min Tun did not respond to questions about the allegations, but with growing internal and external pressure to get the pandemic under control, the leadership has been on a public relations offensive. In the state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar last week, several articles highlighted the government’s efforts, including what it called a
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