All lives eventually come to an end. Over the years, my friendship with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had its ups and downs. Lee’s passing was a heavy blow and has left me deeply saddened. We experienced a lot together and the memories have come flooding back. Lee was born several months earlier than me. During World War II, he was studying at Kyoto Imperial University, but halfway through his studies, he was forced to change his name and enter military service. I was studying at Tokyo Imperial University, but went into hiding to avoid military service, and I was later strafed by a US military aircraft and lost my left arm. At the time we did not know each other and had not even heard of each other. After the war, Taipei Imperial University was renamed National Taiwan University (NTU). Taiwanese students who had had their studies at Japan’s imperial universities cut short due to the war were granted an unconditional transfer to complete their degrees at NTU. There were relatively few students at the university, so we all got to know one another. Lee, who was studying agricultural science, another student called Mr A (A君) who was studying economics, and I formed a close bond. We would often eat together and chat about national affairs. Once, when I raised the subject of Taiwanese independence, Lee lambasted then-Taiwan Provincial Government Grain Bureau director Lee Lien-chun’s (李連春) policy of exchanging fertilizer for grain for its “gross exploitation of Taiwanese farmers.” However, he seemed uninterested in general politics. After graduating, Lee joined the US-sponsored Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. I stayed at NTU to work as a teaching assistant before leaving to study overseas. A few years later, Lee also left Taiwan for overseas studies. On returning to Taiwan, I was appointed head of the
As Taiwan is engulfed in worries about Chinese infiltration, news reports have revealed that power inverters made by China’s Huawei Technologies Co are used in the solar panels on the top of the Legislative Yuan’s Zhenjiang House (鎮江會館) on Zhenjiang Street in Taipei. However, what is even more worrying is that Taiwan’s new national electronic identification card (eID) has been subcontracted to the French security firm and eID maker Idemia, which has not only cooperated with the Chinese Public Security Bureau to manufacture eIDs in China, but also makes the new identification cards being issued in Hong Kong. There might be more Chinese influence in Idemia than in the “red supply chain.” After a sample of Hong Kong’s new identification card was approved, a Hong Kong technician wrote an article about the strengths and weaknesses of its anti-counterfeiting features. The technician said that the card maker, Morpho (now Idemia), said on its Web site that it works with China’s Public Security Bureau and provides biometric systems for the Chinese government, immigration agencies and other public offices, and that it is an important player for providers of biometric solutions for immigration control. According to Idemia’s Web site, Morpho was previously a part of Safran Group, which has a long history of doing business with China. In 2017, Morpho was acquired and renamed Idemia. Safran’s Web site shows that as early as 2015, Morpho was supplying biometrics, law enforcement equipment and border control systems to the Public Security Bureau. Before that, the company had provided facial recognition systems for Chinese public security authorities in Shanghai, Tianjin and Wenzhou, and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Guangzhou. Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) once said: “China is the only country in the world that would like to invade Taiwan. What can we do if we let China handle
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After initial success, Japan is facing a reality check on the coronavirus. The country garnered global attention after containing the first wave of COVID-19 with what it referred to as the “Japan Model” — limited testing and no lockdown, nor any legal means to force businesses to close. The country’s finance minister even suggested a higher “cultural standard” helped contain the disease, but now the island nation is facing a formidable resurgence, with COVID-19 cases hitting records nationwide day after day. Infections first concentrated in the capital have spread to other urban areas, while regions without cases for months have become new hotspots. And the patient demographic — originally younger people less likely to fall seriously ill — is expanding to the elderly, a concern given that Japan is home to the world’s oldest population. Experts say that Japan’s focus on the economy might have been its undoing. As other countries in Asia, which experienced the coronavirus earlier than those in the West, wrestle with new flare ups of COVID-19, Japan now risks becoming a warning for what happens when a country moves too fast to normalize — and does not adjust its strategy when the outbreak changes. While Japan declared a state of emergency to contain the first wave of the virus, it did not compel people to stay home or businesses to shut. That was ended in late May and officials quickly pivoted to a full reopening in an attempt to get the country’s recessionary economy back on track. By June, restaurants and bars were fully open while events like baseball and sumo-wrestling were back on — a stark contrast to other places in the region like Singapore, which were reopening only in cautious phases. Japan’s haste may have been premature, experts say. “This is the result of the government prioritizing
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown his regime’s real intentions. By changing the constitution to allow him to remain in office until 2036 and incorporating conservative new language, it has cast off its teetering mask of democratic legitimacy. However, just as Putin has sought to entrench his rule, his regime is looking weaker than ever. In the city of Khabarovsk, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks, chanting, “Putin resign!” They are not alone. While Putin’s approval rating might seem high, it is low by Russian standards. His 59 to 60 percent approval rating in recent months is his lowest since October 1999, when he was prime minister, and it is unlikely to improve significantly for a simple reason: Putin’s tried-and-tested methods to win support have lost their firepower. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Russia hard, in terms of public health and economic fallout. With oil exports, the mainstay of Russia’s economy, down sharply, the government’s budget revenues have cratered. As a result, the Kremlin’s tacit pact with the public — we ensure your basic wellbeing, and you do not complain — is unraveling. Putin’s regime has long sought to divert public attention from domestic problems by touting its foreign-policy victories and its unrelenting battle against a domestic “fifth column.” Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 embodied what have long been his most effective tactics for securing support: xenophobia, anti-Western hysteria and the invocation of a glorious past. His approval rating skyrocketed to more than 85 percent. IMAGE IS EVERYTHING However, for Putin, the impression of broad public support is arguably more important than the support itself. The July 1 plebiscite on the constitutional amendments meant little in practice. The changes had been ratified by the Duma and regional legislatures months before. However, the popular vote gave the Kremlin the opportunity
In Tatung’s controversial shareholders’ meeting at the end of June, the family-controlled management overstepped its power and self-interpreted the laws to block its opponents’ voting rights. As a result, not only did the Ministry of Economic Affairs reject the company’s registration of new board directors, but the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) also reported the matter to judiciary authorities, saying the company had committed a breach of trust. Soon after, Jko Fintech last month relaunched its investment product Tuofu Bao, which, as expected, attracted NT$150 million (US$5.1 million) from 5,000 investors on its first day. The financial technology company claimed its product complied with the law and had regulatory approval, which the FSC denied. In the end, Jko Fintech had to suspend the service, because it is the commission, not the company, that has the final say. Jko Fintech touted Tuofu Bao as its answer to Alibaba Group’s Yuebao, which has attracted massive deposits from Chinese consumers to become the largest money market fund in China. Tuofu Bao would have allowed users of Jko Fintech’s e-payment platform, Jkopay, to invest cash online in the Jko Multi-Asset Fund, which is managed by Jko Fintech affiliate Jko Asset Management. The company has been promoting Tuofu Bao since 2018, saying it would offer better returns than traditional deposits. Last month was the third time Jko Fintech has unsuccessfully attempted to bring the service to market. What raised eyebrows at the FSC were the company’s claims that the investment service would offer an “expected return of 1.2 to 2.5 percent,” although the company said that it was not guaranteeing annual returns. The commission also took issue with the company’s other claims that Tuofu Bao faces no legal issues and that it does not require FSC approval. Jko Fintech committed the same mistake as Tatung. Whether in the electronics industry or
South China Sea exercises in July by two United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers reminds that Taiwan’s history since mid-1950, and as a free nation, is intertwined with that of the aircraft carrier. Eventually Taiwan will host aircraft carriers, either those built under its democratic government or those imposed on its territory by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). By September 1944, a lack of sufficient carrier airpower and land-based airpower persuaded US Army and Navy leaders to forgo an invasion to wrest Taiwan from Japanese control, thereby sparing Taiwanese considerable wartime destruction. But two days after North Korea’s invasion of South Korea on June 27, 1950, when US President Harry Truman ordered the US Navy’s 7th Fleet to “neutralize” the Taiwan Strait, it was the arrival of the carrier USS Valley Forge on June 29 that added the strength to deter Mao Zedong (毛澤東) from attempting an invasion. In February 1955, after persuading a reluctant Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣介石), seven US carriers helped provide air cover for the evacuation of Taiwanese troops and civilians from the difficult-to-defend Dachen Islands. But Chiang would also benefit from public shows of Washington’s support when he visited US aircraft carriers on four occasions: first the USS Wasp in January 1954 amid the First Taiwan Straits Crisis; then USS Midway in late 1958 during the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis; the USS Constellation in July 1963; and, with his son and successor Chiang Ching-Kuo (蔣經國), the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise in March 1966. Another nuclear-powered carrier, the USS Nimitz, along with the non-nuclear powered USS Independence, would embarrass CCP leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民) by demonstrating the PLA’s inability to prevent Washington from supporting Taiwan, during the Taiwan Straits Crisis of March 1996. But this incident would advance already underway PLA efforts in two directions:
In 1997, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) took the bold initiative to invite the Dalai Lama to Taiwan as a state guest for the first time in history. His foresight allowed Taiwanese to be exposed to the Tibetan leader, who has earned respect as a great Buddhist teacher. Lee’s passing is a true loss for Tibetans, as he was a strong supporter. Prior to the 1997 visit, much dialogue had taken place. Our delegation would not have anything to do with the then-Mongolian Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC), which was a sticking point in Tibet-Taiwan relations, and we had discussed the closure of this office, as it had become irrelevant. In due course, the commission’s role was diminished and later merged with the Ministry of Culture. Scores of Tibetans who had entered Taiwan on different passports were offered residency. His Holiness was allowed entry not only as a religious but also as a political leader. One direct result of the visit was the setting up of the official Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Taipei. A few days before His Holiness’ visit to Taiwan, I was asked what I thought of the visit. I said that it was a historic visit, as His Holiness would be visiting a Taiwanese territory. If the visit was to be successful, it would be the springboard to visiting China. The visit was extremely well received by both the government and the people of Taiwan. It left a changed view with us that Taiwan was not part of China, but instead a separate entity. In our dialogue with Beijing, they insisted that His Holiness recognize Taiwan as part of China. This was a precondition that Beijing said would lead to future talks. After visiting Taiwan, seeing the vibrant democracy and making many friends, His
Men and women are different, more so than in the obvious physical ways. Men and women think differently, and deal with things differently. Taiwan, as the lighthouse for democracy and freedom in the Chinese-speaking world, is not doing enough to meet its responsibility to fight for social justice and equality. It takes a truly confident and progressive civilization to raise awareness and fight for equal rights. Equal rights are not about fulfilling the needs of just one group, but about meeting the needs of others; it is not about self-freedom, but freedom for all. Whether it is same-sex marriage, LGBT rights, feminism or other social issues, Taiwan has proven to be a truly confident, liberal and free society in including all voices. Feminism has become a trend and a value that the majority of young Taiwanese want to uphold, but with little understanding of its depths. In Taiwan — known for its traditional Chinese cultural values on family, relationships and duty — feminism has limited moral ground to stand on. The concern is not about the complex difficulties of changing traditional Chinese family values, because change takes time and perseverance. The concern is for young members of the “Internet generation” who claim to fly the feminist flag, but are acting in opposition of feminist values. I am a feminist, who acknowledges and accepts the differences between being male and female. It is how nature created us. To many, this “nature” is God. To others, it might be Buddha, or other spiritual figures that people might believe to have destined their gender. To an atheist, it is just nature. Gender roles do not need to be erased, but society should endeavor to elevate and level the role of women to that of men. However, Taiwan’s media coverage of women is filled with perverted sexualized language, judgements and
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Teachers and professors face crackdowns as authorities fight for the minds of an antagonistic young generation. Thousands of educators in Hong Kong expect the coming weeks to be a nervous time as they prepare for a new academic year. In just a month’s time, universities, schools and even kindergartens across the territory are to be placed under unprecedented scrutiny as they resume classes for the first time after the new National Security Law passed last month, amid calls for the “bad apples” among teachers to be purged. Teachers and schools have come under scathing attack from government officials and the pro-establishment camp since the anti-government protest movement roiled Hong Kong a year ago. Professors and teachers have been widely blamed for “poisoning” young minds with an allegedly heretical and radical agenda, and for producing a young generation antagonistic toward the authorities. Just in the past week, two academics active in politics have been dismissed. This took place the same week as the arrests of four student activists on national security charges and the disqualification of 12 pro-democracy candidates for the legislative election. Benny Tai (戴耀廷), a law professor and one of the founders of the 2014 “Umbrella movement” — much vilified in the Chinese state press — was fired by the University of Hong Kong on Tuesday. Tai was jailed last year on public nuisance charges for leading the civil disobedience movement. China’s liaison office in Hong Kong hailed his sacking “a deed of justice” and accused him of “inciting” students. The China-owned daily Wen Wei Po said it was a long-overdue “riddance of a cancer” from the university. Tai said his dismissal “marks the end of academic freedom in Hong Kong,” and he was “heartbroken to witness the demise of my beloved university.” Shiu Ka-chun (邵家臻), a pro-democracy lawmaker and lecturer in social work who
French President Emmanuel Macron set a historian to investigate colonial brutality — but yet more evidence is no substitute for action. Clarifying the past is a notoriously difficult task at the best of times, but exceptionally so in relation to the intensely bloody history of Algeria. France, its former colonizer, has a long record of covering up the atrocities it committed, so the facts are frequently disputed. This has prolonged anger and resentment among the victims of an “imperial adventure” that continues to divide the two nations. Macron wants to change all this and has appointed a renowned expert on North Africa to shed light on “the memory of colonization and the Algerian war” by the end of this year. Universite Sorbonne Paris Nord professor Benjamin Stora’s ultimate objective would be to illuminate the horror of what went on during the 132 years of French conquest in Algeria that started in 1830, but also to help bring about “reconciliation between the French and Algerian peoples,” reads a particularly ambitious Elysee Palace statement. Macron is the first French president to address this scandalously neglected issue since the country’s defeat at the hands of Algerian nationalists in 1962. “The Algerian war is today absent from our political memory and the subject of a conflict of memories like the Holocaust was. We don’t talk about this. We crush it,” Macron told journalists on a trip back from Israel earlier this year. However, Algerian communities in France, as well as in Algeria, are by no means convinced that rapprochement is so close at hand. This is because their collective memory is informed by the hardship that has persisted long after freedom. When victory was achieved after the nearly eight-year Algerian war of independence, the winning forces claimed about 1.5 million Algerians casualties. The dead ranged from men, women and
A top US think tank has listed Taiwan’s telecommunications companies among other trusted networks in a US State Department initiative to develop safe 5G communications. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on April 29 announced the US’ requirement for a “5G clean path ... that does not use any transmission, control, computing or storage equipment from untrusted IT vendors, such as Huawei and ZTE, which are required to comply with directives of the Chinese Communist Party.” Pompeo also said that only systems and networks accredited as “5G Clean Networks” by US think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) would be allowed to interface with US government computer systems. Distrust of China is growing in Washington. Most recent examples, including the US’ closure of China’s Houston consulate — followed by China’s retaliatory closure of the US consulate in Chengdu — and the exclusion of Chinese firms from the US’ trusted networks list, signal that the relationship will not improve in the short term. However, the inclusion of Taiwanese companies indicates improving Taiwan-US ties and the trust that the US places in Taiwanese technology. Taiwan must seize this opportunity to provide 5G network software and equipment to the US and other trusted nations. A closed network of trusted nations would offer Taiwan the opportunity to participate in intelligence sharing. For example, the “Five Eyes” nations — an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US — have all banned Chinese technology from their 5G infrastructure and are on the US’ clean networks list. The “Five Eyes” group has worked with other nations on specific intelligence-gathering projects, and has since 2018 been working with France, Germany and Japan to counter threats from China and Russia. Inviting Taiwan to join might prove invaluable, given its history in defending against threats from
Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee’s (李眉蓁) master’s thesis is a hot topic of conversation, given that she is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election. Everyone is shocked that Lee could get a master’s degree from National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) with a thesis that was allegedly almost completely plagiarized. Ministry of Education figures show that Taiwan had only 13 cases of plagiarized university theses from 2014 to 2018, an average of fewer than three cases per year, but after the revelations about Lee’s thesis, can people still believe this? When submitting it, Lee had selected not to have the university release her thesis internally or externally, and she might have thought that nobody would ever read it. If she had not decided to stand in the by-election, maybe nobody would have gone to the National Central Library to peruse the paper manuscript of her thesis. This incident has accidentally opened a Pandora’s box regarding the nation’s academia, whose true face can be seen from three perspectives. First, how many theses lying in a corner of the National Central Library are marked as being not for release on or off campus? If the ministry wished to investigate, it could ferret out all of the problematic theses within a few months, but does it have the will to do it? Second, at the beginning of this year, the media reported about an NSYSU student who plagiarized a thesis from the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Tantalizing about the case is the still unknown identity of the whistle-blower. Who would know that a hot-off-the-press thesis was a near copy of another? Some people suspected that the parties involved could not agree on a price for ghostwriting the thesis, or that the ghostwriter reported it because they only received the down payment
Hualien Air Force Base was originally scheduled to open its doors to the public this month, with an air show as the main event. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was canceled. Air show fans are up in arms, but this might actually be a good thing. The air force base lies on the slope of a mountain and faces the sea. This means that a mountain range forms the backdrop to air shows held at the base, rather than blue skies. In humid weather, the emerald green of the mountains is the perfect foil for the white vapor trails, and the scene allows for fantastic photographs. The majestic backdrop is also why air show enthusiasts scramble to buy tickets and secure accommodation well in advance of the show. However, the low-altitude, high-risk flying maneuvers are mostly just for entertaining the crowds and have little to no real-world application in relation to combat preparation. Aside from making high g-force turns, all the elements of an aerobatic display are useless when encountering enemy aircraft. However, as the public’s appetite increases, the pilots fly lower and lower, the afterburners become louder and louder, and the official commentary becomes over the top. Any slight hesitation or misjudgement on the part of the pilot and it would only take about two seconds for the aircraft to crash into the ground. If an accident were to occur, would the public yet again blame the air force? The regular openings of Hualien Air Force Base to the public should be abolished. The fuel burned during an air show would be much better used for intercepting China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force aircraft. How dangerous is low-altitude flying? The crash of a Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter at Hsinchu Air Force Base on July 16 during the Han Kuang military
The thesis plagiarism accusations surrounding Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, has piqued the public’s curiosity, and the number of thesis searches has surged sharply. Some even joke that Lee should be credited for spurring a wave of academic discussion. The controversy has even extended to the “ghostwriting market.” Hiring someone to write a thesis is like hiring someone to take the Joint College Entrance Examination: Such misconduct must be condemned. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education has long dealt with the problem passively. In 2013, the legislature amended the Degree Conferral Act (學位授予法) to crack down on ghostwriting, by sharply increasing the fines for academic ghostwriting and advertising academic ghostwriting services. However, as Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) has shown, the ministry has only caught three ghostwriters in the seven years since — one in the first year and two this year. According to Ministry of the Interior data, more than 3 million Taiwanese have a university degree, and more than 1.3 million have a master’s degree or higher. Among those under the age of 64, 45 percent are junior college or university graduates, which is much higher than in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member states, where the average is 33 percent. With the large number of university graduates, it would be great if the nation could shine on the international stage. Surprisingly, in UK-based Quacquarelli Symonds’ 2021 QS World University Rankings, National Taiwan University is the only Taiwanese school, ranking 66th among the world’s top 100 universities, lagging behind China’s Tsinghua University, Peking University and Fudan University at No. 15, 23 and 34 respectively. A university should be a place where students seek knowledge, truth and pleasure, but in Taiwan, this is wishful thinking. Academics and students are seeking
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Indian families, sitting on the world’s biggest private stash of gold, are rushing to borrow against their jewelry as the precious metal rallies to records and the COVID-19 pandemic fuels an economic downturn. Now, financial firms and banks are using that demand to lure more customers from pawnbrokers and money lenders. The added competition could lower borrowing costs for Indian consumers, who in desperate moments of financial stress often pay exorbitant rates to informal lenders to use gold as collateral. Commercial banks, such as HDFC Bank and Federal Bank, are expanding the loans they make against the precious metal. Lenders specialized in gold, such as Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance, are making it easier for their clients to borrow. Manappuram is offering gold-backed loans at the customer’s doorsteps via a 24-hour bank network since people are reluctant to leave their homes while COVID-19 cases are surging in India. It also has staff and vehicles on standby to service client requests. HDFC is boosting the number of branches offering such loans in rural India, where money lenders remain the norm. The World Gold Council estimates that Indian households are sitting on a US$1.5 trillion hoard of gold, the biggest of its kind, largely made up of jewelry, which families often inherit or are gifted at weddings. Gold is worn at special occasions and can contribute to a substantial portion of the marriage dowries of women. It also doubles as an insurance policy and retirement plan in a nation lacking robust social welfare systems. As a result, India’s demand for gold-backed loans has only risen as its global price has approached US$2,000 an ounce, allowing families to borrow larger amounts against their holdings. Still, consultancy KPMG estimates that 65 percent of India’s US$46 billion gold loan industry is dominated by informal lenders, whose interest rates can range
About six in 10 people living in some of India’s biggest slums have antibodies for COVID-19, indicating that they have recovered from infection, in what could be one of the highest population immunity levels known worldwide. The findings, from a serological survey that took samples from 6,936 people across three suburbs in India’s financial center of Mumbai last month, might explain why a steep drop in infections is being seen among the closely-packed population, despite new cases accelerating overall in the hard-hit country. “Mumbai’s slums might have reached herd immunity. If people in Mumbai want a safe place to avoid infection, they should probably go there,” said Jayaprakash Muliyil, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of India’s National Institute of Epidemiology, and the retired head of one of India’s premier medical colleges. The findings of the study, which was conducted by municipal authorities and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, suggest that despite efforts to contain the spread of the disease, Mumbai’s poorest neighborhoods might have unwittingly pursued the controversial strategy of attaining herd immunity. This describes an approach in which infection is allowed to run through a population to faster neutralize the pathogen’s threat. The idea is controversial not only because of the risks to those who get infected, but because there is still debate over how much immunity an infection leaves and how long it lasts. Some studies have shown COVID-19 antibody counts dropping after only a few months, creating the possibility of re-infection, though there has been little evidence so far that re-infections with the virus have been occurring. Some experts have raised the possibility that other immune cells continue to provide immunity even after antibodies fade. About 57 percent of the surveyed people in the slums of Dahisar, Chembur and Matunga had antibodies in their blood, compared with 21.2 percent found
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