It is unusual for a newspaper columnist to write an "open letter" to a foreign head of state. However, Jim Mann of the Los Angeles Times is no ordinary columnist. He is a longtime Taiwan watcher. In a recent book titled About Face, Mann revealed many inside stories and insights about US China policy. However, Mann's suspicions about President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) -- the Times column was headlined "A President Caught in a Whopper" -- revealed a lack of understanding about Taiwan. Actually, the columnist's lopsided concern seems to be a whopper itself.
In a kind of in-your-face finger-pointing, Mann said he suspects Lee might try to touch off a military conflict with China during his remaining months in office, in order to create an excuse for putting off the election and keep himself in power. We have heard this kind of theory before, in rumors churned out by pro-unification factions here. Only someone who does not understand Taiwan's democratization process could come up with this kind of fantasy -- not to mention that it is an insult to Lee's character.
As Mann wrote, not a single US official, scholar or expert has voiced any fear of instability following the KMT's fall from power. As Taiwan gets used to regular elections and becomes mature enough to accept political parties taking turns governing, we owe much of the credit for these accomplishments to Lee's efforts to democratize Taiwan over the past 10 years. Even Lee's opponents wouldn't deny this.
Lee caught both the US and China completely flat-footed on July 9 when he spoke of the special "state-to-state" model. While many China experts in the US were caught by surprise, others criticized Lee for provoking China. They worried that Lee would cause more trouble for China and pull the US into the conflict. They were especially concerned that Lee would legitimize his "state-to-state" model by enshrin-ing it in the Constitution before he steps down -- a move that will keep some Americans awake at night.
In fact, Lee's "state-to-state" model is by no means a change in the status quo. Rather, it is the description of a reality. Therefore, it is impossible for Lee to retract it. Nor is there any need to amend the Constitution in this regard.
Lee's fondness for lively language and style sometimes surprises people. However, overwhelming public support for the "state-to-state" model indicates that Lee was only reflecting public opinion, as would any democratic head of state.
Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have their source in China's increasing military threats. Given that Taiwan already has its hands full trying to ensure its self-defense and self-preservation, why would it ever look for more trouble by a deliberate provocation aimed at Beijing?
Perhaps Jim Mann was indeed concerned about Taiwan's security. But his column erred by not to discussing China's threats and its diplomatic siege of Taiwan. His silence on these issues can only be called misguided.
Taiwan is only asking to be left alone, so that it can develop into a mature democracy. However, the Taiwanese people are not so naive as to expect -- as Mann assumes they do -- that the US will come to their aid in case of a conflict with China. We know we will have to be realistic about self-defense. We know better than to rely on the opinions of old China hands in the international media.
In the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. As expected, bilateral trade emerged as a major priority for the new Trump administration. To secure a favorable trade deal with Taiwan, it adopted a two-pronged strategy: First, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” chip business from the US, indicating that if Taipei did not address Washington’s concerns in this strategic sector, it could revisit its Taiwan
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) challenges and ignores the international rules-based order by violating Taiwanese airspace using a high-flying drone: This incident is a multi-layered challenge, including a lawfare challenge against the First Island Chain, the US, and the world. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) defines lawfare as “controlling the enemy through the law or using the law to constrain the enemy.” Chen Yu-cheng (陳育正), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies, at Taiwan’s Fu Hsing Kang College (National Defense University), argues the PLA uses lawfare to create a precedent and a new de facto legal
International debate on Taiwan is obsessed with “invasion countdowns,” framing the cross-strait crisis as a matter of military timetables and political opportunity. However, the seismic political tremors surrounding Central Military Commission (CMC) vice chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) suggested that Washington and Taipei are watching the wrong clock. Beijing is constrained not by a lack of capability, but by an acute fear of regime-threatening military failure. The reported sidelining of Zhang — a combat veteran in a largely unbloodied force and long-time loyalist of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — followed a year of purges within the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
On the last day of the extended legislative session on Friday last week, the Legislative Yuan, with a slight majority held by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), continued to refuse to review the government’s annual budget for this year, which is already overdue. It was the first time in Taiwan’s constitutional history that the government budget was not reviewed in its supposed legislative session. Instead, the opposition rushed to pass three controversial bills, which many people have criticized as self-serving. Since the Executive Yuan submitted its annual budget proposal to the Legislative Yuan in August last
RSS