In order to stop the Bush administration from selling advanced weapons to Taiwan, China recently toned down its rhetoric against Taiwan, hinted at more flexibility in dealing with America's missile defense plans and warned of a possible arms race in the Taiwan Strait.
But can we trust Beijing's dictators, who only understand the language of brute force and neglect the real threat that they pose to Taiwan? China has 300 short-range missiles pointing across the Taiwan Strait and continues to deploy about 50 more a year.
To guarantee Taiwan's security America has to respond to and counter Beijing's aggression. China's tactic is to strike Taiwan quickly and over-whelmingly before America can respond. Its intention to bring Taiwan to its knees by force is very clear.
The Arleigh Burke destroyers that Taiwan seeks to buy are not cheap. They cost about US$1 billion each. But does Taiwan have any other choice as it faces a hostile China? It would be very costly for Taiwan to match China dollar for dollar. Obviously Taiwan needs to have a cost effective way of defending itself. President Chen Shui-bian
Yang Ji-charng
Columbus, Ohio
Personal gain and politics
In January this year I said good-bye to a place where I had lived for more than 20 years, and moved back to Taiwan and readied myself for the hardship I might encounter.
Of course there are frustrations, such as the near impossibility of pushing my 14-month-old daughter in the baby cart for just a few blocks -- clear evidence of poor and inconsiderate city designs that ignore the needs of the handicapped and others. But I think I can live with these as long as efforts are made and improvements can be foreseen.
The most difficult and
painful part is politics. I have started to believe that the people of Taiwan need to see the truth concerning the unscrupulous politicians behind the nearsightedness of government policies and do something about it.
First, two career politicians, who did not even have the courtesy to shake hands with the newly-elected president and who regarded their election defeat as personal humiliation, have done tremendous damage not only to the fragile new government but also to the people of Taiwan in general, by opposing everything the government tries to do. Making personal gains in the political arena for the next presidential election outweigh their concern for the welfare of the people.
Then there are political clowns who turn the Legislative Yuan into a circus that has become a global laughingstock. It is said that this is simply a feature of politics in Taiwan and nothing to be surprised or alarmed at. But the prevalence of this absurdity is hurting Taiwan and the people of Taiwan.
If we keep on overlooking this, further damage will be an inevitable reality.
The KMT government did not treat this beautiful island as "home." Taiwan was only a hotel that accommodated their temporary needs. With such an attitude the government failed to construct a blueprint that benefited Taiwan.
I was then struck to learn, when the head of the KMT dug up the 10-year-old Guidelines for National Unification, that he remains nostalgic toward China. KMT legislators have passed short-sighted laws and policies, such as the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Plant
The Legislative Yuan is no place for politicians who set their sights on the other side of the Taiwan Strait and disregard the needs of the people of Taiwan. It's time for us to vent our anger through our ballots in the next election and to chase out the politicians who are there for their own profits. It is time for us to express our love for this island.
Jerry Wan
Taipei
A Chinese diplomat’s violent threat against Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi following her remarks on defending Taiwan marks a dangerous escalation in East Asian tensions, revealing Beijing’s growing intolerance for dissent and the fragility of regional diplomacy. Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday posted a chilling message on X: “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off,” in reference to Takaichi’s remark to Japanese lawmakers that an attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan’s survival. The post, which was later deleted, was not an isolated outburst. Xue has also amplified other incendiary messages, including one suggesting
Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday last week shared a news article on social media about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, adding that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The previous day in the Japanese House of Representatives, Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a reference to a legal legal term introduced in 2015 that allows the prime minister to deploy the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The violent nature of Xue’s comments is notable in that it came from a diplomat,
Before 1945, the most widely spoken language in Taiwan was Tai-gi (also known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Hoklo). However, due to almost a century of language repression policies, many Taiwanese believe that Tai-gi is at risk of disappearing. To understand this crisis, I interviewed academics and activists about Taiwan’s history of language repression, the major challenges of revitalizing Tai-gi and their policy recommendations. Although Taiwanese were pressured to speak Japanese when Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, most managed to keep their heritage languages alive in their homes. However, starting in 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enacted martial law
“Si ambulat loquitur tetrissitatque sicut anas, anas est” is, in customary international law, the three-part test of anatine ambulation, articulation and tetrissitation. And it is essential to Taiwan’s existence. Apocryphally, it can be traced as far back as Suetonius (蘇埃托尼烏斯) in late first-century Rome. Alas, Suetonius was only talking about ducks (anas). But this self-evident principle was codified as a four-part test at the Montevideo Convention in 1934, to which the United States is a party. Article One: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) government;
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