Beijing has always blamed Taiwan for the cross-strait stalemate, calling it a "troublemaker." A clear case of the pot calling the kettle black, as a few solid examples will show.
China has been bent on coercing Taiwan to accept the "one China" principle, refusing to deal with Taipei unless it bows to one China. Beijing tries to block everything Taiwan does -- from participation in international organizations to foreign aid programs to disaster relief donations -- unless it wears the one China dunce's hat. Many countries find such behavior repulsive, but most of them are willing to compromise with Beijing for fear of ruffling its feathers. But the US House of Representative's International Relations Committee unanimously passed a resolution yesterday, requiring Secretary of State Colin Powell to"initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan" at the annual summit of the World Health Organization in May. Taiwan could have long been a WHO member if not for China's blocking its entry. Shutting a country out of a non-political organization like the WHO is a flagrant violation of human rights. Exactly who is politicizing issues and making trouble here is very clear.
Taiwan is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. But China has been trying to apply political pressure to block Taiwan's leaders from attending the APEC leaders' summit in Shanghai in October. If the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) can attend the summit, why can't Taiwan's president have the same rights as other heads of state? On its English-language APEC Web site, Beijing calls Taiwan an "island province," proclaiming that "since 1949, the government of the People's Republic of China has claimed jurisdiction over Chinese Taipei." Beijing is using its host status to make statements that violate APEC rules. Who exactly is the troublemaker?
Cross-strait visits by officials from the two sides have become quite common. While visiting China, Taiwan officials have never fussed about seeing China's flag or Mao Zedong's
Hong Kong rolled out the red carpet for Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou
Beijing's contemptible behavior is that of a schoolyard bully, a petty tyrant.
If Beijing has any real self-confidence, it would treat Taiwan on an equal and open basis, and try to win the hearts of the people of Taiwan. Bully tactics, threats and troublemaking only serves to push Taiwan further away from China.
From the Iran war and nuclear weapons to tariffs and artificial intelligence, the agenda for this week’s Beijing summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is packed. Xi would almost certainly bring up Taiwan, if only to demonstrate his inflexibility on the matter. However, no one needs to meet with Xi face-to-face to understand his stance. A visit to the National Museum of China in Beijing — in particular, the “Road to Rejuvenation” exhibition, which chronicles the rise and rule of the Chinese Communist Party — might be even more revealing. Xi took the members
Taiwan’s higher education system is facing an existential crisis. As the demographic drop-off continues to empty classrooms, universities across the island are locked in a desperate battle for survival, international student recruitment and crucial Ministry of Education funding. To win this battle, institutions have turned to what seems like an objective measure of quality: global university rankings. Unfortunately, this chase is a costly illusion, and taxpayers are footing the bill. In the past few years, the goalposts have shifted from pure research output to “sustainability” and “societal impact,” largely driven by commercial metrics such as the UK-based Times Higher Education (THE) Impact
The inter-Korean relationship, long defined by national division, offers the clearest mirror within East Asia for cross-strait relations. Yet even there, reunification language is breaking down. The South Korean government disclosed on Wednesday last week that North Korea’s constitutional revision in March had deleted references to reunification and added a territorial clause defining its border with South Korea. South Korea is also seriously debating whether national reunification with North Korea is still necessary. On April 27, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung marked the eighth anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, the 2018 inter-Korean agreement in which the two Koreas pledged to
I wrote this before US President Donald Trump embarked on his uneventful state visit to China on Thursday. So, I shall confine my observations to the joint US-Philippine military exercise of April 20 through May 8, known collectively as “Balikatan 2026.” This year’s Balikatan was notable for its “firsts.” First, it was conducted primarily with Taiwan in mind, not the Philippines or even the South China Sea. It also showed that in the Pacific, America’s alliance network is still robust. Allies are enthusiastic about America’s renewed leadership in the region. Nine decades ago, in 1936, America had neither military strength
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