A story circulating in Taiwan's business circles has it that a member of the KMT's core leadership visited Beijing after the party lost political power last year. When he met with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (
In the conversation that followed, Qian told his visitor, "Now we've entered the 21st century. Comrade Jiang Zemin (
In the ears of the majority of the people of Taiwan -- those not from the pro-unification camps -- this is a story about crazy people with crazy ideas. Didn't the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (
For people like Deng and Jiang, who use the future of their nation and the welfare of its citizens -- as well as those of other countries -- as a wager, the only appropriate description of their actions can be "stupid."
Apart from overseeing a growing economy and being in the leader's chair when Beijing won its bid to host the Olympic Games, Jiang has little else to show for his 12 years in power except for China's entry into the WTO -- a doubtful legacy that is likely to lead to massive economic problems for his successors. His only expertise seems to be shouting political slogans -- such as "preaching politics, learning and righteousness" (
Not only does Jiang lack both political wisdom and strategy, but his breadth of vision is far inferior to the "Chinese greats" he hopes to emulate. Just think about his abysmal and embarrassing performances on the international stage. Remember how he lashed out at his hosts in Denmark for not knowing how to manage a country; how he imploded at a forum in Japan and yelled at Hong Kong reporters during a media event in Zhongnanhai.
If fact, if Jiang really wants to accomplish something in cross-strait relations, the first thing he needs to do is rid himself of the idea of using that arena to make a name for himself. Then he could start to treat Taiwan with the tolerance that becomes a great leader.
When it comes to how China could better deal with Taiwan, former US ambassador to China J. Stapleton Roy hit the nail on the head during a speech at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday. He said that, rather than resorting to threats, China should give Taiwan some incentive to develop constructive cross-strait relationships.
Anyone with the slightest common sense should have figured this out by now. China's missile demonstrations and verbal threats during Taiwan's past two presidential elections have sent the candidates China abhorred, Lee Teng-hui (
Only if Jiang can manage to figure out how to stop shooting himself in the foot will he be able to take the first step toward greatness. Otherwise, he will be remain a footnote in the history books.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
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