Former President Lee Teng-hui (
It is difficult, however, to talk people out of believing the same accusation when it comes from abroad, especially from a renowned US think tank or media source. Nor is it possible to cover up the veracity of the report with their denials.
Recently, the Cable News Network (CNN) made public an article by Willy Wo-Lap Lam (林和立), a commentator on Chinese affairs. The article revealed that "in closed-door meetings with KMT stalwarts, Beijing cadres have pledged to give them political and other kinds of support to ensure the DPP's defeat at the polls." At the same time, "Beijing hopes to prevent the TSU [Taiwan Solidarity Union] from gaining enough seats to join forces with DPP politicians and independents to control the legislature."
Frankly speaking, the fact that the KMT has joined hands with China to bash President Chen Shui-bian (
The two articles outline the KMT's true colors and show its willingness to collude with China to sell out Taiwan. They not only show continuity in terms of time, but also echo each other in their content. Interestingly, the two articles came from different China experts at different institutions. The KMT simply can't deny the accusations.
Both the CSIS and CNN enjoy good reputations internationally, and their professionalism is beyond question. More importantly, the two authors are experts on China affairs, rather than Taiwan affairs. They neither have to speak for Taiwan nor have relations with Taiwanese political interests.
So is it true that the KMT colludes with China to sell out Taiwan? The answer is all too obvious.
Chin Heng-wei is editor in chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine.
Translated by Jackie Lin
Because much of what former US president Donald Trump says is unhinged and histrionic, it is tempting to dismiss all of it as bunk. Yet the potential future president has a populist knack for sounding alarums that resonate with the zeitgeist — for example, with growing anxiety about World War III and nuclear Armageddon. “We’re a failing nation,” Trump ranted during his US presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris in one particularly meandering answer (the one that also recycled urban myths about immigrants eating cats). “And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War
Earlier this month in Newsweek, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to retake the territories lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. He stated: “If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [the PRC] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the treaty of Aigun?” This was a brilliant political move to finally state openly what many Chinese in both China and Taiwan have long been thinking about the lost territories in the Russian far east: The Russian far east should be “theirs.” Granted, Lai issued
On Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) met with a delegation from the Hoover Institution, a think tank based at Stanford University in California, to discuss strengthening US-Taiwan relations and enhancing peace and stability in the region. The delegation was led by James Ellis Jr, co-chair of the institution’s Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region project and former commander of the US Strategic Command. It also included former Australian minister for foreign affairs Marise Payne, influential US academics and other former policymakers. Think tank diplomacy is an important component of Taiwan’s efforts to maintain high-level dialogue with other nations with which it does
On Sept. 2, Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal called “The US and Taiwan Must Change Course” that defends his position that the US and Taiwan are not doing enough to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from taking Taiwan. Colby is correct, of course: the US and Taiwan need to do a lot more or the PRC will invade Taiwan like Russia did against Ukraine. The US and Taiwan have failed to prepare properly to deter war. The blame must fall on politicians and policymakers
RSS