A name to be proud of
Reasonable people, including the US president, will never consider Taiwan's using its own name as provocative ("Nervous nellies or diplomats?," Mar. 1, page 12). Besides, the US has had "American Institute in Tai-wan" for years, while the rest of the world calls the island nation of Taiwan "Taiwan." Unfortu-nately Taiwan calls itself something else. The name is inflated to ROC or deflated to "Taipei" or "Chinese Taipei."
The name that fits the size of Taiwan is "Taiwan."
When President Chen Shui-bian (
It's time to normalize our country's name to "Taiwan" throughout the world. A true name without a footnote is the first step for Taiwan to speak smoothly in the world.
It's also time to change "Passport issued in Taiwan" to "Taiwan Passport" so that the people of Taiwan can travel easily, without having to make explanations.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
The price of a bad move
There has been a surge reported in the number young people petitioning the Taiwan government to recognize their degrees from universities and schools in China. I can't help wondering what a dilemma this must be for the parents of these young people, who years ago, against government advice, decided to moving their capital and busi-nesses from Taiwan to China under the impression that such a move was their last chance to strike it rich.
This business migration to China undoubtedly contributed to the hollowing out of Taiwan's capital and exerted extra pressure that contributed to the downward spiral of Taiwan's economy and the accompanying rise in the unemployment rate. Ironically, what migrated businesspeople once deemed their best business decision is now jeopardizing the future of their own children.
This unfortunate drama should serve as a wakeup call to anyone who is thinking of shifting their business across the Strait -- think twice before you leap.
Ching H. Li
Jersey City, New Jersey
China's stage-management
Hsu Tung-ming's (
Just as communists are not representatives of the Chinese people, Bush's audience was not representative of the entire Tsinghua student body. It may have been even worse.
The Tsinghua audience was carefully selected and the questions had to be authorized in advance, something the media in the US and Taiwan should make clear every time the event is mentioned. Then the picture becomes very clear why the students asked the questions they did and what they expected of the answer.
Another important aspect of Bush's speech was his mention of Chinese textbooks. What these books say about the US is intentionally misleading and they teach hatred. Such books, together with the Chinese media's promotion of violence and hatred towards US and Taiwan, show exactly what a terrorist state will do and why a terrorist state becomes what it is.
Chen Ming-chung
Chicago, Illinois
Time to scuttle commission
I congratulate the Cabinet for its timely decision to scrap the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs commission ("Commission gets the boot from Cabinet" Mar. 4, page 1). Such a step is long overdue, given that Mongolia is a member of the UN and is recognized by over 140 countries.
The Tibetan government-in-exile headed by the Dalai Lama does not recognize the commission nor does it appreciate the commission's activities. The existence of the commission has been a stumbling block to improved relations between Taiwan and Tibetans. I urge the Cabinet to take immediate steps to abolish the commission and make necessary amendments to our Constitution.
Anita Tseng
Taipei
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
The first Donald Trump term was a boon for Taiwan. The administration regularized the arms sales process and enhanced bilateral ties. Taipei will not be so fortunate the second time around. Given recent events, Taiwan must proceed with the assumption that it cannot count on the United States to defend it — diplomatically or militarily — during the next four years. Early indications suggested otherwise. The nomination of Marco Rubio as US Secretary of State and the appointment of Mike Waltz as the national security advisor, both of whom have expressed full-throated support for Taiwan in the past, raised hopes that
Authorities last week revoked the residency permit of a Chinese social media influencer surnamed Liu (劉), better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), who has more than 440,000 followers online and is living in Taiwan with a marriage-based residency permit, for her “reunification by force” comments. She was asked to leave the country in 10 days. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Tuesday last week announced the decision, citing the influencer’s several controversial public comments, including saying that “China does not need any other reason to reunify Taiwan with force” and “why is it [China] hesitant
We are witnessing a sea change in the government’s approach to China, from one of reasonable, low-key reluctance at rocking the boat to a collapse of pretense over and patience in Beijing’s willful intransigence. Finally, we are seeing a more common sense approach in the face of active shows of hostility from a foreign power. According to Article 2 of the 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), a “foreign hostile force” is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff with the Republic of China [ROC]. The same stipulation applies to
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