Whenever Taiwan's president or vice president visit another country, China immediately mobilizes its diplomatic forces to suppress and harass them. This has become a routine diplomatic war between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Since former president Lee Teng-hui (
In fact, Taiwan's current diplomatic dire straits are a legacy of the KMT's 50-year rule. After Chiang Kai-shek's (
No matter what great difficulties are facing Taiwan's diplomats today, government leaders should continue to work hard despite detractions from the outside world -- to "do what we should do," to quote Lu's words. The denigration of the Republic of China's status began on the day it was expelled from the UN -- long before any Taiwanese head of state was blocked at the gates of another country. Now that the KMT regime Chiang brought from China has been replaced by local political forces, Taiwan's government and public need to double their efforts, to let the international community understand the fact that Taiwan has been separated politically from China for more than 100 years, and that the Taiwanese will never accept communist rule.
Taiwan should never dance to Beijing's magic wand, nor should it give ground to Beijing's harassment in the international community. The more Beijing tries to suppress Taiwan, the harder Taiwan should strike back. Only then can Taiwan highlight its independent sovereignty and the serious problem of Beijing's intimidation. Obviously, Taiwan at times will suffer denigration in the process of seeking more diplomatic victories. This is the price Taiwan must pay for the Chiang regime's mistaken policy. We must not get depressed because of this. It's like a basketball match. We can't give up the match just because a forward loses the ball.
Think about it. The Chiang regime managed to keep the PRC out of the UN for more than 20 years. Before taking over the KMT government's seat in the Security Council, Beijing suffered a diplomatic blockade just like Taiwan does today. It was a struggle between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party, a struggle in which the people of Taiwan unfortunately became embroiled. The people of Taiwan became hostages in this struggle between two Chinese political parties. Today's government must clarify to the international community that the Chiang regime that held the people of Taiwan hostage and claimed to represent China no longer exists. The people of Taiwan have regained their freedom and have no territorial ambitions toward China.
The PRC's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan is off the mark. Beijing's leaders should quit the mentality of the Manchu dynasty, whose emperors view themselves as heavenly rulers and everything under the sun as their property.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
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