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 Now that the KMT regime Chiang brought from China has been replaced by local political forces, Taiwan's government and public need to double their efforts, to let the international community understand the fact that Taiwan has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.
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
During the “426 rally” organized by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party under the slogan “fight green communism, resist dictatorship,” leaders from the two opposition parties framed it as a battle against an allegedly authoritarian administration led by President William Lai (賴清德). While criticism of the government can be a healthy expression of a vibrant, pluralistic society, and protests are quite common in Taiwan, the discourse of the 426 rally nonetheless betrayed troubling signs of collective amnesia. Specifically, the KMT, which imposed 38 years of martial law in Taiwan from 1949 to 1987, has never fully faced its
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