As the Chinese Communist Party's 16th National Congress approaches, media around the world are focusing their attention on the possible results of the Beijing get-together. Will Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) retire completely at the conference and hand over power to his successor? Or will he only half-retire as Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) did? Or will he not retire at all? These are questions that China experts have been arguing about recently.
In fact, whether or not Jiang retires this year, this newspaper believes he is the first Chinese leader since the PRC's establishment in October 1949 to truly renounce the use of large scale political power struggles and movements to protect his own grip on power. After the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, China's economy has taken off under Jiang's leadership, thanks to relatively stable domestic politics. Undoubtedly, Jiang will leave an indelible legacy.
However, Jiang is also leaving behind policy failures. For example, the Chinese government has wrought unprecedented havoc on the country's natural environment in the pursuit of economic development. Jiang seems to have paid little attention to the matter. One example of this is China's increasingly serious sandstorms that are also affecting neighboring countries.
Politically, Jiang has adopted relatively gentle methods, banishing dissidents to the US and other countries as much as possible instead of putting them in prison or labor camps. However, the fact that he has not lifted the ban on political parties also indicates that the CCP under his leadership still does not have the courage to accept challenges from the people.
When it comes to cross-strait issues, Jiang's biggest failure was in launching missile tests to intimidate Taiwan during its first ever direct presidential election in 1996 -- and in being unwilling to this day to remove ballistic missiles deployed against Taiwan, whose political systems, laws and economy today are already quite close to those of modern democratic nations. Taiwan cannot dissolve its central government of its own accord and accept the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, a one-party authoritarian regime that does not care about human rights.
Therefore, Jiang and his successors should fully understand this reality and pragmatically readjust their Taiwan policy as soon as possible. They should start a dialogue on an equal and mutually beneficial basis, thereby bringing lasting peace to Asia.
After last week's meeting in Ecuador, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, an organization covering North, Central and South America, will be formally launched in 2005. We can see a trend in the 21st century of free-trade areas using their power to promote and improve the economies of member nations in the region. However, East Asian nations including Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, North Korea and Mongolia are still in "single-play mode." In the long run, this region will be shackled by layers of tariffs, unable to maintain its economic advantages.
East Asian nations must quickly undertake integration into a free-trade area instead of getting bogged down in mutual missile threats. Missiles from both China and North Korea and the defense systems that the US wants to deploy in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are all stumbling blocks to economic prosperity. It would be better to establish an East Asia free-trade zone, thereby creating more commercial benefits to replace hostility. Beijing's leaders should cooperate with other countries in the region and seriously face up to the challenges of a large regional economy, instead of destroying regional peace and economic prosperity.
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
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,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
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,
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