Listen to peace protesters
Upon reading international news about anti-war protests on Feb. 15, I noticed that very few news agencies mentioned anything about the hundreds of protesters who converged in Taipei in front of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Local media companies seem to downplay the fact that there are many people in in this country who oppose the US going to war in Iraq. In fact, many people in this country are against war, period.
Among the dozens of citizens' groups represented at the anti-war protest in Taipei were the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU) and Peacetime. Both groups have interesting insights on this nation's relationship to war, a topic that is rarely discussed in the media.
The TCTU reminded people at the protest that this nation has a long history of dependency on the US and even provided financial support for the recent US attacks on Afghanistan. The group also warned that Taiwan's media blatantly plays to the tune of whatever information the US government and US corporate media provide, and that people should look to other information sources to educate themselves on international events.
The TCTU appeals to President Chen Shiu-bian (陳水扁) to openly express Taiwan's opposition to a US war on Iraq and feels that an anti-war stance is the optimal survival strategy for a small country in a key arena of international politics.
Peacetime founder Chien Hsi-chieh (
We know all about war, as it has become commonplace in our everyday lives -- the news tells us all about wars and weapons deals, Hollywood relays stories on how to kill more effectively and we see jet fighters and destroyers racing in the skies and seas. But what do we know about peace?
While certain (wealthy) political interest groups would rather have the media downplay opposition to US aggression in Iraq, the rest of us want to be included in Taiwan's dialogue concerning the US government's despotism throughout the world. Many people in this country are clear that this war is about oil, and as Taiwan is headed in the direction of renewable energy and reduced use of plastic, there is no reason for it to support US control of the world's oil reserves.
There is actually a huge undercurrent of anti-war sentiment in Taiwan. Why isn't this in the papers? Is the nation's media so afraid of US influence that it would prefer to keep the people uninformed about discontent with the US government?
Peacetime is now collecting signatures for a petition to be delivered to the AIT, asking them to tell the Bush administration that the people of Taiwan oppose another war in the Persian Gulf or anywhere.
Meng Lei
Taipei
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
RSS