Protect social rights
Eugene Lin's equation of social rights with dictatorial government ("Avoid socialist temptation," Letters, page 8, Aug. 3) is not only false but also harmful to poorer members of society. As someone involved in promoting socio-economic rights, I feel it is my duty to reply.
The whole UN system of human rights works as a whole. It is unhealthy to opt for civil rights, for instance, while neglecting cultural rights, or choose social rights but not political rights. The ROC helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes rights in five areas: civil, political, social, economic and cultural. The ROC also signed the two covenants which enshrine these rights in international law.
Claiming a right does not mean, as Liu thinks, depending on the government to provide education, shelter, and health care. The government has the responsibility to ensure that these things are provided in the country and must step in directly for the poorest people who need help, but a government can allow for private schools, medical care and insurance as well as what is provided directly by the state. This is the case in Taiwan today. Nonetheless, social groups are right to stress socio-economic rights at times when they could be forgotten. Workers suffer when their bosses close factories or move them to other countries. Pure capitalism's belief that the free pursuit of money necessarily leads to wealth for all is not the experience of many poorer people in society.
If a farmer suffers because the country has joined the WTO then the state has a duty to protect his interests since his suffering is a result of a decision by the state. Taiwan can be proud of having a more equitable spread of wealth than some of her neighbors, but if we neglect socio-economic rights that achievement will be undermined and Taiwan will become a society of two cities: the rich and the poor.
Edmund Ryden SJ
Socio-Cultural Research
Center, Fujen University
Hsinchuang
Foreign students beneficial
Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng's (
There are long-term benefits for the people of Taiwan to have students live and study there. Many Chinese-language students now go to China where the cost of living may be cheaper, but the teachers and textbooks are often poor. Impressionable students establish life-long relationships and values during language training.
I greatly benefited from the government's support when earning my graduate degree in Taiwan and can attest to the excellent teachers and educational system at Fu Jen University and National Chengchi University. The government's continued support for language centers and foreign students could further advance Taiwan's long-term interests abroad.
William Carleton Baum
Washington
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
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
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
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of