China has warned Taiwan again. This time, China's rubber-stamp parliament passed the so-called "Anti-Secession" Law requiring Taiwan to surrender its sovereignty peacefully or face an invasion. The law, a coercive act aimed at bringing Taiwanese to their knees, would unilaterally change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and constitutes a serious challenge to the US' Taiwan Relations Act.
The passage of the Anti-Secession Law proves the "one China" policy is broken. The propositions that held this three-decades-old policy together are no longer sustainable. Taiwan, no longer under Chinese Nationalist authoritarian rule, is now a vibrant democracy. Reunification with China is only a myth, as Taiwan's independence is no longer a taboo subject. Most people in Taiwan consider themselves to be Taiwanese and wish to join the UN and enjoy the right to live in a sovereign country.
The US cannot allow a democracy like Taiwan to fall into the control of a backward autocracy like China, which is an irresponsible rogue country that has spread the technology to build weapons of mass destruction into the hands of Iran, Pakistan and North Korea.
To ensure the US' security and combat the threat of terrorists, US President George W. Bush pursues a policy of spreading democracy. Bush said in his State of the Union address that "when you stand with liberty, we will stand with you." This is a noble sentiment.
Taiwan has stood together with the US for a long time. It is about time that the US keeps its pledge. The US Congress should pass a law and urge Bush to officially recognize Taiwan so that an equal-footed dialogue across the Strait would be meaningful and possible.
The Taiwan issue will not go away, and the passage of the Anti-Secession Law presents a critical challenge not only to Taiwan, but also to the US. The law shows the true colors of China's hegemony, which has codified the possibility of an invasion of a democracy.
The US has to be firm and resolute when it comes to defending freedom, democracy and liberty. There is simply no room for ambiguity.
Yang Ji-charng
Ohio
A Chinese diplomat’s violent threat against Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi following her remarks on defending Taiwan marks a dangerous escalation in East Asian tensions, revealing Beijing’s growing intolerance for dissent and the fragility of regional diplomacy. Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday posted a chilling message on X: “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off,” in reference to Takaichi’s remark to Japanese lawmakers that an attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan’s survival. The post, which was later deleted, was not an isolated outburst. Xue has also amplified other incendiary messages, including one suggesting
Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday last week shared a news article on social media about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, adding that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The previous day in the Japanese House of Representatives, Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a reference to a legal legal term introduced in 2015 that allows the prime minister to deploy the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The violent nature of Xue’s comments is notable in that it came from a diplomat,
Before 1945, the most widely spoken language in Taiwan was Tai-gi (also known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Hoklo). However, due to almost a century of language repression policies, many Taiwanese believe that Tai-gi is at risk of disappearing. To understand this crisis, I interviewed academics and activists about Taiwan’s history of language repression, the major challenges of revitalizing Tai-gi and their policy recommendations. Although Taiwanese were pressured to speak Japanese when Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, most managed to keep their heritage languages alive in their homes. However, starting in 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enacted martial law
China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered service this week after a commissioning ceremony in China’s Hainan Province on Wednesday last week. Chinese state media reported that the Fujian would be deployed to the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the western Pacific. It seemed that the Taiwan Strait being one of its priorities meant greater military pressure on Taiwan, but it would actually put the Fujian at greater risk of being compromised. If the carrier were to leave its home port of Sanya and sail to the East China Sea or the Yellow Sea, it would have to transit the
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