The recent machinations of China against Japan are unsettling. Can it be possible that the Communist dictators in Beijing don't recognize the irony of China telling Japan it "must face up to its past"? As perhaps the most brutal regime on the face of the earth over the past 50 years, China is hardly in a position to throw stones at anyone.
I certainly don't sympathize with Japan, and believe strongly that just as Germany must never forget its heinous genocide during the Holocaust, Japan must continue to eschew its imperialist designs and brutality of the past.
But complaints by China about textbooks in Japan minimizing Japan's role in World War II are hypocritical, at best. One can only imagine the lies and deceit woven into the fabric of brainwashing taking place in Chinese textbooks in schools every single day. It is probably true that China brainwashes and lies to more children on any given day than all of the world's other children over the past 50 years combined.
Nor does China stop with textbooks. It lies in its captive media about communism, about China and its own sordid history, including its invasion and eugenics policy in Tibet, kidnapping the Panchen Lama and replacing him with a handpicked puppet, oppression and aggression against Taiwan and the vicious lie known as the "one China" policy, to fulfill the plan to destroy Taiwan's democracy and its culture -- the very existence of which demonstrates the comparative failure and weakness of communism.
Then there is China's facilitation of wars by brutal communist dictators in Vietnam, and Korea, support of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and of North Korea's dictators, father and son, guilty of murdering hundreds of thousands, and starving millions.
What about China's totalitarian oppression of all free speech, religious worship outside its Communist-policed churches and the flow of all information from the outside world?
Compared to the surreal 1984-like communist dictatorship in China, Japan is a relatively free, open and democratic society which contributes to the world, not threatens it every single day, as does China.
Of course we must ensure Japan is reminded it must remain vigilant against the rise of imperialism. But China's complaints are empty, coming from the world's worst communist dictatorship, with a long history of death and destruction, and denial of even the most basic human rights, even against its own people.
When a group of thousands of "protesters" take to the streets of Shanghai to protest against Japan, I see thousands of hired thugs demonstrating as a means of taking the spotlight off China's brutal regime.
In fact, the louder China complains about Japan, the clearer the warning against becoming too close to China becomes. This could be you, if you allow China to blackmail you over the years. If you disappoint brutal communist dictators, they will stop at nothing to destroy you.
Unless the world wakes up to this very disturbing policy at the very heart of China's global plans, before too long, China's blackmail today will become tomorrow's rule of law.
Lee Long-hwa
United States
When it became clear that the world was entering a new era with a radical change in the US’ global stance in US President Donald Trump’s second term, many in Taiwan were concerned about what this meant for the nation’s defense against China. Instability and disruption are dangerous. Chaos introduces unknowns. There was a sense that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might have a point with its tendency not to trust the US. The world order is certainly changing, but concerns about the implications for Taiwan of this disruption left many blind to how the same forces might also weaken
As the new year dawns, Taiwan faces a range of external uncertainties that could impact the safety and prosperity of its people and reverberate in its politics. Here are a few key questions that could spill over into Taiwan in the year ahead. WILL THE AI BUBBLE POP? The global AI boom supported Taiwan’s significant economic expansion in 2025. Taiwan’s economy grew over 7 percent and set records for exports, imports, and trade surplus. There is a brewing debate among investors about whether the AI boom will carry forward into 2026. Skeptics warn that AI-led global equity markets are overvalued and overleveraged
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military. As one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors, a boost in Japan’s defense capabilities would serve as a strong deterrent to China in acting unilaterally in the
Taiwan last week finally reached a trade agreement with the US, reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent, without stacking them on existing levies, from the 20 percent rate announced by US President Donald Trump’s administration in August last year. Taiwan also became the first country to secure most-favored-nation treatment for semiconductor and related suppliers under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. In return, Taiwanese chipmakers, electronics manufacturing service providers and other technology companies would invest US$250 billion in the US, while the government would provide credit guarantees of up to US$250 billion to support Taiwanese firms