We should congratulate the president of Costa Rica that he can tell the difference between China and Taiwan, and distinguish, as our own foreign minister in Taiwan cannot, that Taiwan is not China and does not control the huge territory that is commonly known as China.
Isn’t it about time that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dropped the lame devices of the Cold War and the Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) era and faced reality? The Republic of China (ROC) lost the Chinese civil war. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the government of China, whether we like it or not. All those allies left over from the KMT’s World Anti-Communist League have not “betrayed” Taiwan by recognizing the PRC; they are doing Taiwan a good turn by refusing to imbibe the ROC illusion.
Let us hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will turn its dollar diplomacy to seeking recognition for Taiwan as Taiwan, rather than squandering it on the defunct illusion of the ROC that actually gives Taiwan a bad name in Central America and the Pacific. Does the ruling administration of the Democratic Progressive Party, which claims to represent “Taiwanese values,” have any influence in the policies of the ministry at all? Or does it bow to the pan-blue camp and the “one China” policy of the ministry?
Linda Gail Arrigo
Green Party Taiwan
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
They did it again. For the whole world to see: an image of a Taiwan flag crushed by an industrial press, and the horrifying warning that “it’s closer than you think.” All with the seal of authenticity that only a reputable international media outlet can give. The Economist turned what looks like a pastiche of a poster for a grim horror movie into a truth everyone can digest, accept, and use to support exactly the opinion China wants you to have: It is over and done, Taiwan is doomed. Four years after inaccurately naming Taiwan the most dangerous place on
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
Wherever one looks, the United States is ceding ground to China. From foreign aid to foreign trade, and from reorganizations to organizational guidance, the Trump administration has embarked on a stunning effort to hobble itself in grappling with what his own secretary of state calls “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” The problems start at the Department of State. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that “it’s not normal for the world to simply have a unipolar power” and that the world has returned to multipolarity, with “multi-great powers in different parts of the
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