Lies, nothing but lies
Gyaltsen Norbu is not the Panchen Lama. He is only a boy Beijing selected to impersonate the true Panchen Lama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, who was selected by the Dalai Lama. Gendun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped by Beijing in 1995, and has been missing since. Gyaltsen Norbu has been trained and brainwashed to adhere to and spout the Beijing line on Tibet, including praising Beijing’s subjugation and cultural genocide there, and vilifying the Dalai Lama.
This intrigue of kidnapping the real Panchen Lama and replacing him with a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) clone or impersonator is part of Beijing’s 50-year plan to complete its genocide against Tibetan Buddhism, because the primary function of any Panchen Lama is to select the next Dalai Lama, and then protect and educate that child. In other words, a Communist Party Panchen Lama will choose a Communist Party Dalai Lama. If that happens, Beijing’s plan will be complete, and Tibetan Buddhism will be gone forever, replaced with “Chinese Communist Buddhism,” an oxymoron at best for an officially atheist regime.
Gyaltsen Norbu is not the Panchen Lama. Taiwan is not “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, Province of China” (as a message from CNN said on my computer when using CNN.com the past few weeks). There is no such thing as “one China.” Draconian restrictions on the press and Internet are not free speech. Incarceration, torture, disappearance or worse of all those who criticize the CCP (such as [former senior party official turned dissident] Bao Tong (鮑彤) and countless others), or suggest democracy (such as Lu Xiaobo (劉曉波) and countless others) or help petitioners with their claims against the government or its officials (such as [human rights lawyer] Gao Zhisheng (高智晟) and countless others), or tell the truth about events such as earthquakes, floods, fires, explosions, toxic products, violence, ethnic cleansing, unrest or dissent (such as Hu Jia (胡佳) and countless others) do not constitute equal justice and certainly not “full human rights.”
Kidnapping a small child who is a religion’s second-highest ranking official and replacing him in order to hijack the religion is not freedom of religion. Forcing adherents to worship in CCP-run “churches” is not freedom of religion. Arresting those who worship in their homes is not freedom of religion. Branding Falun Gong an “evil cult” simply because it has many followers, and imprisoning, torturing and executing its members, or worse, is not freedom of religion.
Structuring an election — if a rubber-stamp selection can ever be considered an election, such as in Hong Kong — so that a majority of the votes are controlled by the Communist Party at all times is not democracy — it’s not even really an election. Having a small band of nine to 15 men or as few as two people in a closed room with no dissent choose the next president of a country with 1.4 billion people is definitely not democracy.
Taiwan does not belong to China. Neither does Tibet. Rebiya Kadeer is not a terrorist. The Dalai Lama is not an evil splittist. Falun Gong is not an evil cult. China is not a democracy, does not offer anything even the slightest bit like democracy and does not offer its people freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, equal protection under the law, due process, justice or even the most basic human rights. No matter how many Chinese Communist Party faithful or CCP toadies around the world repeat these lies in official Beijing statements, on bulletin boards, in chat rooms, in comments on Web sites, no matter when or where, they are still lies.
LEE LONG-HWA
New York
With escalating US-China competition and mutual distrust, the trend of supply chain “friend shoring” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fragmentation of the world into rival geopolitical blocs, many analysts and policymakers worry the world is retreating into a new cold war — a world of trade bifurcation, protectionism and deglobalization. The world is in a new cold war, said Robin Niblett, former director of the London-based think tank Chatham House. Niblett said he sees the US and China slowly reaching a modus vivendi, but it might take time. The two great powers appear to be “reversing carefully
As China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. With the help of its international backers, it must also expand its diplomatic footprint globally. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, cutting power to more than 170,000 homes and water supply to more than 400,000 homes, and leading to more than 600 injuries and four deaths. Due to the typhoon, schools and offices across the nation were ordered to close for two to four days, stirring up familiar controversies over whether local governments’ decisions to call typhoon days were appropriate. The typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Siaogang District (小港) at noon on Thursday, but it weakened into a tropical depression early on Friday, and its structure
Taiwan is facing multiple economic challenges due to internal and external pressures. Internal challenges include energy transition, upgrading industries, a declining birthrate and an aging population. External challenges are technology competition between the US and China, international supply chain restructuring and global economic uncertainty. All of these issues complicate Taiwan’s economic situation. Taiwan’s reliance on fossil fuel imports not only threatens the stability of energy supply, but also goes against the global trend of carbon reduction. The government should continue to promote renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, as well as energy storage technology, to diversify energy supply. It