King’s ‘one China’ comment
We wish to respond to the Taipei Times report (“King unclear on US ‘one China’ policy: legislator,” Jan. 7, page 1) and a letter to the editor (“Taiwan’s status a done deal,” Jan. 9, page 8). The testimony given by Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) at the Jan. 6 hearing of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee on the US policy toward Taiwan seems to have generated misunderstandings that merit clarification.
It is common knowledge that Beijing, per its “one China” principle, insists that Taiwan is a part of China and the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.
Of course, the government of the Republic of China (ROC) rejects that claim. According to our constitution, Taiwan is a part of the ROC.
The historical documents and statements by US officials through eight administrations show its longstanding policy: While providing diplomatic recognition to the PRC, the US only acknowledges the PRC’s position on Taiwan.
In keeping with the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances, the US has never altered this policy. As Representative King reiterated, referring to the Six Assurances in his testimony, the US has not altered its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan.
His remarks during the Legislative Yuan’s interpellation were taken out of context and misinterpreted, which is unfortunate and distracts from the pursuit of Taiwan’s important policy objectives.
Press Division
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US
Ma’s master plan strategy
There are more issues involved then “what President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at a university presidents’ forum at Kun Shan University in Greater Tainan on Jan. 9 — a remark that reflected Ma’s personality and the characteristics of his administration” (“Ma should get used to disobedience,” Jan. 14, page 8). The matter is not that simple.
There must be reasons:
First, why as president did Ma want to attend the university presidents’ forum, instead of Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who is supposed to be in charge of education?
Second, tuition increases are unpopular with parents of students, why would he openly encourage the presidents of private universities to go ahead and raise tuition?
Ma has a master plan focused on unification with China. Ma was pushing his agenda.
One of his strategies is importing more Chinese students to attend universities in Taiwan. Ma does not want to see private universities in Taiwan go bankrupt and close down.
To increase the number of Chinese students coming to Taiwan, his administration has been working on revising the following laws and regulations:
One, the regulations of the “Three limits and Six noes” to Chinese students.
Two, the Act Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例).
Three, the Employment Services Law (就業服務法).
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) will be going to China to discuss business between the governments of Taiwan and China next month.
One of the items on the agenda must be related to Chinese students coming to Taiwan to study.
Waves of Chinese students, brides and professionals flooding into Taiwan is an effective way to achieve the unification of Taiwan and China.
Ma is liar. He is also a dangerous person.
Before stepping down as president, Ma will make sure Taiwan will be locked into the chain of China.
Ken Huang
Murrieta, California
Successful cave restoration
A recent article documented the hard work of individuals who have restored a bat habitat in the Taichung area (“Taichung bats return after cave renovation,” Jan. 17, page 3). It has taken a long time to prepare the Toubiankeng Cave for the species that once lived there, but was forced out due to weather conditions and floods. Now that bats are back, congratulations to those who worked to restore the cave.
In particular, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) and Greater Taichung Councilor Huang Hsiu-chu (黃秀珠) have labored to preserve the area for the bat species, the Formosan leaf-nosed bat. Bats serve not only an “auspicious omen,” Huang said, but are an important part of the ecosystem.
As a Westerner living in Taiwan, I have been delighted at the auspicious nature bats symbolize in Chinese cosmology, and every night that I witness bats flying around my Wan Hua neighborhood. I feel fortunate to be able to watch these creatures darting back and forth feeding on those unwanted bugs and mosquitoes.
Dave Hall
Taipei
This article has been corrected since it was first published.
In a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste on Tuesday, President William Lai (賴清德) vowed to continue providing aid to Haiti. Taiwan supports Haiti with development in areas such as agriculture, healthcare and education through initiatives run by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). The nation it has established itself as a responsible, peaceful and innovative actor committed to global cooperation, Jean-Baptiste said. Testimonies such as this give Taiwan a voice in the global community, where it often goes unheard. Taiwan’s reception in Haiti also contrasts with how China has been perceived in countries in the region
On April 13, I stood in Nanan (南安), a Bunun village in southern Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪), absorbing lessons from elders who spoke of the forest not as backdrop, but as living presence — relational, sacred and full of spirit. I was there with fellow international students from National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) participating in a field trip that would become one of the most powerful educational experiences of my life. Ten days later, a news report in the Taipei Times shattered the spell: “Formosan black bear shot and euthanized in Hualien” (April 23, page 2). A tagged bear, previously released
The world has become less predictable, less rules-based, and more shaped by the impulses of strongmen and short-term dealmaking. Nowhere is this more consequential than in East Asia, where the fate of democratic Taiwan hinges on how global powers manage — or mismanage — tensions with an increasingly assertive China. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has deepened the global uncertainty, with his erratic, highly personalized foreign-policy approach unsettling allies and adversaries alike. Trump appears to treat foreign policy like a reality show. Yet, paradoxically, the global unpredictability may offer Taiwan unexpected deterrence. For China, the risk of provoking the
Starting this month, young women in Denmark would be subject to conscription on the same terms as men. All Danes, regardless of gender, would be required to register for military assessment, and eligible individuals would be selected through a lottery-based draft. In addition, service time would be increased to 11 months, and conscript numbers would grow to meet national defense targets. Denmark is not alone. In the past few years, several European countries, most notably Sweden and Norway, have adopted gender-neutral conscription systems. Latvia is moving in the same direction. The war in Ukraine has accelerated this trend. Faced with the
RSS