The death of Cindy Yang (楊又穎), a model and entertainer who allegedly committed suicide after being subjected to cyberbullying, has prompted local celebrities and lawmakers to weigh in on the issue of online bullying, citing their own experiences or vowing to stop the “online rioters.”
While the problem is in need of attention and deliberation in an era in which extensive use of social media amplify the harm of such harassment, the way some public figures commented on the issue following the recent tragedy has obfuscated and polarized the debate.
Pop diva Jody Chiang (江蕙), 54, lamented what she called “the excessive freedom of speech in Taiwan”— implying it had given rise to the cyberbullying that is thought to have contributed to Yang’s suicide.
The remark reminded Taiwanese of action star Jackie Chan (成龍), who has more than once attributed the “mess” in Taiwan to the country “being too free” and called Taiwan’s democracy “a joke.” Many attributed Chan’s unbridled contempt for Taiwan’s political environment to his warm relationship with the Chinese Communist Party and his vested interests in the Chinese market, and it is no less likely that Taiwanese entertainers would hold the same views for the same reason.
However, the disconcerting fact is that the idea of Taiwan being “excessively free” is not only one harbored by entertainers who align themselves with China for economic reasons, but is an everyday sentiment of some, particularly older, Taiwanese.
Young people who identify with the Sunflower movement are especially familiar with that “nostalgic” view, as there was no shortage of similar attacks on the movement and the subsequent activities launched by youthful activists, with some critics even calling for “a return to martial law to bring about a more harmonious society.”
Other celebrities, such as Ho Jong (何戎) and his wife, who are prominent anti-gay-marriage advocates, and Janet Lee (李倩蓉), who recently sparked great controversy over the lack of military discipline following the circulation of a photograph of her inside an Apache helicopter at a restricted base, wasted no time in describing their experiences of being “bullied” online for their actions. Ho’s wife, who supports the denial of civil rights to a group of people based on her religious views, said that people “should not bully others just because they hold opinions different from yours.”
In the political realm, there are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members who claim to be victims, with the KMT caucus telling a press conference that the “social order” must be restored by amending the law to make “online rioters” stop what they are doing.
It is not hard to imagine how the Internet generation might negatively interpret these developments, from Chiang’s remark advocating self-censorship to the KMT lawmakers venting the party’s grudges against young netizens — with whom its failure to connect is said to have been one reason for the party’s rout in last year’s local elections.
Some netizens have even come to blame those who expressed genuine concerns about cyberbullying and quoted Monica Lewinsky’s recent TED speech on “misdirecting the public opinion.”
Online bullying is a new social problem that is worthy of wide discussion and needs to be dealt with, especially among children and teenagers.
It is therefore most unfortunate to see the debate go so far astray. Further online deliberation and cross-party endorsement will probably be required to close the existing gap born out of distrust.
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 Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) delivered a welcome speech at the ILA-ASIL Asia-Pacific Research Forum, addressing more than 50 international law experts from more than 20 countries. With an aim to refute the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) claim to be the successor to the 1945 Chinese government and its assertion that China acquired sovereignty over Taiwan, Lin articulated three key legal positions in his speech: First, the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Declaration were not legally binding instruments and thus had no legal effect for territorial disposition. All determinations must be based on the San Francisco Peace
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
While global headlines often focus on the military balance in the Taiwan Strait or the promise of US intervention, there is a quieter, less visible battle that might ultimately define Taiwan’s future: the battle for intelligence autonomy. Despite widespread global adherence to the “one China” policy, Taiwan has steadily cultivated a unique political identity and security strategy grounded in self-reliance. This approach is not merely symbolic; it is a pragmatic necessity in the face of Beijing’s growing political warfare and infiltration campaigns, many orchestrated by the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). Taiwan’s intelligence community did not emerge overnight. Its roots
RSS