During an online interview in July conducted on behalf of the Hudson Institute, British MP Iain Duncan Smith was asked whether the so-called “Golden Era” of China-UK relations that then-UK prime minister David Cameron heralded during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to London in 2015 was a “major strategic mistake.”
Talking to an experienced politician, the interviewer was likely expecting a long-winded answer, but Duncan Smith gathered his thoughts for less than a second before simply answering: “Yes.”
The past three years have been trying times for the international community. Tectonic changes are occurring in the international world order, coinciding with an ever-more assertive China under Xi. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) offers its own version of what a revised international world order should look like, which would mean abiding by rules of the party’s own making.
So, here is an admirable idea: Democratic nations the world over should coordinate their responses to an increasingly assertive, confident and aggressive CCP to “preserve a marketplace of ideas free from distortion” and maintain a “free, open and rules-based international order that supports human dignity,” with the idea that “persistence of such an order requires like-minded countries to participate actively in its governance and enforcement.”
Such a concerted effort should be seen as a no-brainer, and yet it still has to materialize in any meaningful form.
The quotes are taken from the mission statement of the alliance formed on June 4 by more than 100 lawmakers from 19 countries and blocs, including Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, the EU, Japan, the UK and the US, which calls itself the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). It seeks to reform democratic countries’ approach to China.
Duncan Smith is a cofounder of the IPAC.
Here is another idea that really should be a no-brainer: Given Taiwan’s experience, expertise and success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Assembly (WHA) should allow the nation to participate in, and have access to, the WHO, not just regarding the pandemic, but in all things pertaining to global public health.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that, in terms of COVID-19, “no one is safe until everyone is safe.” He is right, but could it be that the organization he leads is not listening to him?
Tedros’ words were quoted in IPAC’s “Statement on Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly and World Health Organization,” posted on Monday. The statement describes Taiwan’s control of the outbreak as “a successful model that others around the world can aspire to,” noting that the nation last month marked 200 days without a single domestic case.
It also says that the international community could benefit greatly from the “world leading expertise Taiwan has developed” to control the pandemic.
A final quote: “This not only threatens the health and well-being of Taiwan’s citizens, but also creates a dangerous gap in the global network.”
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday in a response to letters from lawmakers from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia urging Tedros to invite Taiwan to this month’s WHA — which is to be held virtually: “Denying Taiwan participation at the WHA is a violation of the human rights of the 23 million Taiwanese and is detrimental to global cooperation in the fight against COVID-19.”
So, yes, it would be nice for Tedros to allow politics to be set aside and for Taiwan to participate in WHA and WHO activities and mechanisms, and listen to those members of the international community concerned about the deleterious effects of the CCP’s influence on the international world order, not to say his own words.
This editorial has been corrected to note that Iain Duncan Smith is a British lawmaker, not the leader of the UK's Conservative Party. The Taipei Times regrets the error.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS