Tseng Sheng-kuang (曾聖光), a 25-year-old Taiwanese who volunteered to fight in Ukraine, is believed to be the first known soldier from East Asia to die in the conflict in Europe.
Tseng’s wife said he traveled to Ukraine in June, and last contacted her on Oct. 23 before a five-day mission. He was injured in a battle in the eastern province of Luhansk and died en route to a hospital.
She described her husband as “an honest man with a strong sense of justice.”
With the young men in uniform who have gone to their graves, covered with flowers picked by young women to say goodbye to their husbands going to war, the world has witnessed a sad story repeating itself through history. Yet, the bravery and the sacrifice of young men like Tseng keeps the dream of yesterday, the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.
Tseng is a shining example of someone defending democracy, protecting freedom, fighting for justice, and securing liberties for current and future generations.
As US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “Democracy is majestic, but it is fragile... Democracy must be forever defended from forces that wish it harm.”
Dictators have no concern for the welfare of humankind. They hold countries hostage, enslave people, break constitutions, and destroy lives and livelihoods. With their twisted life purposes such as empire building, they have caused so much pain and destruction, past and present.
The world must unite to rid itself of dictators. We, the people, are one world, one destiny. This sentiment is apparent in Taiwan as many Taiwanese — including Tseng — have seen the parallels between Taiwan’s resistance against China and Ukraine’s struggle against Russia.
Faced with the constant threat of invasion by China, Taiwanese are particularly sympathetic about Ukrainians fighting for their democracy and independence, and thinking about a similar fate that could befall them. Fighting on the front line to defend democracy and freedom for Ukraine, Tseng is a model world citizen who made the ultimate sacrifice for the ideal of a world free from fear, injustice, suppression, brutality and poverty.
A farewell ceremony to honor Tseng was held in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, with Tseng’s family members attending. Ukrainian officials delivered moving tributes to his heroism.
Meanwhile, young Russians, out of their conscience, are running away to avoid being sent to fight in Ukraine.
However, to be everywhere is to be nowhere. Staying home to fighting dictatorships ought to be a duty. The same can be said about Chinese and business tycoons who are fleeing China. There is no reason to wait until the dictators send us to kill each other.
When will we ever learn where all the flowers have gone?
James J.Y. Hsu is a retired physics professor.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association. Signed in February 2024, the MOU stipulates that Taipei would decide the number of migrant workers and which industries would employ them, while New Delhi would manage recruitment and training. Employment would be governed by the laws of both countries. Months after its signing, the two sides agreed that 1,000 migrant workers from India would
In recent weeks, Taiwan has witnessed a surge of public anxiety over the possible introduction of Indian migrant workers. What began as a policy signal from the Ministry of Labor quickly escalated into a broader controversy. Petitions gathered thousands of signatures within days, political figures issued strong warnings, and social media became saturated with concerns about public safety and social stability. At first glance, this appears to be a straightforward policy question: Should Taiwan introduce Indian migrant workers or not? However, this framing is misleading. The current debate is not fundamentally about India. It is about Taiwan’s labor system, its
On March 31, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released declassified diplomatic records from 1995 that drew wide domestic media attention. One revelation stood out: North Korea had once raised the possibility of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In a meeting with visiting Chinese officials in May 1995, as then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) prepared for a visit to South Korea, North Korean officials objected to Beijing’s growing ties with Seoul and raised Taiwan directly. According to the newly released records, North Korean officials asked why Pyongyang should refrain from developing relations with Taiwan while China and South Korea were expanding high-level
Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as US President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government would formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World War II, Japan spends enough on its own
RSS