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.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath