Typhoon cancelations
Veteran Japanese media personality Akio Yaita recently commented that there is no such thing as a typhoon day in Japan, because Japanese do not want to be seen as lazy. The country’s infrastructure is also well-built and public transportation always runs on time, so typhoons do not have much impact.
However, in Taiwan, many places do not have “mass rapid transit” systems, so many Taiwanese go to work by motorcycles. Many buildings are also old, so there is a danger of falling signs injuring passersby.
However, typhoon days should not be used as a “vote-buying tool” by politicians to curry favor with their voters. As Yaita questioned after experiencing several typhoon days with little wind and rain: Are such days off a good thing?
The strong winds and heavy rains brought by typhoons might cause damage to people and property. When the scale of a typhoon is projected to reach a certain level, it is certainly reasonable for the local city and county governments to announce the suspension of work and schools completely or conditionally. This kind of typhoon day seems to be legitimate and should not be abolished. However, the announcement of such days off should be strict and cautious in practice, so as to avoid announcing a day off when there is simply no need for one.
On Wednesday, Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan in northern Taiwan were not even included in the warning areas when Typhoon Krathon hit southern Taiwan, and yet the four cities seized the chance to have a typhoon day, too.
Was there any political intention to please the public? The announcement of a typhoon day should not be based on political considerations.
It should be based mainly on the expert analysis of weather forecasts, while taking into account the geographic locations of cities and counties, their own landforms, and their relevance to neighboring cities and counties.
Then, they would be able to make the correct determination through collective decision-making, so that people can feel at ease and justified about taking the day off.
Chi An-hsiu
Taipei
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
RSS