It was truly inspiring to witness British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stand shoulder-to-shoulder at 10 Downing Street at the weekend, as Starmer warmly welcomed Zelenskiy to the British capital.
King Charles III also met Zelenskiy at the Sandringham Estate on Sunday, after the defense summit in London that Starmer had called.
The prime minister conveyed the support the UK would continue to provide Ukraine to help it resist the ongoing Russian invasion. It was a testament to the unity and camaraderie that should exist between democratic nations in the face of aggression from major powers and malevolent actors. It was what is to be expected from any good person.
Starmer is realistic and understands what is in his country’s interests. At the same time, as a lawyer, he has fought for the protection of political rights and civic freedoms, and is well versed in the spirit of British constitutional government. That spirit is not only the inheritance of all common law countries, it is also upheld by the people of those countries.
The UK and the US have sworn to protect personal freedoms, which should be neither denied nor infringed upon. The governments of those countries exist to maintain that principle. It is for that reason that during World War II, Britons refused to bow down before the Nazis, and would rather have lost their homes and their lives than surrender to the enemy. Their resolve eventually persuaded the isolationist US and encouraged Americans to throw in their lot in the fight against fascism.
It was because of that that the US became great. That was the spirit enshrined in the UN Charter. Today, many Americans want to “make America great again.” The British are not looking to “make Britain great again.” What they want is to protect the unity and continuance of democracy and free speech.
Which example should Taiwanese seek to emulate? Should they applaud and emulate US President Donald Trump and what he stands for, or should they aspire to learn from the British and the way they are extending the hand of friendship to Ukrainians in their hour of need? It should be the latter.
People help those who help themselves, and those who help others would receive help. God would help those who are willing to do their utmost for the cause of justice and what is right, regardless of what they themselves stand to gain.
I thank the British prime minister for the example he is setting for the world. It was all the more valuable in the wake of Trump and US Vice President JD Vance besetting Zelenskiy in the White House last week.
It is only courageous acts of justice, benevolence and selflessness that reveal a nation’s character; it is that character that would earn this nation’s respect.
Yao Meng-chang is an assistant professor in Fu Jen Catholic University’s Department of Postgraduate Legal Studies.
Translated by Paul Cooper
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
We are witnessing a sea change in the government’s approach to China, from one of reasonable, low-key reluctance at rocking the boat to a collapse of pretense over and patience in Beijing’s willful intransigence. Finally, we are seeing a more common sense approach in the face of active shows of hostility from a foreign power. According to Article 2 of the 2020 Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法), a “foreign hostile force” is defined as “countries, political entities or groups that are at war with or are engaged in a military standoff with the Republic of China [ROC]. The same stipulation applies to
The following case, which I experienced as an interpreter, illustrates that many issues in Taiwan’s legal system originate from law enforcement personnel. The problem stems not so much from their education and training, but their personal attitude — characterized by excessive self-confidence paired with a lack of accountability. One day at 10:30am, I was called to a police station in New Taipei City for an emergency. I arrived an hour later. A man was tied to a chair, having been arrested at the airport due to an outstanding arrest warrant. It quickly became apparent that the case was related to
RSS