On ‘diplomatic allies’
On April 11, South Korea announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with Syria. With this move, it now has ties with every UN member state except North Korea — its enemy in the still-unresolved Korean War. Does this mean South Korea now has 191 “diplomatic allies,” most of which also maintain ties with North Korea?
This illustrates the absurdity of the term “diplomatic ally” that is so commonly used in Taiwan to describe states that recognize the Republic of China (“Taiwan is in need of real allies,” April 26, page 8).
The framing behind the term is not about recognizing Taiwan itself as a sovereign state. Rather, it reflects the narrative of the Chinese Civil War: Within the concept of “one China,” the question is which government — Taipei or Beijing — is recognized as legitimate. In other words, it is a trap.
Although we must discard this problematic term, Taiwan should not dismiss any country, however poor or small, as insignificant in diplomatic relations. Otherwise, we would descend into the indignity where “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
If we take the cornerstones of the rules-based international order and multilateral diplomacy seriously, we should “act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood” (Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and “respect ... the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” (Article 1, UN Charter).
Or just remember the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Te Khai-su
Helsinki, Finland
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) recent visit to Beijing and her upcoming visit to Washington will serve as a high-level test of her diplomatic mettle. In Beijing, Cheng was received with symbolic gestures, a warm reception, and high-level access. In Washington, she will receive far less pomp and far sharper questions about the KMT’s vision for the future of Taiwan. Her challenge will be to persuade Washington that the KMT’s engagement with China can coexist with strong deterrence. Cheng’s April 7-12 visit to mainland China coincided with an intense period of conflict in Iran. Despite the strategic significance of Cheng’s trip,
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent the vast Asian chemicals industry into a tailspin. Deprived of the likes of Qatari natural gas and Saudi Arabian oil, the region’s fertilizer and plastics plants are slowing production or even shutting down. Everywhere except China, that is. In petrochemicals, China is unique. As well as a traditional industry that uses oil and gas as feedstock, it has parallel output that relies on its abundant domestic coal. Unsurprisingly, India and other regional powers want to copy and paste the Chinese method. This would not be easy — or climate friendly. The
US President Donald Trump recently repeated his claim that “Taiwan stole America’s chip industry,” reigniting public debate on the issue. As a former Taiwanese minister of economic affairs and an entrepreneur deeply involved in semiconductor supply chain development, I feel a responsibility to clarify this misunderstanding. From the perspective of global industrial evolution and the economic principle of comparative advantage, such a statement appears overly simplistic and risks obscuring the essence of the issue. The rise of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry was not built on “replacing America,” but rather emerged as a result of countries pursuing different development paths within the
The Presidential Office on Saturday reiterated that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation after US President Donald Trump said that Taiwan should not “go independent.” “We’re not looking to have somebody say: ‘Let’s go independence because the United States is backing us,’” Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Friday. President William Lai (賴清德) on Monday said that the Republic of China (ROC) — Taiwan’s official name — and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to each other. Speaking at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai said
RSS