Comparing the situations in Taiwan and Ukraine is inappropriate, Taiwanese academics told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting that the conditions the two nations are facing, including their locations as well as their geopolitical and international trade position, are entirely different.
Ukraine has a land border with Russia and is vulnerable to a large-scale land invasion, while Taiwan is separated from China by the Taiwan Strait, Institute for National Defense and Security Research senior analyst Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) told the event hosted by the Association of Chinese Elite Leadership.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, which has proven to be critical for global supply chains, and shipping routes to Japan through Taiwanese waters ensure that other countries’ national interests overlap with Taiwan’s, Su said.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian economy is focused on agriculture and traditional industry, he said.
Unlike Taiwan, Ukraine does not occupy a “special place” in US politics, and its strategic value is far less pronounced, National Taiwan Normal University professor Fan Shih-ping (范世平) said.
As Taiwan is part of the first island chain, loosing it to China would endanger Guam, Hawaii and even the US west coast, Fan said.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is crucial to the world, so a Chinese invasion would have a far greater effect on global markets, he added.
The Taiwan issue is well-known in the international community, Fan said, citing as examples British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison mentioning Taiwan when speaking of the Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine became overly reliant on US and NATO promises, as its defense industry fell into disrepair after the 2014 Minsk agreement, he said.
Russia’s goal is regime change in Ukraine, while China’s ambition would be incorporating Taiwan, Cross-Strait Policy Association researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said.
Drawing conclusions from the Ukraine conflict is a logical fallacy, Wu said, denying media reports saying that today’s events in Ukraine would be replicated in Taiwan one day.
Private entities should leave it to the government to make such far-reaching statements, he added.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net