Exiled Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹) plans to found a think tank in Washington that would serve as an opposing voice to the Chinese government and would create a series of platforms over the next 10 years, he said.
Wang last year moved back to the US after living in Taiwan for eight years.
“This is the second major battle of my life,” he said in Maryland.
The first one was the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in Beijing, he said.
Wang is to be the chief executive and he has recommended Chinese dissident Hu Ping (胡平) as head of the academic committee, Su Xiaokang (蘇曉康), maker of the documentary River Elegy (河殤), as adviser and Chinese democracy campaigner Wang Juntao (王軍濤) as board chairman.
The final decisions are to be made by vote, he said.
Wang, who has taught at National Tsing Hua University, said that while in Taiwan he was already interested in think tanks and learned much from participating in events by the Youth Synergy Taiwan Foundation.
Chinese dissidents outside of China have campaigns and movements, but no think tanks, he said, adding that people need to do more than criticize the government.
The focus of the think tank is to be on China’s future, specifically its policies, he said.
A small think tank needs about US$500,000 each year, he said, adding that it would be financially difficult to open by June.
Most of the funds have come from friends in Taiwan who share similar political beliefs, he said.
However, many Taiwan independence advocates are not interested in China’s democratization, even though it is closely related to Taiwan’s interests, he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese who have immigrated to the US still fear the Chinese Communist Party, while Hong Kongers have more pressing issues to worry about, he said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS