Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

China’s true fears in Afghanistan

Kok Bayraq

With the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, China has remarketed its East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) concerns. Beijing urged the Taliban to make a clean break with the movement and asked the US to blacklist it again.

While some are still debating whether the movement exists, it is not the core of the matter because its existence neither justifies China’s Uighur policy nor sheds light on its concerns after the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan.

Is China really worried, and if so, is it because of the movement? This question needs to be answered.

AUKUS plan good for region

Taipei Times Editorial

On Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a news conference via video link to announce a major strategic defense partnership, dubbed “AUKUS.” In an indication of the sensitivity and strategic weight attached to the pact, discussions were kept under wraps, with the announcement taking even seasoned military analysts by surprise.

AUKUS represents a significant escalation of the transatlantic strategic tilt to the Indo-Pacific and should bring wider security benefits to the region, including Taiwan.

Switzerland motion to boost ties

Taipei Times

The Swiss national flag is pictured at the Federal Palace in Bern on June 17.
Photo: Bloomberg

Switzerland’s National Council, the lower house of its parliament, on Tuesday passed a motion to improve ties with Taiwan.

Previously approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee in June, the motion was passed by the council with 129 votes in favor, 43 against and five abstentions.

Changing perspective on history

Ho Lai-mei 何來美

The TV drama series Seqalu: Formosa 1867, an adaptation of former doctor Chen Yao-chang’s 2016 novel Kui Lei Hua (傀儡花), has been building an audience since its premiere on Public Television Service. The book and the drama go against the traditional Taiwanese perspective on history, which has been shaped by the view of Han (漢) Taiwanese.

Taiwan is an immigrant society, whose earliest masters were the “gaoshan” (高山族), or highland Aborigines, and the “pingpu” (平埔族), or plains Aborigines. Taiwan’s historical perspective should be based on cultural diversity and ethnic integration.

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