Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Are war clouds on the horizon?

Ian Easton

“Is there going to be a war over Taiwan soon?” That dark question recently invaded and occupied the imagination of the international community. The ensuing media frenzy produced some wild exaggeration and undue defeatism. That’s unfortunate because questions of war and peace deserve careful examination, this one more than most.

First the good news. Contrary to what you may have heard, it seems unlikely that war clouds are lurking on the horizon. The Chinese government and military are not yet prepared for an invasion of Taiwan. We are not seeing serious indications that an invasion is imminent.

Taiwan can still help with vaccines

Fernando Herrera Ramos

Since the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their diplomatic relationship from Taipei to Beijing in September 2019, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not been able to poach any more of Taiwan’s allies in what would soon become a complete two-year period.

This development is significant when taking into consideration that over just about three years after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government had used its economic resources to get seven allies of Taiwan to switch recognition.

Vaccination program preparations

Tommy Lin 林逸民

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung’s (陳時中) introduction of “regression calibration” — backlogging — of local COVID-19 cases has caused a lively public debate. Politicians and supporters from both the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition parties have engaged in a never-ending argument over the concept in the media.

Such correction of data is a global practice, and to argue over the issue is in no way beneficial to pandemic prevention. The virus knows no borders, nor does it pick one ethnic group or political party over another — we are all in the same boat, so if we are to defeat the virus, we must work together. Every Taiwanese should put political affiliation aside and focus their attention and social debate on important, practical matters.

Wuhan lab leak tip of iceberg

Taipei Times Editorial

As politicians squabble over who is to blame for a nationwide spike in COVID-19 infections since earlier this month, it is important not to forget where the virus originated and who is responsible for a manifestly containable epidemic mushrooming into a ruinous global pandemic.

Eighteen eminent scientists, including a Stanford University microbiologist and Harvard University epidemiologist, in an open letter published in Science on May 13 called into question the WHO’s conclusion that it is “extremely unlikely” that COVID-19 leaked from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. In the letter, the scientists wrote that theories of accidental release remain “viable” and deserve “a proper investigation.”

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