Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Identity trend cannot be fought

Taipei Times Editorial

A poll published on Tuesday by the US-based Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of the nation’s citizens identify as “Taiwanese,” rather than as “Chinese.” The findings reflect similar polls over the past several years and demonstrate a growing trend.

A professor cited in an article about the poll said that Taiwan’s democracy and China’s diplomatic pressuring of Taiwan resulted in the growth of a Taiwanese national consciousness. This may be partly true, but the issue is not that simple.

Bill to remove ‘unification’ axed

Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu speaks at a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei in an undated photograph.
Photo: Huang Hsin-po, Taipei Times

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) yesterday retracted a proposal to remove “unification of the nation” from the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), citing concern over the proposal throwing cross-strait ties off balance ahead of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) re-inauguration on Wednesday next week.

Opportunity knocks for new leader

William Reinfeld

Former British prime minister Winston Churchill famously said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” The COVID-19 pandemic presents Taiwan with an exceptional opportunity to find a new wave on which to catapult its economy, while helping protect the world from this and future pandemics.

The opportunity refers to making Taiwan a global leader in pandemic control. The challenges to reaching this goal are significant, but Taiwan is in an excellent position to pursue this rare opening and the rewards could be substantial.

Kaohsiung residents want end to tensions

Li Kuan-long 李坤隆

We are now less than a month away from the vote to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), scheduled for June 6. There has been a perceptible change on the ground in Kaohsiung in the dynamics of the campaign surrounding the vote.

This change has been in the shift from the mobilization of political forces to considerations and discourse surrounding the rational choice of individual residents. Unfortunately for Han, this shift is part of a tide that is going to be difficult to turn back.

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