Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

PTS Hoklo channel’s fate still uncertain

Koeh Ian-lim 郭燕霖

The Ministry of Culture’s budget for establishing a Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) TV channel has been passed by the Cabinet. If everything goes smoothly, a Public Television Service Hoklo channel will start airing next year.

The government established Hakka TV and Taiwan Indigenous TV during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration.

Taiwan must act on US goodwill

Parris Chang 張旭成

When she stopped over in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 on her way to Paraguay, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) paid a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where she made a public statement in which she quoted the former US president, saying: “Everything [is] negotiable except two things: our freedom and our future.”

Some observers have interpreted Tsai’s remark as an olive branch to Beijing.

Taiwanese must band together to face China

Paul Lin 林保華

The day after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) returned from her most recent overseas state visit, El Salvador severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and switched allegiance to China. The timing was clearly carefully chosen by Beijing as part of its ongoing psychological war against Taiwan.

This shows that Beijing was nervous about Tsai’s overseas visit and fears an improving US-Taiwan relationship. It also exposes China’s lack of mental toughness. Conversely, the Taiwanese public has grown up under China’s threat and is used to Beijing’s games, so after the news broke, the stock market continued its rally and even closed at the day’s high.

Time to fight sugar-coated poison pills from China

Lam Sei-lin 林四連

China’s announcement that Taiwanese can apply for residence permits is tantamount to a unilateral unification announcement, but the Taiwanese government did nothing. Is it just waiting to be unified?

Taiwan’s system is different: The government issues 10-digit ID numbers to all foreigners in Taiwan, except tourists, but China has never issued an 18-digit identification number to foreigners. Offering it now only to Taiwanese, Hong Kongers and Macanese bears profound political implications.

More Articles...