Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

High-ranking US official may attend AIT opening

Taipei Times

The American Institute in Taiwan’s new compound is pictured in Taipei’s Neihu District on Sunday.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

A high-ranking official from the US Department of State is likely to visit Taiwan to mark the opening of the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) new compound in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) in June, a government official said.

Transitional justice more than statues

Taipei Times Editorial

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) on Tuesday announced the winners of a banknote design contest, which he held up as part of an effort to remove authoritarian symbols from the nation’s currency.

The DPP has over the past year taken aim at various authoritarian symbols as part of implementing transitional justice, most notably calling for the removal of statues and other references to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) from the nation’s schools. The issue has been a major point of contention as activists vandalize statues and push the government to act quickly to remove them, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and older veterans strongly condemn such actions.

A trade war would harm China more than the US

Paul Lin 林保華

The US-China trade war has begun.

At first, China threatened revenge, saying it would “fight to the end” and warning the US to “pull back before it is too late.” When the threats were ineffective, China pretended to care more for the US than the US itself, saying a trade war would harm other nations and the US.

The trade war is certainly going to harm China more than the US. Without a war, China would continue stealing intellectual property and enjoy a substantial trade surplus, and the US would never be able to turn things around.

Surrender, opposition to US are silly ideas

James Wang 王景弘

Taiwan’s pro-unification media outlets and academics all have a rigid formulaic response to any issue related to Taiwan’s difficult international situation: Destroy the relationship between Taiwan and the US and between Taiwan and Japan, and if Washington is friendly to Taipei, slander the US and accuse it of playing the “Taiwan card” as a way of dealing with China.

The subtext of this response is that Taiwan should avoid being used by Washington, that moving closer to the US will only increase China’s pressure on Taiwan and that cross-strait relations should be improved to counterbalance the relationship with the US.

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