Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Minister unveils Chip Team Taiwan initiative

Taipei Times

Taiwan is launching the “Chip Team Taiwan” initiative to forge robotics, drones and space industry supply chains to decrease dependence on China, National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday.

Wu made the remarks at a news conference marking the conclusion of the 12th quadrennial National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei.

The integration of semiconductor manufacturing would boost the indigenous tech and defense sector’s growth, he said.

Canada passes resolution on Taiwan

Taipei Times

Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday.

The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.

Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future.

What al-Assad fall means for China

Yang Chung-hsin 楊宗新

The regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad — whose family ruled Syria for half a century — collapsed under continued pressure from rebel forces led by the alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ending with the panicked al-Assad escaping from Damascus. Given al-Assad’s close relationship with Beijing, the rebel victory might very well impact China.

Located at the end of the Silk Road’s eastern section, Syria historically served as a vital passage for Eastern goods traveling to Europe. On the eve of a coup led by then-Syrian minister of defense Hafez al-Assad in 1969, a Syrian envoy was sent to Beijing. In the midst of the Cultural Revolution, China had implemented a foreign policy of exporting revolution and therefore Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) committed to providing Hafez al-Assad with substantial military aid.

Muddling the word ‘sovereignty’

Simon Tang 湯先鈍

Former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) on Sunday proposed a new cross-strait narrative, saying: “The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other in terms of governance, but share sovereignty without division (兩岸治權互不隸屬,主權同而不分).”

Jurisdiction is one of the necessary conditions included in the definition of sovereignty. According to the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the sufficient and necessary condition for sovereignty is that the local government has full and substantial independent authority to govern its region in terms of politics, economy, national security, public affairs and even foreign relations — free from external interference. Therefore, without jurisdiction, there is no sovereignty — period. Jurisdiction is merely a necessary sub-element of sovereignty. How can the two be separated? This is International Relations 101 — a foundational concept taught in introductory political science courses. Are there any Taiwanese academics who can honestly deny this common knowledge?

More Articles...