Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

A woman kisses a yellow ribbon during a media event in Taipei yesterday in support of Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che.
Photo: AP / Chiang Ying-ying

Taiwanese human rights advocates yesterday called on US President Donald Trump to use his visit to Beijing this week to ask for the release of detained democracy advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲).

In view of Taiwan’s predicament on the diplomatic front, the constant wrangling among domestic politicians, the government’s apparent inability to protect taxpayers’ interests, and a slew of vacillating policies and broken promises, it can at times be difficult to view the nation’s future optimistically.

Depressing reports about China’s incessant malicious moves to reduce the nation’s global presence and the promise of judicial reform, which appears to be moving at a snail’s pace, to name just two issues, have made Taiwanese cynical about the government’s pledges to improve the nation and to pessimistically wonder where the country is headed.