Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Cross-strait unification and the US

Lu I-ming 呂一銘

Having returned recently from her first visit to Taiwan, US Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, commented that the US’ US$6.4 billion sale of military arms to Taiwan was “a mistake,” and reiterated her opposition to the sale. The comments came after a tour of the region that also took her to Beijing and Shanghai, and seem to indicate a shift in US-Taiwan relations. Feinstein is known in the US Senate for her pro-China leanings and is a key figure amongst US politicians who favor maintaining good ties with Beijing. Believing Sino-US relations to be very important to US interests, she has always been somewhat opposed to the idea of selling weapons to Taiwan.

ECFA panders to large corporations at expense of small companies, DPP says

Taipei Times

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday assailed the government’s landmark trade deal with China, saying the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) would benefi the interests of larger corporations at the expense of small and medium-sized businesses.

“The [government] has only taken into account the needs of large corporations. It doesn’t care about the damage to small and medium-sized businesses, which will be unable to adapt [to an ECFA],” DPP ECFA response team spokesperson Julian Kuo (郭正亮) told a press conference yesterday.

Taiwan: Hawaii, Jamaica or Cuba?

James Holmes

Whither Taiwan’s maritime defense?

The ghost of Alfred Thayer Mahan can help strategists analyze the challenges and opportunities confronting Taipei in this age of surging Chinese military might. Best known as the author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, the 19th century’s most influential treatise on maritime affairs, Mahan was a keen student of the relationship between geography and maritime strategy.

Ma still unclear on Taiwan’s status

Taipei Times Editorial

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) often asks his critics why they question his determination to uphold Taiwan’s national interests and dignity as a sovereign nation. A review of some of his remarks will perhaps provide the president with a hint as to why so many people continue to remain stubbornly unconvinced.

On Monday, when meeting with Texas Governor Rich Perry, Ma referred to Taiwan as a “province” when speaking of the sister-state relations between Taiwan and Texas. Even though Resolution 81(R) HR, 1593 passed last June by the Texas House of Representatives, describes the link between Texas and Taiwan as a “sister-state relationship,” Ma chose to say “sister state and sister province” relationship when he expressed gratitude to the governor over the passage of the resolution.

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